Happy Labor Day. Let’s go build a snowman

Labor Day is a day to celebrate the achievements of American workers! Possibly one of the hardest jobs is raising up the next generation - parenting. There is no handbook that can possibly prepare a parent for every scenario of raising a child. When my daughter was injured from an unnecessary tongue tie surgery just before her one year birthday (1st pic before the surgery, 2nd pic after the surgery, 3rd and 4th pics now), this reality of no handbook hit hard. When medical professionals tried to minimize her immediate symptoms after surgery to her Down Syndrome, this reality was almost suffocating. We were told by Denver Children’s that Gracie’s odds of ever talking were “unlikely.” For whatever reason, in spite of the nurse in me knowing all the developmental challenges that came with Down Syndrome without an injury, the stubborn Italian part of me refused to accept this. I studied the pathophysiology of Down Syndrome in depth to learn how to use nutrition to support Gracie. My desire before the injury was to help my daughter reach her God-given potential, which I believed was much more than the picture described to me, and that desire did not die after the injury, even though looking back on pictures of her after the surgery, there is no reason why it shouldn’t have. So many nights I prayed God would heal my daughter so one day she could sing songs of praises. A total God moment, I would stumble across and read a book titled What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child and then enroll in a week long class through the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential just before Gracie’s 2 year birthday. It opened my eyes to the ability of the body to heal itself with the right approaches. It ignited hope in me and confidence to pursue a non traditional path of “medicine” for my daughter; one costly and not paid for by insurance, but with far better results for Gracie than I could have ever imagined! I was told by my Bible study leader to write down your prayers in a journal because God often answers them much later after you’ve already forgotten that prayer. Today was an example of just that! We were getting into our car to go to Lake Elmo when Gracie out of the blue sang, The Itsy Bitsy Spider not once, but twice in a row! This is a girl who for two years after the surgery did not have the strength to put her tongue inside her mouth, who did not start talking until 3years old and who, until very recently could not say more than 4 word sentences intelligibly! The amount of joy in my heart to hear her sing a nursery rhyme song is indescribable and an answer to a prayer spoken many times over the past several years. And the cutest thing when we got to Lake Elmo beach, Gracie says, “mom! Let’s build a snowman!” It made me laugh cause there was no snow! So we built one…a sand snowman! :). Today I ask anyone already following Gracie’s journey to pray for Gracie’s continued recovery and to invite others to follow her journey. God can do amazing things far beyond what our mortal minds can understand! Thank you for your continued support for this cutie!