Botox- Round 1

Last month, Max had his first round of Botox treatment. Many people don't know (I didn't) that Botox was originally intended to be used to help control spasticity. In layman's terms, Max has certain muscles in his arm/hand which are too tight and make certain tasks very difficult for him. Botox deadens those tight muscles for a few months. In that time, we do intensive therapy to strengthen the other muscles which are weak from underuse. The hope is, once the Botox wears off, those weak muscles will be stronger and more able to counteract the nasty tight ones. Confused yet?

One of Max's biggest challenges, is that his right thumb is almost always tucked in. You'd be surprised at how much of a negative impact this has on his functioning. Try spending a day with your thumb stuck to the palm of your hand and see how you go.



The image on the left is a 'normal' hand and the image on the right is similar to Max's hand

The Botox was injected into 3 different parts of his right arm/hand. It can take 1-2 weeks before it starts to take effect but we saw an improvement almost straight away. Later that evening, his thumb was in a far more functional position. For a brief time, I allowed myself to be taken by the fantasy that this was a permanent cure.






Botox day

We started doing intensive therapy a few days later. At the moment we are seeing our Occupational Therapists 3 times a week (sometimes 4), as well as doing lots of work at home. We also do lots of sessions at the pool and lots of climbing at the park. I think pictures tell the story better than words can....









We're trying to do lots of 2 handed activities






He climbs up the top, so he can slide down any way he pleases!



Toddler gym






He LOVES the DustBuster



Sitting in his 'spinning' chair. Spinning is great Vestibular Stimulation, which is great for his balance and a whole range of things



Just randomly holding a card in 'righty'






A session with one of our gorgeous OT's Caroline












Holding a scarf in each hand at Music Class



A new splint to stretch his thumb out at nighttime. We're not having much luck!




As you can see, we've been pretty busy. Keep your fingers crossed that we can achieve some long lasting results!

Thank you to everyone for supporting us along this journey.

Faith and Max