Kate Update

First of all, we want to say thank you for all of the prayers, encouraging emails, comments, and texts we’ve received over the past few days.  You all are amazing!

So the evaluation went fine.  Just as I knew in my heart it would.  It turns out that it wasn't even a speech evaluation to start - just an overall developmental eval - and then if there is 25% gap or more in one or more areas of development, then they refer you to the specialist.  The nurse who came to our house was GREAT – she was so easy-going and made us all feel relaxed immediately.  She had various toys and books that she had Kate use to demonstrate certain skills, but mostly just asked us questions about what Kate is/isn’t doing.  And Kate passed all areas with flying colors.  Yeah, her speech "articulation" isn't totally great, but the nurse said that she wasn't concerned at all and that we shouldn't be either.

Phew.

To be honest, I had been annoyed at the doctor for even bringing this issue up because I was just never that concerned with Kate’s speech.  I was a little concerned a few months ago, but then by 23 months she really started having a word explosion, and even though the words weren’t pronounced correctly, there aren’t a lot of two-year olds who have perfect articulation anyway.  So when the doctor suggested we have her evaluated for possible “speech delay” and threw out other scary terms like, “early intervention”, it just really took us by surprise (and admittedly freaked me out).  I didn’t want to be that parent, however, that thinks their kid is totally developing normally and turns a blind eye to a professional’s advice (or is it a deaf ear?).  Anyway, I kept thinking of those kids I’ve taught over the years that I have been genuinely concerned about but whose parents are in complete denial.  And plus, it never hurts to get a test done or a second opinion.  But all along, I kept on feeling resentful towards the doctor because my gut told me Kate was fine, and this just added a lot of extra stress, and one more variable to the already complicated equation of moving to Costa Rica.

So what can I learn from all this?  A lot, I’m sure.

1)   Trust your gut

2)   You are in control of you (i.e. I chose to stress, and even though I wanted to blame the doctor for causing the stress, she after all was just doing her job.  Don’t shift the blame)

3)   Thank God for Joe, who was relaxed about this issue from the very start.  Thanks Joe for keeping me grounded and reminding me of what is important!

Now we can cross one more variable off our list and we're one step closer to Costa Rica!