In March of 2005, we brought home our 22-month old son Brody who had known Autism for the first time. He weighed 20 pounds and wore 6-month old clothing. He couldn't hold his head up and had never been fed any solid food. His hair just about all fell out and he started his life in America with Pediasure. After three months, he learned to walk with Striderite shoes. Brody had acid burns on his back from urine and scars on his rectum from insufficient diaper changes. Knowing he had autism, we immediately sought help with Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, TN. He was diagnosed with Fragile X, Autism, ADHD, SPD, hearing loss and vision loss. Bubba and I started the Fragile X Association of Tennessee and there began out journey of advocating for Brody Cesar Griffin. We have had so many opportunities to make a difference and we have tried them all. By far the best has been love. All the therapies in the world can't make up for love and family and friends. We have long wanted Brody to be anything but invisible but for the last 10 months, we have all been broken and invisible. As Brody is transcending into puberty, our journey has been very difficult. We had to take a seat out of the car so he couldn't grab us while driving if we had stopped the car or had gone a different direction. We have bungy corded the refrigerator because of his desire to over eat. We have replaced at least 50 pair of headphones and 8 iPads. We have gone through three loads of his laundry a day. I have been pulled out of bed by my hair. Bubba's glasses have been broken too many times to mention. We have been isolated to our house and from our friends. We love Brody with all our hearts. Even though it is challenging, it is all worth it. A beautiful life he is giving us full of compassion, grace and patience. Our journey continues........
No comments:
Post a Comment