Breakthrough!

The other morning while Anna was having occupational therapy, I was in the kitchen getting Gabe his breakfast before school and our therapist, Alison, starts calling, "Stef! Come look! Come look!"

I run in and she says, "Anna understands so much! She never ceases to amaze me!" She went on to confirm what I already knew, that Anna does understand simple commands. But, last week, she had never responded quite this when her therapist told her "Put your legs up, Anna" and - UP WENT ANNA'S LEGS! She was able to understand, and then - do the command! It followed with "Ok, put your legs down, Anna" and - DOWN THEY WENT!

It was such exciting news, I felt like I was walking on clouds the rest of the day. Something so simple brought me such joy. While Anna doesn't have the words or the output like "normal," she is so aware and cognitively processing the input so much more than what she is able to show.

I reflected back on the words of Dr. Rett: "They feel all the love given to them. They have a great sensitivity for love. I am sure of this. There are so many mysteries, and one of them is the girls' eyes. I tell all the parents to look at their eyes. Their eyes are talking to them. I am sure the girls understand everything, but they can do nothing with the information."

It is my hope and prayer that Anna will one day be able to do much with the information, and what a beautiful sign that was for me last week - Anna, put your boots on!! We've got a big journey to get traveling on, darlin'.