Things that Rose can do:
Go upstairs like a normal biped, one step after another, alternating feet
Go downstairs hanging over bannisters for dear life and with slightly less confidence than above - but still without crutches!
Walk round London zoo for two hours with one crutch and (almost) no complaining about pain
Walk almost to the bottom of Alleyn Road and back (new physio goal - very long road) with no crutches
Walk around the house with no discernible limp (ok this one is a bit generous but when sufficiently warmed up - like the finely honed athlete that she's on her way back to being - she can do this)
Balance on her right (bad) leg for five seconds. At the beginning of the year she couldn't put ten per cent of her body weight through her right leg and now she casually stands stork-like on it as if it had never been a problem and looks at me - 'what?'
Things that Rose still can't do:
EAT. AAAGGGHHHH.....
She's just going to have to start as next Tuesday she's going into Kings and the gastrostomy is COMING OUT. Going to celebrate with a KFC bargain bucket and a tray of Krispy Kreme doughnuts...not really but you know what I mean. We met the gastric surgeon last week and his side of things sounds straightforward - put her to sleep, pull, stitch, wake her up... but how Rose will fare without 750 calories of liquid gold every night we will have to wait and see.
So it's been more days of health, happiness and wellbeing for Rose - parties, play dates, outings, school, World Book Day (she was meant to be Horrid Henry if you're struggling!) the zoo, LOTS of boring physio but it's all paying off now. The endless rounds of exercises to get seemingly absent muscles to flicker into life have slowly produced dividends and although she's got miles to go when she puts her mind to it she can basically walk. Special mention has to go to Rob at Crystal Palace Physio who now line dances with Rose in the gym wearing a scarlet cowboy hat (yes Rob not Rose), stretches her (literally) and pushes her (mentally) whilst teaching her about music all at the same time. The walking is not something we took for granted was ever going to happen and we are of course giving ourselves - as well as Kate, Rob, Amy, Barbara, Michelle, Tracy and all the many physios she's worn out in the last year - loads of credit for how well she's doing. But it has all been Rose's hard work and bravery and hers alone. 'Am I all better now, Mummy?' Yes my darling gorgeous fabulous princess pink I really think you're on your way.
A huge thank you is due again to lovely Tayo. Skydiving clearly not enough of a challenge for him he set the DUCKS Year 1 and 2 children a sponsored swim up and down the DC pool in aid of BCRT. As if it isn't amazing enough that five year olds were swimming 20 lengths and six year olds 40 lengths he also managed to raise over £3,000 in a morning. Having never managed to cobble together more than a tenner in sponsorship money whenever either of my children did anything at all I think this is quite impressive!
It's Felix's school play this week too and Rose is now word perfect - which apparently most of Year 5 and 6 still aren't! She is so excited - and it's hugely symbolic for us. This time last year she approached Treasure Island similarly enthralled, was word perfect, sang and danced every song for weeks and sat through two performances in raptures - and it was almost the last thing she did before being diagnosed. She's had a busy year since the last Year 6 production but she'll be there right alongside us singing away for all the world as if last year never really happened.
