Little Blessings of Mine: Praises and Prayers

After the Last blog our week went WAYYYYY down hill. Ace had his yearly evaluation from ( AIDB )Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind that Wednesday. I got really upset afterwards and ended up in the ER in Carrollton with a headache. Then went back the next morning still sick as a dog and no relief for the headache. THEN after that shot I still had no relief I called my neurologist he told me to go to Med Center North and get IV fluids and meds. So I went there and that doctor sent me back to the hospital to be admitted. So after a total of 3 doctor visits in less than 24 hours I was back where I started. And I stayed there til Saturday. Which was awful. I mean AWFULLLL. Being in pain is horrible and when it hurts so bad you can't rest is even worse. And to top it off the nurses there were in no hurry to help. It took two hours to get medicine one time, an hour another, and it was never there any sooner than 30 minutes after I requested it. Which just made everything worse. Cause when you have a headache so bad that every movement makes you want to vomit time is of the essence. Finally after I got a good 4 hours of sleep in a row the medicine worked. I got home in enough time to go to my Secret Sister Party at church. It was nice even though I felt really exhausted.
I do have WONDERFULL news. Have you ever questioned prayer? I mean really do you pray about something then try to fix it yourself or pray about it and wonder if God heard you? Well if you have let me tell you a little story. If you can remember all the issues with Ace's legs from the last blog keep them in mind. On this past Monday we ( me, Josh, and Ace) took a 3 1/2 hour drive in the pouring rain to Huntsville. Ace had an appointment with the Orthopaedist. And I had already prepared myself for every possible news the doctor could tell me. I prayed for God to take care of Ace and what ever His will be done. And if Ace needed any medical intervention to help his issues I asked for God to give me the strength to make it through it. After I prayed I felt at peace. And I was ready . I mean really ready. I had phone numbers ready to call when we left to set up appointments for just about what ever the doctor recommended. After Dr. Buckley watched Ace walk with shoes on, walk without shoes, and walk some more, x-rays, and a physical exam he left and it took a while for him to come back but when he did I honestly wasn't expecting what he said. He came in put up his x-rays and said simply " I see nothing wrong with him." It took me a minute to think " Okay he had, spasctisity, scissoring of the right leg, turning of the foot, ankle rolling, and bowing of the tibia" And he couldn't find anything wrong. He said " The right foot is pre-maturely turning inward " and this is the only thing that Ace is showing any issues with. He said all kids feet will turn in at age 4 and outgrow this by age 6. So what about all the other things you ask. God took care of them . Yeah that's what happened. When I prayed I had FAITH. I knew God would take care of my child. And he did. Ace's legs are just fine. He isn't scissoring any more and it was obvious even to the AIDB lady when she did her evaluation, no ankle rolling, and the most miraculous one is NO BOWING OF THE TIBIA bone. After Ace had physical therapy Amy showed me his leg and it was bowed out. I mean you could see it. And I guess I just paid no attention to it after that. Well after the x-rays when the doctor showed me them I had to look at Ace's leg and it looked just like the left one. It had a slight bow but not anymore. So next time when you are praying have a little faith when you do. Matthew 17:20 says " I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, " Move from here to there," and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.".
Although I will not be moving mountains I know God heard and answered my prayers.

Okay now for the AIDB report. This Institute comes out and gives Ace special instructions therapy every month for social emotional, cognitive, adaptive, motor, and one more that I can't think of right off the top of my head. To qualify for these services the child has to be more than 25% delayed in at least 3 of these areas. Well after she scored him she said he was more than 25% behind in 3 areas and 24% in another so he really only passed in one category and in that one he was 5 months ahead. She said he is very smart for his age ( Gets that from his mama) but he is behind up to 16 months for is age in the others. The one he is the most behind on is his social emotional mentality. At this age most kids are able to pay well with others, they can be easily separated from their parent in a FAMILIAR setting, likes people, does " pretend" playing, they are bold and confident, likes people, can share, ect. Well not Ace. But even after the score was given and she went over what Ace will have to do this year I was okay. UNTIL she handed me the " Handbook for Alabama's Children with DISABILITIES". That is when my heart sank and I began to block out everything else she said. And she noticed it. I told her it wasn't the fact that he was behind because I knew that; It was the fact that he was considered disabled. I knew he had cerebral palsy, I knew he was going to have issues, but I never labeled him as disabled. I couldn't put that on my child. That is when I had to re-think everything I had been doing. Yes I baby him ( he's my baby) BUT I do treat him as a 4 yr old along with AliPaige. But he could process it. That's why he gets so frustrated. But I know God isn't done with him yet. I am not afraid of the challenges he will face because we will do our very best to give him every option to do his best. He will not be the perfect child or even the normal one for his age but you know what as long as he gives 100% of himself I am happy with that. My only issue is what criticism he will face growing up with this label. I absolutely cannot stand to hear or see someone use the word retarded. Because the definition of that is- a condition in which mental development is slow or delayed. So you know what YEAH my son is retarded. I wish that word meant- a condition of IGNORANCE! Because the people that use that word like they do are the one who has issues. I can only hope that Ace will have confidence enough to brush it off if anyone ever comes at him with such ignorance. I pray he will be strong enough to tell them in God's eyes " I am perfect." That is what bothered me so much about his evaluation. It was just a label. And I know that I can't put that label on him even if it is what it is. He is still the same Ace that he was before he was tested. He hasn't progressed any in the past year in the social emotional development and not much more in a few other areas but this is my plea. Please pray for Ace to get every benefit possible from the therapy he will get from AIDB and then from the school system beginning in March when he turns three.
God places people in our lives when we are faced trials. He shows up when we need him. If he can't be here physically with us he will give us someone to help us through. I have learned this. It's up to us to turn to them or turn away and struggle. One of the people God placed in my path this year sent me an e-mail that I didn't get until AFTER Ace's doctor appointment on Monday. Which shows me even more proof of my faith. (Along with a few pictures )I want to share it with you as I end this blog post.
.........I once heard about this man who God took to heaven and he was looking down on earth. He saw these streams of light coming up toward heaven, but there were some that were shooting off like fireworks and coming right up before the throne of God. He asked, what are those lights and what are those that are coming up so quickly? The angel told him, well those are people's prayers as they ascend toward heaven, but the ones that shoot up so quickly are those of a mother praying for her child. They are the most heartfelt and they soar through the heavenlies and go directly to the throne room and reach the Father's heart immediately.