At 20 weeks pregnant, they noticed ventriculomegaly on the left side of her brain. They assured me that it was mild and there was nothing to be really concerned about. The only thing it did was raise the chances of slight learning disability by a few percents in comparison to a typical child. I was reassured that she would be fine.
She was referred to various doctors as a “precaution” when she was 6 months old, just to make sure that there was nothing else going on. As time passed, she started missing milestones but her primary doctor didn’t seem to be too worried. “All kids develop differently” is what I kept hearing. It wasn’t until after her 1st birthday that it started to become evident that she was farther behind than what I was comfortable with and the doctor’s became concerned as well.
She is now 3 year old and measures below the 1 percentile in height and head circumference but has been able to finally maintain weight after an 18 month struggle. Developmentally, she averages between 6-9 month level.
My daughter is more than just a diagnosis. I refuse to conform and settle myself in them. I will work with every beat of my heart and every breath in my body to give her every chance to be all that she can be. I cannot let the wall of scary diagnoses hold us back. She is progressing every day. She is excelling and she is thriving! Sure, it’s not to be compared to the traditional milestone chart, but moving forward is always better than backwards, so I’ll take it. Life is beautiful regardless of how it’s packaged.
I am stronger and tougher because of her. I have learned so much about medical lingo, processes, but most importantly I’ve learned a lot about life and the things that matters most – the simple things. Giselle makes me brave.
I love her with every fiber of my being, and my mission is to change the world for her; to give her an opportunity to be everything she wants to be and I will either find a way or make one.
She introduced me to a world that I was unaware of – a world full of other tiny little super heroes who are fighting bigger battles than most adults, but they rise up and fight on, along with their families.