4 1/2 years ago we found out Donovan had a genetic disorder called Noonan Syndrome. I remember Googling the syndrome and sitting at the computer sobbing. Heart wrenching sobs. Thinking twice about God and wondered why He did this to my son and to me. I had the "woe is me" mentality.
I think I was just really scared of the "what ifs". Scared that I didn't have the mental capacity to handle all that might be thrown our way. God didn't grant me the gift of patience and that scared me the most.
I did a lot of reading up on the disorder and found blogs of other parent's that had children with this disorder just to get an idea about the "day in the life" of a parent dealing with a child with Noonan Syndrome.
I remember searching for as much "help" with developmental expertise as I could get. I was fortunate to have had at my door step a wonderful home special needs development care in the way of Help Me Grow. Donovan and I had the pleasure of meeting two nice ladies at least once a month to help make sure he was meeting his milestone. They not only helped him, but they helped me. They gave me confidence that I could be the mom who could enable her child to overcome any obstacles and be a successful person in life. I remember crying that first day when the coordinator sat at my kitchen table having me fill out paperwork. No parent ever wants to be "that parent" that has a child with special needs. We may not say it out loud but we all say it to ourselves.
We were lucky to find things out early because we were able to be proactive. Donovan met his milestone pretty much on time. He does have a few minor struggles - fine motor skills could be a little better - but in looking at kids his age, they all seem to be at the same place so I rest assured he's fine. Either that or there is a lot of children that need some help! Although proactive and being able to find things out when he was really early, it also had its negative side. The not knowing what to expect. Not knowing what was lurking around the corner. It kept me up at night. I cried in the shower almost ever morning - that way no one knew I was crying.
Spring forward to today …. my little guy is doing fabulously. He loves going to school everyday. His handwriting is getting better everyday, and he's sharp as a tack!
This past Thursday, he went to kindergarten screening at Lake Ridge Academy. They by far do the best screening of any school we've looked at when Donovan's older sister Norah was looking for a school for kindergarten. It was close to 3 hours of screening with 5 or so different stations, and playtime and book reading, etc. He was secretly screened by the school psychologist, kindergarten teachers, first grade teachers, and various other academic personnel. It must have been a lot of fun because the child did not want to leave the school when all was done.
Many of the teachers and staff know Donovan because he and I were fixtures daily in the morning when dropping Norah off at school and in the afternoon when picking her up. Even the President of the School knows him by name and when she saw him on Thursday gave him a wonderful warm greeting! We won't know the results of the screening until the end of February after all the kids have been screened. There are only 32 spots - two classrooms of 16 students each. So our fingers are crossed that he did well. However, we also stressed to the teachers early on that we hold their opinion in high regard. If they don't think he's ready for kindergarten starting the Fall of 2013 - then please let us know and we will hold him back, but if you think he is ready we are on board. The two kindergarten teachers told me late last Spring that they felt he would be ready - so I'm interested in seeing if what they said almost 9 months ago is true. I know I'll have a little boy who will be quite disappointed if he has to wait a year.
As I was talking to my parents about his wonderful experience on Thursdays, tears rolled down my face. I am so proud of my little guy. To think 4 1/2 years ago I was feeling like my child was destined for struggles and here he is months out from kindergarten at a very high achieving academically and socially speaking private college prep school. I never in my wildest dreams would even think we'd be this far.
So for those of you who wonder if God answers prayers. He does! He might take His own sweet time, and He can because He is God you Know!
Thanks God for making my world extra special with Donovan in it! (And it goes without saying Norah too!)
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