Perhaps a bit of bad news?

Cale has been "walking" for almost two months now. I am putting the word walking in quotation marks because he only uses this form of transportation during situations he is comfortable in. He walks around our house pretty well but even then sometimes chooses to "knee-walk". I would say he uses walking as his main form of getting around 50% of the time. This in and of itself is to be celebrated and praised from the depths of the earth to the highest of heavens considering doctors were not even able to tell us with certainty that he would be able to walk. Walkers, crutches, and wheelchairs were always on the forefront of our minds. Never once did we allow ourselves to expect the best, because time and time again, Alex and I were always left discouraged, disappointed, and sulking in a dream that, yet again, had been lost.

Today, during one of Cale's regular speech therapy sessions, I finally asked his therapist a question I had been withholding for over a year. I asked if she thought and could predict, based on the high number of kids she has treated , if she thought Cale would ever be able to talk. She lowered her head, sighed, and looked straight into my eyes and told me she wasn't sure. She had treated kids, like Cale, that ended up being verbal and also treated kids that never learned to talk. My dream of hearing Cale SAY "I love you, Mom!" was instantly crushed. Cale being able to communicate with his friends was all of a sudden a far distant hope. A mother never, ever, in a million years wants to hear that her son will never be able to express his dreams, his wants, and his desires. How frustrating to him that must be. I should have never asked and just believed that God is capable of ALL things and even triumphs the most knowledgeable and credible doctors.

One thing, though, that is always constant and present in Cale's life, is that he is smart, determined, and one that fights against all odds put against him. No one ever thought he would be able to walk independently, and look at him now. For now, no one thinks he will ever be able to talk, but I choose to put my hope in God and believe that with Him, all things are possible.