Very Good News

Since my last post, it seems that things are really turning around concering Tucker's ABA prospects.

When we are thrown a curveball, we always deal with it; however, it is still hard. So that curveball of not being able to start ABA right on schedule, and the fear of not being able to start at all was tough.  I want to share this story because it is just one example of the many instances like this since Tucker was born.

By Wednesday morning, I was very concerned about the therapy situation. The ABA consultant had advertised via her usual places to find therapists, and no one had responded.  She was surprised by it, and assured me it would be okay; I was not so sure. 

I spoke with my mom on Wednesday morning, and I just felt overwhelmed by the idea of advertising for therapists, interviewing them, hiring them, training them, and then wondering if they would work out. I want results now! Haha, typical Leigh fashion.

She basically told me that I should feel overwhelmed, that anyone would, that no one person could handle everything I had just described to her.  She then said that I was never meant to handle any of this alone, that God was right there waiting for me to hand it over to Him. She asked if I had prayed about this particular problem, the problem of finding therapists. I said "well of course not, it's just finding therapists, why would God care about that?......" then I stopped and realized I was doing what I always do.  Agonizing over a problem, wondering why I couldn't solve it immediately on my own, when really I needed to pray about it. 

No matter how well I advertised, how great of an ad I put out, how much I "talked up" Tucker or how badly we all feel that he needs this therapy, I am not in control of this at all.  I needed to ask for God's guidance; maybe the ABA therapy just wasn't going to work out this summer, maybe it was....but I had to give it up and let it be out of my hands.

Well that was on Wednesday....on Tuesday, I had accompanied by summer students to two seminars about publishing scientific papers.  The content really had nothing to do with my job, but I attended to make sure that my students showed up and paid attention ;)  The speakers were very engaging, and one speaker talked about how social media has changed our lives in so many ways, and she talked about how using that can help scientists communicate to the public and also help them keep up with the latest research.  She showed a timeline of social media, and it was crazy to see how recently facebook, twitter, etc. became widespread and how quickly it has transformed everything we do. She explained how we all trust people in our "social network" and that reading things on facebook means much more to us than reading something in the newspaper because we trust the source.

So on Wednesday, the seminars were over and I was back in my office wondering about ABA therapy amidst my busy day.  I took a moment and really prayed about the situation, asking that God would reveal his will to me....whether that matched up with my will or not. 

A short while later, I decided to post about our search for ABA therapists on facebook.....if social media transformed science, it could help me find a therapist, right?? ;)  I got 4 messages in my inbox within two hours, and by Wednesday evening, I had 6 resume's emailed to me.  And they were good resume's....way better than what I was expecting to apply.  That same day, Amy (the consultant) emailed me a resume' she had received, which looked fantastic, and then another student contacted Amy about wanting to work with a child in the Ascension area.  Amy is going to look through the resume's, get people to come over and meet Tucker, and then get started the week after next (we are going to the beach this week).  So I am just floored by that response.

We have been crazy busy (when are we not??) and so Chris and I have really been slacking on our home ABA with him during the evenings.  Amy came in for two hours Friday afternoon to work with Tucker, and I was pretty scared about what she would find with his behavior.  I was getting my hair and nails done for my best friend's wedding (I got to be the Matron of Honor, how cool is that??!!) so mom and Mrs. Mia had Tucker all day. Mom was there for the ABA therapy, and Amy was super impressed.  We have been counting 10-15 "mands" or requests from him per hour, which is horrible.  Amy counted 92 mands in a 90 minute period, which averages about 60 per hour....the goal is 100 per hour, and we are at the very beginning.  I said "well there is proof that the problem is us!" haha, because he certainly doesn't mand 60 times per hour with us.

So I am very happy about that, and once again, we were shown that ABA is really what he needs to be working on right now; so we feel so blessed that we will be able to make that happen sooner rather than later.

As I mentioned, my best friend Jessica got married Friday. I forgot my camera at work :( So I don't have a single picture. We have known eachother since we were both 1 year old, and we have the cutest picture of us hugging at that age.  (on a side note: Our families are pretty interwoven; her younger brother Michael is 12, and at the reception his friend asked him if he's ready to be an uncle. He said "well I am, I'm Tucker's uncle." His friend looked at him like he was crazy! He explained that we are all like sisters to him, so he is kind of an uncle already.)  Jessica met a great guy a few years ago, and they fell in love and got married last night.  We had a sleepover Thursday night, then hair and nails on Friday, then of course the wedding and reception. It was all beautiful, and seeing Jessica and Mitch become husband and wife was truly a sign to all who know them, that God has great plans for those who follow Him. I could go on and on about them, but I'll spare you all that;)

We leave for the beach this evening, my grandparents and uncle reserved a 3 bedroom condo and the 3 of us are tagging along. Tucker really loves my Uncle John ("Unca Zhon") so I am hoping Tucker does not bother him the whole time! I am also hoping that we spend more time at the beach and/or pool than the hotel, as we got the suitcases out yesterday and Tucker was SO excited to be going to a hotel again......the beach, not so much!  We already bought a few supplies, one of them being a huge box of chips to go with sandwiches for the week. Tucker has been carrying it around like a suitcase, he doesn't want to forget to pack it!  I have told him over and over that he is sharing those chips, because everyone will want some, so we'll see how that goes.

Amidst all of the wedding celebration and good news this week, I read that another family is going through a very difficult time.  After watching their little girl fight corageously for almost 5 years, Eithene's parents have made the very difficult decision to enter Eithene into hospice. I don't know all of the specifics of this, but I have followed her mom's blog for a long time, and she has offered me hope and strength many times.  Eithene has several complex conditions, and her parents have made tough decisions for her all of her life, while continuing to make her life as good and normal as possible while she spent most of it inside the hospital. You can read about her here. Eithene  Please pray for this family as they so lovingly give their little girl a rest from her lifelong battles.