Happy Thanksgiving and God bless Mom!

I was just getting ready for bed because I have to go to work very early in the morning. Before I can go to sleep, I have to give a special shout out to my mom. I am very very grateful to have her in my life. She has been by my side since I first found out I was pregnant with Javy. She stayed by my side when they admitted me into the hospital two weeks before Javy was born and slept in that little chair, beside my bed. She held my hand when I was contracting and my heart rate kept going down. She watched Javy's introduction to the world. She been with me at all the doctor's appointments. Slept by his bed every time he was admitted to the hospital and when he had his surgery last year at Shriner's Hospital. It is so awesome to have this kind of support in my life and I am truly grateful.

KORE

By the way, Javy went surfing for the first time in October. It was one of the most awesome and amazing experiences. A group of saints known as Kauai Ocean Recreation Experience (KORE) meet every four to six weeks and help people who otherwise couldn't experience the ocean in an awe inspiring way. Check out their website at http://korekauai.com/, Javy made the front page. All of the volunteers create this wonderful environment where you don't have to worry about anything. They do anything to get everyone into the water and there's no worries. Thank you, KORE!

Denial

So on Monday, I took Javy to the Department of Health, Developmental Disabilities Division for an intake interview. I happened to find out that the State of Hawaii has a Developmental Disabilities Division when I was googling anything I could think of to help me diagnose Javy (That's what having a child with an undiagnosed disorder comes down to sometimes, googling.) And Google is so smart nowadays that it knows that I live in Hawaii. Basically, their services provide home and community based services, including hiring someone to come into your home and do chores for Javy. For more information check out their website http://hawaii.gov/health/disability-services/developmental/index.html.

Anytime we meet someone new like this and we have to rehash the past and it dredges up all those old memories. For the interview, I brought all of Javy's medical records, schools records, and anything else I thought would help prove that we needed their services. I even found the original paperwork from Javy's first evaluation after his nine month check-up when the doctor first told me that Javy had developmental delays. Thank God, I can finally read those words without breaking down and crying.

For Javy's nine month check-up, I took him to his pediatrician, Dr. Battles at the UAB Clinic in Huntsville. I remember sitting in that tiny little white room with Javy sitting on my lap and mom sitting on the other side of the bed. An intern came in and asked us a bunch of questions and then she started to play with Javy. She put a pen in front of him and he didn't try to grab it or follow it with his eyes. He never looked to see what the noise was when she rang a bell. Nor did he follow the pen when she dropped it. Still clueless, I was getting very annoyed because she was making such a big deal about it. I thought, all babies are different and develop on their own good time. Then the doctor comes in, she plays with Javy, too. Follow the pen, Javy. I start to make excuses for him. He just doesn't want the pen. He grabbed my pen, yesterday. Ms. Williams, Javy appears to have some developmental delays. I'm recommending him for further evaluation so he can receive early intervention services. What does that mean?

The doctor says in a very technical way, Javy did not meet the standards of a typical 9 month old. Why is he not developing normally? Will he ever walk? Is he going to be alright? Javy will have to have more tests to figure that out. Here, (hands me an appointment card) take Javy to his evaluation and he can get therapy. I left that doctor's office so pissed off and very confused. But being the perpetual optimist that I am, I just decided that she was wrong. Javy would catch up and being playing soccer with all the other preschoolers.