One smile at a time......

When Laura was about 8 months old she had an EEG done. It is a test that measures brain activity….Everything turned out NORMAL!?…normal brain activity……I was confused as she wasn't doing the things my other children did at her age.…..Im not one to compare in great detail what each of my children are doing at a similar age….all children learn things at a different pace …..i don't think that the timing in which they accomplish those milestones determines their level of intelligence ….BUT because of everything we were told when I was pregnant I was paranoid …...At this point Laura wasn't rolling…trying to sit ….holding toys….lifting her head off the ground when on her tummy ect ect ….The outcome of all the appointments before she was born were negative but now all the results were positive yet she wasn't moving around or making many sounds….WHAT THE HECK! …..

Our last major appointment with the Neurologist was when Laura was 10months old….. after a thorough examination she said “it looks like Cerebral Palsy”…..With technology today you would think we could get past the words “LOOKS, SEEMS, POSSIBLY, COULD BE….ECT ECT ECT ECT ETC !!” (To this day we still don’t have anything definite)….she referred us to the Child Development Centre where we have been working closely with an Occupational therapist, physical therapist and recently a speech therapist ever since.

                                 Laura in one of her first cool supportive chairs from her therapy team :)) 

 The left side of Laura's body is more dominant than her right… Laura’s a lefty J…. (which makes sense looking back to when the doctors said a piece of her brain on the right side is missing) .....Over the past two years she has come a long way....she has slowly learned how to hold herself up in an almost crawl position and keep her head up ....each time keeping it up longer and longer....

                                 

she can sit independently , legs crossed and hands placed flat on the floor in front of her for close to 10 mins…..

she can skooch around on her tummy and get almost anywhere her determined little heart will take her.......

…..within the past 6 months Laura has learned how to give HUGS EEEEEEEEEEP!!!! I think sometimes we give hugs without realising just how much love a person can receive from one....... For Laura , since she can’t speak, I believe its her way of saying “I love you” ….Everything about Laura teaches our family to value the little things….. Especially the ability to love through a simple embrace....... 

Another HUGE milestone for her was two weeks ago….. her PT gave her this walker below to try out at home….

Laura took TWO steps!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you who have children  you know how it feels ........ arms stretched wide saying the words “come on…come to mommy…” and when they reach you the joy that fills you right to the soul!! Well multiply that by a hundred!! LOL My heart was doing flips !!! JIm not sure what made my heart burst more …the “MOM I DID IT” in her eyes or her grabbing my hand as she reached me… J

We have sooo many extraordinary moments ...…but there are also our moments when things get so incredibly frustrating....... I have been teaching Laura some simple sign language……but a lot of the signs require you to use both your hands….even the simplest words are sometimes a challenge for her since she doesn't have a lot of control in her right arm…..I find myself having to guess what she wants when she makes the noises that mean she would like something…..”Do you want this? Do you want that?”  .......Anything and everything that requires only a yes or no answer …….but her yes and no nods aren’t always so clear….…..We have many moments in the midst of this that both of us are bawling ….Laura trying so hard to get her point across and me trying so hard to understand her so that she can have whatever it is that she so desperatly wants..…..sometimes I end up having to find something to distract her from what she was wanting in the first place…..I feel horrible about it but if I cant figure it out its better to do that than have her getting overly stressed and upset…… The lack of communication we have with eachother has got to be one of the most trying situations we have had to deal with....... BUT......THANKFULLY those moments are slowly going to fade . Lauras speech therapist has come to the rescue and has started to introduce Laura to some AMAZING technology that will help her say the words that are all stored inside……My little smarty pants is quickly getting the hang of it too !!! and with that persistant determination we see so frequently in her , she will be chatting up a storm in no time.......me on the other hand will be bawling up a storm!!! Can't WAIT to hear all she has to say!!! over and over and OVER!! :) 

Laura's achievements by far out weigh the rough moments....and when i find myself broken and frustrated for her she reminds me with a simple smile.....A LAURA SMILE...It's HER body that doesn't allow her to do what she wants to and yet shes the happiest of us all.......She has already taught our family sooooo much ......More than anything its to cherish and celebrate the little things in life.......and when you have a mountain to climb........conquer it.... one smile at a time.......