Things are Looking Up

Sometimes my every day life overwhelms me and I have to admit that I've been in a bit of a funk lately. It's quite the feeling of responsibility to develop another person's brain – and I think that can be said for any and all parents. But, when your child has a hurt brain, there is an even greater feeling of responsibility, stress, and anxiety over your child's development. We feel like our child's future outcome lies in our hands. I truly feel that what we do now will determine – to a certain extent - what Elijah's future will look like. With that thought, I am at times completely overwhelmed with this responsibility. Sure, there are things in which we have no control, but I never want to look back and wish that we had done more for Elijah. I'm thankful for God because I know that it's ultimately He who will heal our son. Even if I forget from time to time, having that realization eases my stress. It's nice to know it's not all on our shoulders and that we can look up to God for help, for comfort, for healing.

I have been feeling lately that things are looking up – in many ways. Elijah seems to be making progress and I find it so exciting. One thing he is doing more often is looking up when he's walking. I see him noticing the vast world above him more now than ever before. It's pretty cool to see him walking in our backyard, looking up at the trees. His vision seems to continue to improve, which brings more improvements in other areas. Last night, Andy started to walk upstairs to change out of his work clothes. Elijah, without missing a beat, started to crawl up the stairs right after his dad. Yes, Elijah has climbed the stairs before, but never the entire flight and never without prompting. It was amazing to see him do it and we're so proud.

What about the shaking and the waving? He has repeated both things! This past weekend at church, Elijah waved to people with some prompting (i.e. we move his arm first and then he continues to do it). And on Mother's Day, he waved goodbye to his grandpa and grandma, without any help from us. So exciting! Yesterday morning at breakfast, I was trying to feed Elijah, but all he wanted was his rice milk. I asked him if he wanted to eat and he started to fuss and then shook his head for no. I'm so thrilled that he is doing these things on a consistent basis. I can only believe that they will continue to happen more often and will lead to more communication.

See? Things are looking up – in more ways than one.

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