I just finished watching the new "X-Men" movie, or at least I think that is what they are called. I really don't follow them very well, so I can't tell you much about it except that it reminded me of my kids. Each of the mutants has a special power in the movie, and I have seen this same thing in our kids with their personalities (not that they are mutants, but that they have something special that stands out above all else). Terah and I can tell you without even talking to each other what each of our kids strength is, what is special about them. Today I want to share, literally, the strength of my littlest girl.
She has been the sweetest girl since she was a baby, everyone would tell you she was the sweetest baby they have ever seen, no one would ever have guessed she was so strong. But something was not right. When she should have been walking (10-12 months), she still could not put weight on her legs. I finally agreed with Mommy, even though she knew a long time before I consented that something was wrong, and we took her to a therapist for an examination. The therapist immediately knew something was wrong, but was very careful how she directed us. Mostly she encouraged us to schedule a therapist to come work with her once a week for a year so they could better determine what was going on. We knew something was wrong, so when we dug deeper, she did mention it could possibly be cerebral palsy. We were not familiar with this, so we looked further into it and it sounded just like Adah, and it would mean that Adah would never walk correctly. There is different forms of cerebral palsy, but it never gets worse, and never gets better...you just help them learn to live with it.
We prayed for the best of course, and began our sessions with the therapist. She was now over 16 months old and still could not stand, let alone walk. The therapist said she was about the stage of an 8 month old baby. Adah was eager to please him for whatever reason and would do everything he asked her to. He never gave up hope with her and quickly put our fears to rest and said she did not have cerebral palsy, but what they call "low muscle mass" in her legs. So for the next six months we worked with her to build her strenth in those legs. But we really didn't have to do much, because she is a fighter!
The therapist said she would be walking by her 2nd birthday, and she proved him wrong, she took her first steps with three months to spare! I don't know if this link will work, but if not, you can go to my facebook in the videos and find her first steps.
She has struggled through everything without a complaint, there was never anything wrong with her in her mind, the only frustration is that everyone wants to help her. She wants to do it by herself!!! We are constantly hearing her say "My do it!". She refuses to stay little, if the big siblings do it, she should be able to.
So she is now just over two years old, running around with the other kids (not normal, but not hindered in any way). And below is a picture of our adventure in Glacier National Park over the weekend. This picture has so much meaning to Daddy. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was one of the first thoughts that went through my mind when we realized what cerebral palsy was. I thought, "Adah, don't worry about anything, Daddy will carry you everywhere you need to go for the rest of your life, that is how much I love you." Then looking at this picture I realized she never would have let me. It didn't matter what the doctors said, this girl was not going to allow anything to keep her down. She is a fighter, she is determined, she is stronger than anyone I have ever seen! The only reason she let Daddy carry her in the picture below is because she had already gone as far as she could on her own up the long trail. The entire weekend she had people watching and smiling at her while she struggled up the paths. One guy said "Why don't you tell Daddy to pick you up!", I simply said, "She is determined, she wants to do it by herself."
Adah, I wish I had your strength!
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