In the Land of Referrals

So basically, the title says it all. We are currently waiting on 3 referrals: an ENT, an orthopedic specialist, and a psychiatrist. The first that we will get is the one for a clinical evaluation by Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. We are scheduled for this one next Thursday, March 29^th at 1:00 p.m. This evaluation will last approximately 4 hours. Yeah, that should be a blast, and at the end of it we get an official diagnosis. The thing that stinks about this kind of diagnosis is that it’s really based on our interview and her behavior in the eye of the beholder during a one slot observation day. You know after writing this, I’m going to email and ask for another time slot, possibly the morning.  Maybe we will even get a doctor that looks older than me! We would love your prayers as next Thursday approaches and if the date changes I will let you know that, too. I do want to say this. Whatever her diagnosis is now does not have to be permanent. We don’t believe it will be. Our God is bigger than any opinion by doctors, bigger than x-rays and lab results and He lives to work in us and through us and our circumstances.

It is a toss-up on which doctor comes next, the ENT or the orthopedic specialist. Poor Bay has ear infections if she gets any cold or virus. Her speech therapist wants her hearing checked, too. The ENT will be able to check all of that for us. The orthopedic specialist is on the list because when we had her foot checked, the podiatrist told us he thinks it’s her hip/femur. Ugh. Poor kid. She will probably see half the doctors in middle Tennessee before the summer! I must say, it could be so much worse. I will be happy for just my routine visits after all of these specialists.

Oh, and next month we meet again with her regular doctor where she gets another round of labs drawn. We had labs done this week to test her food sensitivities. We were hoping to draw enough for the other labs but she hadn’t had enough to drink for 8 vials. Imagine that. She’s 2.  The good news is that at least we can talk about her food sensitivities at her next visit, as food plays a major role in the whole autism thing. Especially for the gut-brain kids like Baylor. Healing her gut is so important to healing her mind. It is so amazing how God created us. I just wish it wouldn’t malfunction! Then again, I guess if things didn’t go wrong we wouldn’t get to see how He walks us through it, blesses us for it and shows us Who He Is while it is going on and when it is all said and done.

On a personal progress note, we are not making too much progress with words, but Baylor is understanding SO MUCH MORE. We are so thrilled watching her problem solve, follow directions from her teachers (and some for us) and make better eye contact in general.  She especially enjoys doing things we tell her not to do. I tell her to sit down on the table (I know, shame on me) and she starts to but then stands back up and smiles and laughs when I continue to tell her to sit down. The same goes for just about anything she is not supposed to be doing. Drawing on the walls when Ainsley leaves a marker on her table, chewing Ainsley’s picture cards and showing me what is in her mouth while laughing, etc. Once I tell her not to do something once, if she goes back to the same spot later, she does it again and waits for me to react. I must say, I kind of love her naughtiness. That means she gets it! Baylor is such a little fireball and we love it. She is on week 6 of Methyl-B-12 and we’ve really been seeing this progress in the last couple of weeks. So excited!!!!

Please keep praying. We love your support, your comments, prayers and getting to see you! Thank you for blessing us. I will update again soon!