When we first got the diagnosis, we didn’t know what this was going to mean for our daughter. Were there going to be good things that come from this? Was she just going to struggle for the rest of her life? These were all questions that ran through our mind.
One of the biggest things that we have seen through this journey is that our daughter has a tremendous amount of determination. Since her diagnosis, we have noticed that every award she has gotten has been for perseverance or determination. This is because she works so hard at everything she does. She can’t give up. She has to keep working and keep working to get things done the right way.
She has learned how to work hard. For our oldest, everything comes easily. He doesn’t have to work hard for anything. When he does, he struggles and wants to give up. She knows that she is going to have to work hard for a lot of things and she can’t give up.
She has learned to be a great listener. She listens to most books she has to read for class and she has to pay attention in order to know what is going on and answer questions. She doesn’t get to go back and reread it if she missed something. She can go back and listen again but she has to LISTEN.
These are just a few of the things we have seen shining through as we have traveled this road so far. We know we will see many more as we continue down it but we know we have to look for them. When you see them, they will shine brighter than the struggles!