For just a moment...for just a breath.....the sadness was there.
Even the most basic question had to be answered “NO":
(When your child is held in a sitting position, does she ever try to reach for something with her hands?)
The more “advanced"questions:
(Does your child consider what friends want to do when planning activities with friends?)
She is so very far "behind" in all categories.
Physical
Adaptive
Social-Emotional
Cognitive
Communication
It's true.
It's obvious.
It cannot be denied.
But then....she makes eye contact with me.
She holds her head up independently.....with only support partway up her torso.
She listens closely when her brother who is on vacation calls and asks to talk to his “Boo".
She absolutely ROCKS her new glasses!
Victoria has had so many challenges.
The first eight years of her life were a struggle just to survive another day.
She had no life in her body..but more disturbing...she had no life in her eyes.
Since we have adopted her she has had a variety of health issues.
(We still have no definitive answers …particularly to the source of the last infection that kept her in the hospital for six days.)
The difference?….She has been loved through each and every challenge.
She has had family with her every moment.
So, though she is still off the charts on the DP-3, the progress she has made is astounding.
I do know with utmost certainty that a Developmental Profile test
will not ever come close to accurately assessing how hard this girl works for every gain that she makes, nor will it ever take into account the things she has experienced those things that would make you and I curl up and die.
She is a fighter.
She is an overcomer.
And her journey has just begun.
