Leaving a Legacy

As I look back over my life, two people that have made an impact on my life are my gram and pap. Not only did they give me my mom....but their resilience through lifes tough waters completely amazes me! How could they ever know that their legacy would make a big impact on my future?

The untimely passing of their daughter Stacey Lou, a young teenage mom with a lot of promise. Through the sadness, they still managed to raise her son, Derek. Derek's father bolted shorty after Stacey's death. Derek was born with some complications. He was developmentaly behind and through out his childhood my grandparents fought to get him the help that he needed. This was during the time that society's idea of autism was "Rainman". Derek final diagnosis was "mental". I can tell you that Derek is NOT mental in any way, shape, or form!! MENTAL is not someone who at a very young age..knew the words and artist of almost any country song. MENTAL is not someone that is very organized and knows where everything is. MENTAL is not someone that can show love and hurt at the funeral of his "neice" Shana's funeral. When I picture mental I picture something so much different then Derek!! Every sign about Derek points to Autism. I can remember the difficulty he had with Math problems, etc. He had a low lack of concentration. He would not and still does not eat a lot of meat. I would imagine it has something to do with the texture. He would only wear certain types of clothing and would pull his socks up to his knees and drive my grandma nuts!!! Like Caleb, Derek was fascinated with push his toy cars. He has difficulty in certain social situations and can get frustrated at change.

How could they know that all the injustices that they received (the delays in a diagnosis..the school system that felt Derek was well off where he was, the challanges of medicine changes,etc)..was not done in vain?

My grandparents journey has imprinted the future for Caleb. Through all of this we are that much further along with our journey. They say the reason we should learn about History is because it can determine the future. You can look back and see the things that worked or maybe didn't and learn from those experiences. we will take those experiences and use them to help Caleb.

Please keep your prayers on Caleb....they are being heard. In the past few weeks, we have seem dramatic improvement in his speech and language. He is trying to tell us things more and his tantrums are very mild. Lately, he has been very loving. He LOVES to give hugs and kisses!!! I can see the joy radiating from him!!!

The end of this month is our trip to Virginia with Caleb. We are so excited about going to the Baltimore Aquarium the day before our visit to Dr. Megson. We have hope that Dr. Megson will help us get on a path for Caleb that will help him. We are still waiting to hear on the Fragile X test as well as the determination of whether the genetic defect is maternal or paternal. I expect to be receiving a call about that within the next week.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.