On February 13, 2013. I received the news that I was finally leaving Holland and on my way to Italy. The moment I have been waiting for. 3 1/2 plus years in Holland. I find myself on the plane with no luggage and no idea where I'm going to live. I thought I was ready for this move but I was so unprepared. It was all so unexpected. Part of me wanted to stop the plane and go back, because that was my home. The other part wanted the plane to go faster so I can start a new chapter of my life with my family. It's been bittersweet.
That day we went to see Jennifer Morris the clinical psychologist to give us the results of Melanie's evaluation. I walked in thinking she was going to have PDD-NOS/ADHD. Instead we received a ADHD-H diagnosis. There was no longer a PDD. I was excited and confused. I could not believe what I was hearing. It did not make sense. How can a child who had a lot of the signs for Autism no longer have it. How did it disappear. I read of families who loose everything to get their children the services that they need in hopes of one day curing their child of Autism. People have gone to the extreme to change their diet and use alternative medicine. I did none of that. All I did was get my child early intervention. I went full force. I never changed her diet or spent thousands on DAN doctors. So why us, I don't know. What I do know is that I believed that one day GOD was going to cure my child and if not fully cure her then he would make it to where no one knew that she had it. I also had friends, family and complete strangers pray for us. Thank you GOD for this miracle. When I got to the car I started to cry. I could not believe what we had just been told. Adam was not sure why I was crying. All I kept saying to myself was. It paid off. All the hard work, the driving across town, driving to therapies, therapies at home, all the sacrifices we made. We did it!!! Then it hit me. What now, where do we go from here. Where do we begin. Will my child still get the services she needs. I don't want her to fall through the cracks. I was so overwhelmed. Breathe I said, breathe.
Melanie still has some obstacles to overcome. We know have ADHD-H. I'm not too familiar with what it is, what causes it and how to treat it. But being the person that I am. I will research everything so I can once again help my child. I don't know if we will win this battle but I will try. I'm having a hard time finding support groups and organizations but with time I will find something that works for us.
This news has been bittersweet for me. I still have questions and I'm not sure I will find the answers. I will try to call J. Morris to see if she can clarify some things. I haven't told any of my Autism friends. I don't know how they will react. Part of me thinks there was a mistake in the dx and I'm sure my friends will think the same. I guess I'm scared of what they will say and i don't want them to feel as if they failed their children. I'm also scared that what if it was a mistake, what if she misdiagnosed my child. I've been told to enjoy this victory because finally all the hard work and sacrifices have paid off. But it's hard to do.
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