I've talked in the past about trying to vary Madi's activities while she stands up. Usually that is a mix of spending time using the walker, spending time in the learning tower, spending time holding my hands to walk, getting carried in her HKFOs, and spending some time in her Rifton mobile stander. Madi is two, so she likes to keep busy. Changing activities often keeps her happy and also keeps her upright, which is so very, very important for her. It's important for her bone growth, muscles, bowels and bladder, circulation, and so much more!
The only thing that I wish I could change about the stander is I wish it had a removable handle. I'd prefer to take this out, instead of Madi's wheelchair, but it's hard to use in busy parking lots and places like that. Because of the design, I have to bend over to push Madi, and it is hard to safely maneuver Madi around without killing my back and while watching Conner. Madi is amazing at getting around in it without help, but I always push her in the parking lot to keep her safe (ask her how much she loves that ;). She always yells, "NO! I DO IT BY MYSELF!" and gets upset at me). I have plans to try and get someone to rig a little handle for me, so I'm hoping I can work something out there. Other than the lack of the handle, the stander is amazing!!!
We bought a little table that works great with Madi's mobile stander. We got it at Costco and it was only $20 but it is adjustable to four heights. It fits when she is standing in her HKFOs, when she is in her stander, and when she is in her wheelchair; it's great! I love easy and simple solutions that are affordable! Here's a picture of Madi using it in her stander:
We eat at the table, do stamps, color, paint, make food, and so much more. It gets a lot of love! In fact, it has some paint and ink stains to prove it!
If you want to check out Rifton's stander, you can go to http://www.rifton.com/products/standing/. They also have a blog you can read at http://www.rifton.com/adaptive-mobility-blog/.
We found our stander on craigslist and were able to buy it because of the money we get through Madi's amazon associates account. Anytime you purchase through Amazon and use Madi's link, we get money back that we use towards therapy equipment and other equipment that insurance won't cover. THANK YOU to everyone who purchases through her link for us!! You are such a blessing! http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=missmadi-20
