A Year Out

I can't believe it has been a year since we found out about the first diagnosis of apraxia of speech for Kamiree.  I decided to read my past blogs from this year and can't help but feel like I am there at that moment still.  Kamiree has made improvements..Praise God for the behavioral ones!  I just received an email from her speech therapist here that said she spoke with the school SLP and she said Kamiree is a whole different girl since the first day.  WOW!!  To hear those words is amazing!

Omaha changed our lives.  I won't ever forget my husband sobbing beside me as we found out our daughter might never be the "normal" girl that all parents want.  She would always struggle with speech and in some cases might never speak.  I won't forget the gloomy skies and rain that plagued Omaha the week we were there.  Our moods going from happy to complete silence and despair as we watched Kamiree on a screen as she hid from the doctors and screamed and punched them.  We had never seen that way and couldn't believe our precious daughter was capable of the behaviors she had.  Finding out most of her screaming was because she didn't comprehend the situation and she was mad because she didn't want to do "hard" things anymore.  Oh the sadness I feel still.  She is still struggling with all those skills that are hard for her and might for the rest of her life.
But, one year out I can say she is improving.  We aren't in this stand still life of her never being able to learn new things and us just watching her crying all the time.  That was our December of 2011, not 2012 :)  My favorite is to hear her laugh now.  For most parents that might be a forgotten sound because they hear it oh so often, but for us we only hear it periodically and it brings such happiness.  She doesn't run away from her speech therapist anymore :)  She doesn't punch her speech therapist anymore!  She says sorry when her speech therapist tells her she isn't working hard that day!  She doesn't run out of her classroom anymore :)  She doesn't punch her classmates anymore!  She caught up on sign language for her age in 12 weeks!  She tries to talk first and if we don't understand she signs!  She doesn't scream when I tell her no bread or pizza dough or anything with gluten :)  She says "make Kamiree sick" and I just nod and she stops!  She smiles :)  She is a fierce fighter when she wants her way!  This is what I'm thankful for the December of 2012.  We have a LONG way to go, but so much has been accomplished in just one year.

Thank you for all the encouragement from friends/family/strangers/ect!  Thank you for loving my daughter when she is so hard to love sometimes.  Thank you for making cookies with her and teaching her new ways to do things.  Forcing her to do things somebody else's way just not hers.  Thank you for the money to put her in specific therapies that will help her.  We could never thank every one enough for everything you have done!  Prayers being the most important!  I can feel it on the days I'm ready to scream....thank you!