Miss USA 2008

Guess who we are rooting for! Take a look at this article about Abbey Curran, who has spastic diplegia, and will be in the Miss USA pageant in April. BTW, her childhood therapist Gretchen, who is mentioned in the article, is Lara's therapist at Easter Seals.

We are currently undergoing complicated procedures with Lara's therapy. Not medical procedures! But it is time for Lara to be reevaluated in her therapy to see how she has progressed and to decide whether or not she needs more or less of therapy. We already know how much and when, but it is required that Lara be reassessed every 6 months in the Early Intervention program. This means setting up a lot of appointments with our therapists and with our service coordinator to make new goals. These can be roller coaster experiences-having these assessments done. It feels great when a therapist says, "Wow, she is really advanced in her development to be able to do that" or "give her a couple of years, she'll get caught up." And you think, "See? We're okay, it's not that bad." But then a couple minutes later they might say, "She's doing good, she's at a 10 month old level for her motor development." THEN you think, "What?? She's almost 15 months!!! Gosh, she's so behind." We're told a lot of good, but we also have to take the bad. It also reminds me how much of a wait-and-see game this is. That's the hardest part. While most parents can assume their child will walk between 12-15 months, I have no clue when to expect it. And we can't possibly know at this point if she will walk with a limp, need to use a walking device, or if she will walk just fine on her own. As she gets older, different symptoms might manifest as well, and I have to remind myself that it's not because it is getting worse (though it could be for a brief time thanks to development and growth spurts), but because we will notice different things as her body takes on new challenges.

Gretchen did some of the PT assessment today, and decided what level Lara is on of the Gross Motor Function Classification System. While every child is very different and cannot always be so easily classified, and considering that it is also difficult to fully assess a child at this young of an age, so far it is believed that Lara is on Level 1. Meaning, basically, that she has the mildest form of CP. Now, it's possible she will move up to a Level 2 later (see what I mean by roller coaster?). The main difference between level 1 and level 2 is that minimal assistance is needed in walking in level 2, such as the need to have a railing to walk up stairs or something to help maintain balance when walking on uneven surfaces, etc. (As far as I can tell, I consider myself a Level 2. heehee) Of course, all of this is specific to Lara, and cannot completely be applied to other children with CP.

Truth be told, I am so very relieved that there doesn't seem to be any involvement of CP in her cognitive ability. Not because I want Lara to be really smart, go to Harvard, become a scientist, win a Nobel Prize, and make a lot of money to buy me a big mansion. Though that would be nice. But going off of my experiences as a prekindergarten teacher, I know how very hard it can be on both child and parent when that appropriate understanding is just not there. And those are not issues that you can simply solve-they don't make braces for brains. Sure, Lara might have a learning disability that we will find as she gets older, but I am not worried. That's a possibility every parent faces after all. And since she will be homeschooled, I can rest assured knowing that we will meet those mental needs appropriately.

So I don't know. But does any parent? I remind myself to fully enjoy these moments. Because they are wonderful moments that shouldn't be grayed by the What Ifs? and Will Shes? And, again, I remind myself, over and over, that it doesn't matter. God didn't create us to do great things. He created us to be great people.