Before SDR Thomas had become very fearful of not only falling but of trying new things and it was a real concern on so many levels. Today in physio we saw a real shift in his mental attitude. He didn’t give in to this fear, he didn’t give up! He believed he could do it and he did. I am so proud of my beautiful boy. AND he stood for 6 minutes and 52 seconds without ANY support!!!

A heart felt thank you to my dear friends Clara DeMont and Emma Hood for organising the wonderful Celidih last night. The music and dancing was simply joyful. To have an opportunity to celebrate all that we have managed to get through was incredibly heart warming thank you – the healing has started! The evening also raised a fantastic £551.56 towards Thomas’ post- op physiotherapy. It was a very special night.

Last day at Footsteps today … it feels really emotional as I had our October session here down as a real marker on our SDR journey. In October we would be Post – SDR. When we come back…gosh, I can remember those tears and all that fear…

We are so fortunate to have an incredible team around Thomas. Without their expertise and experience of SDR, making this decision would have been even more agonising. We are so lucky. This session has gone really well. Thomas has felt safe and has made such good progress. He isn’t back to his pre-op strength yet but they are really pleased with not only how he has cooperated but also the strength that he has at this early stage Post- Op. It is all so encouraging.

Next week he is back to school. Only half days as he will have physio most afternoons whether it be 1:1 physio, horse riding or swimming. It’s going to be busy but it will be back to normal. Normal is good.

One of the first questions the therapists ask when we start a block of physio here at Footsteps is: ‘What do you hope to get out of this 3 week session?’ This time I didn’t have any clear goal as obviously we have just had surgery and so it is all about building his confidence back up and strengthening those new muscles however, at the back of my mind I hoped that he would be back using his sticks… Today he not only ended the session walking out using his sticks, his therapist also told me he had taken 4 independent steps during their session. Today is a beautiful day!

Despite having a cold this week our wee warrior has been in the pool, on horse back, had 8 hrs of intensive physiotherapy (2 hrs left tomorrow), cooperated with daily stretches at home and is still smiling! We have also managed to get out to the park on our bikes due to the lovely weather and have some fun in soft play. He is amazing, they both are! Feeling very lucky.

6 weeks post-op and we are back in the saddle! It was only a short, gentle ride this evening but it felt so wonderful to be back.

Last physio session of the week at Footsteps and bless him, he is shattered. The physiotherapists working with Thomas are really pleased with his progress and so hopefully the next two weeks will see him going from strength to strength. While in the spider apparatus he has been managing 100 steps on the treadmill most days but he is missing being able to jump on the trampoline – Bristol have said to avoid jumping, riding, swimming etc until 6 weeks post-op. By the end of the 3 week session though he should be able to have a wee bounce.

A big thank you to Zusana, the staff at Leys Pool and of course their generous customers, who have raised another £72.12 towards Thomas’ Post- op therapy. I can’t wait to bring Thomas in for his swimming lesson on Sunday so Faye can see the difference when he kicks his legs. It is wonderful, so, so wonderful to observe how he can now move them separately whether that be on his trike, going up the stairs or walking in his frame. Obviously we need to build up his strength and control but this new freedom of movement is just incredible. He is no longer having to fight so hard against the tone, the spasticity, that was preventing his muscles from being able to breathe and grow.

What a month it has been… Thomas had his operation 5 weeks ago, so we have been focusing on him – and Dylan – throughout the surgery and immediate needs of post-op recovery.  Our own efforts at fund-raising were put on hold.  But thankfully, we have a wonderful extended family around us, who continued to run events through this period.

So thanks to several cousins, and to Bea Gimenez (my brother Michael’s partner) and her family in Spain, we’ve all of a sudden found our fundraising total at £70,000!  Bea’s been with us since the start, as she designed this web site!

This new total is still shy of our target of £75,000, but it feels within touching distance now.

So now that Thomas has had his op, what does this mean?  What will your money now go towards?  Well Thomas is already back to 4 to 5 hours of 1:1 physio per week.  In the next week or so (6 weeks post-op), he will hopefully get back to horse riding and swimming lessons too.

He will also continue to get intensive blocks of physio at Footsteps (2h/day every day for 3 weeks).  In fact he just started one today!  He will have one such block every 3 months.

This intensity will continue for the next year at least.  In year 2, with increased mobility, he will be more naturally active, so the requirement for formal physio will hopefully fall to 3 hours per week, plus the Footsteps sessions.

We will also need to buy some more equipment too – trike, standing frame, and other such items that will support his on-going progress.  A lightweight wheelchair would also allow him to be much more independent too, especially at school.

This is where your fund-raising money is going.  These investments are essential so that Thomas can make the best of the opportunities that the operation has given him.  We’re already beginning to see that, and we’re so grateful to everyone that has helped.  Thank you.