Two Little Words...

can make a huge difference and no difference at all at the same time. Yesterday I took Sabrina to a new Neurologist to get a second opinion. I wasn't happy with what the last neurologist had told us and it has been on my mind for a while. I tried to believe what he said which was that she would just grow out of it and be just fine. Somehow that didn't compute for me and I didn't feel like that was right. So, I finally talked to her doctor and she referred me to Dr. Teodori. She mentioned some of the same words that the previous doctor talked about - ataxia, dysplasia, hypertonia, hypotonia and then said 2 words that stunned me and scared me a little: cerebral palsy. That is her official diagnosis. Before I go any further, let me give some definitions of the previous mentioned words.

Dysplasia (from Greek, roughly: "bad formation") is a term used in pathology to refer to an abnormality in maturation of cells within a tissue.

Ataxia (from Greek α- [used as a negative prefix] + -τάξις [order], meaning "lack of order") is a neurological sign and symptom consisting of gross lack of coordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. The term "dystaxia" is rarely used as a synonym.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive,[1] non-contagious conditions that cause physical disability in human development.
Cerebral refers to the cerebrum, which is the affected area of the brain (although the disorder most likely involves connections between the cortex and other parts of the brain such as the cerebellum), and palsy refers to disorder of movement.

Hypertonia is an upper motor neuron dysfunction marked by an abnormal increase in tightness of muscle tone and a reduced ability of a muscle to stretch (i.e. an increased stiffness).

Hypotonia is a condition of abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle), often involving reduced muscle strength.

It has been a whirlwind since she said those words. But, what keeps coming to my mind is that it changes nothing. She is still the wonderfully bright, strong, beautiful, smart little girl she always has been; yet, it changes so much. She is now in a category and the good thing about that is that hopefully it will be easier to get her all the help she needs (especially PT). She is the sweetest little thing and this will not stop her from doing anything she wants to do in her life and she already has learned how to compensate and do the things she wants. It may never be truly graceful, but that is okay. She continues to bless our lives and the lives of those around her. She is a joy to be around and that will not change. We will see what happens as she grows and develops and we will continue to pray for her to get stronger and learn what she needs to learn to overcome this trial in her life.
I still somewhat mourn for all those things you want for your little girl - dance, gymnastics, etc. but, maybe it will all turn out in the end. I feel so blessed that it is not something more and that once again Heavenly Father has wrapped His arms around me and my family to help us through this trying time.