Seeing Things From a Different Perspecitve

I am a little unnerved about something today. I have a choice to either let it eat away at me that people who should care about my child, don't or I can choose to focus on those who do. Guess what I am choosing to do?

Good thing I went to church this morning. During worship one of the songs had these words: Nothing compares to the riches of Your love. Your love is enough. Amen to that.

Instead of  posting a rant,  I am going to tell you about those that God has brought into our lives and what a difference they make.

First of all Princess has three amazing therapists. The one at school is there for her every day. They talk about things that bother her and how to be a better friend. This therapist, Miss A., also has group sessions with my daughter and her classmates. Additionally the school district pays for a therapist from an outside agency to come every other week to meet with Princess to help her build her friendship skills even more. He also meets with my husband and I twice a month as we learn how to parent this child. Since he sees Princess at school, he is a great liaison between school and home. Finally there is our beloved personal therapist. I cannot say enough about this wonderful lady who helped steer us in the right direction from the very beginning almost 4 years ago. One thing that is so good is that she does play therapy with Princess to draw things out of her. She tells Princess the things that she needs to hear but that she might not like to hear. There have been a few times where I thought for sure that Princess was going to say that she didn’t want to go back to see Miss R. after a particularly rough session. Princess understands that Miss R. cares about her so she always wants to go back to see her the following week.

Princess has two doctors who are amazing as well. Dr. R. has been her pediatrician since she was just a few days old. Before Princess had any dx at all. I was struggling with feeling like a loser mom, this doctor took me aside and told me "You are doing a great job!" I didn't even tell her that I was struggling but she could tell. When our therapist told us that we needed to get the dx of ADHD from our child's doctor, Dr. R. signed paperwork stating such. This little piece of paper was all that we needed to get Princess the 504 that she needed so that the school would stop suspending her. (That 504 is now an IEP which is better but is a story for another day.) The other doctor whose feet I would like to kiss is her pdoc. This woman has worked so hard to get my child stable. She tried many medications but it never felt like Princess was a guinnea pig because my husband and I were part of the decision making process. This doctor also kept us well informed. She is usually available via phone or email. That has been a lifesaver in our moments of crisis. Additionally she was the one who asked us to consider Amantadine, what we now refer to as the wonder drug. She is one of those individuals who never stops learning. She went to a conference where she learned about this new to us drug. Then she presented the idea of trying it to us. I am grateful that she is a lifelong learner.

The school that Princess goes to has been a godsend as well. The structure that they provide for Princess is fabulous. We can tell that the staff- van drivers, PE teacher, classroom teachers, aides etc.- really cares about my child and the other children who attend their school.

Our church gets how difficult it can be to be a part of a worshipping community when you have a child with a disability. They are supportive in ways that go beyond my comprehension.

Then there are our friends. They love on my daughter like nobody's business. They ask me how she is doing, how they can pray and basically love on us. It is reassuring to know that my best friend's daughter is also my child's BFF. This child is truly a gift from God. She knows how to love and support my child even on days when it is hard. My BFF reassured me recently by telling me that she wasn't going anywhere. They are in it for the long haul. I only have a few friends who I can count on but God brought the right ones to me.

Today is a day that I can choose to be negative or I can choose the positive. I choose to reflect on those whom God has brought into our lives rather than those who choose not to be supportive.