Deaf-Blind

William is doing really well with his Loftstrand crutches. He has the strength and ability to use them, it's just building up the confidence and endurance. He'll get there...

On a different note, I was telling a friend that it's been hard to post lately. I've been thinking of the old "Thumper" saying, "If you can't say somethin' nice, then don't say nothin' at all." Honestly, it's been kind of hard to see the positives and I have been struggling. It seems like one thing has just piled on top of another between orthotics issues, dealing with insurance on the Vest and now therapies being maxed out, compression suit trouble, coming to grips with the term "blind," and remodeling. Whew! William finally got his evaluation at the School for the Blind...the one we've waited for since March. Quite frankly, it was depressing. I may give more details on it when I'm in a better state of mind, but the long and the short of it is this: William is a blind child. He will lose his eyesight completely and even with what residual eyesight he has now, it is not functional for the purposes of reading. He will never read print, but will go straight to Braille. I can't explain why this is so difficult for me to swallow. Finding out about his deafness was not difficult. It was just something we took in stride. To be hit with both is somewhat more difficult. I know God is in control and everything will be fine...God will turn my sorrow to joy. At the same time that I am grieving the things he will miss out on, I am so thankful that he is here with me. I realize things could be much worse. It is just hard to know he will always have to struggle for everything, that things will always be harder for him. But the truth of the matter is: hearing, sight, even our very breath are all gifts from the Lord that none of us are guaranteed, promised, or even entitled to. Praise the Lord for the 10 precious blessings He has given me and gives me life to enjoy them!

In searching, I found this verse quite interesting:

"Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better." Ecclesiastes 7:3