The Appointment

I woke up this morning wishing I had slept more. It seems Jillian is liking to wake up for a bottle in the middle of the night or like last night 2 bottles. Luckily, Gage slept great. He also woke up fairly easily (usually he is a grump if I have to wake him up). So I got everything together for the appointment. I got Gage up first and made sure he ate breakfast. I wanted no issues.

We left right on time and made our way down to the Dan Marino Center. We got there early because I'm afraid of being late. I had packed everything I could think of to entertain Gage. It seemed I didn't need any of it at first as there was a train on the wall and he played with that for awhile. We were finally called back and met with the neurologist, Dr. Carlos Gadia. He immediately started to try to interact with Gage. He was even on the floor with him! I was very impressed.

After observing and interacting with him for a bit, it was time to talk. Gage was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The doctor said he is high functioning as he is very intelligent. He pointed out the decreased eye contact and him wanting to really play on his own. These are all things I see. He did order an MRI, EEG, and some blood work to rule out anything medical. We will see him again in January after he starts school.

I haven't really had time to process it all. It's overwhelming. I realized today that this isn't about me. This is about making Gage's journey through this life his! His path is just going to be different. I know that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. He also has plans for each of us. I may not understand now, but I trust Him. I just ask for strength on this journey. "Sometimes what we can't change ends up changing us."

Gage will always be my perfect little boy. I wouldn't change him for anything in the world. I love seeing the world through his eyes because it's different than my view and I learn new things. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me today. The support really helped.

Until next time...