An update on Liam

Okay, so what is going on with Liam you ask. Many of you so thoughtfully ask how Liam is doing to which we usually reply "he is doing great". We know that you wonder, in a caring way, about his physical progress as much as his emotional well being. The answers are not simple and we aren't sure that we have all of them at this point but it seems appropriate to share a little of what we know. A lot of you were able to attend our Red Thread Walk we held last April where we introduced you to the idea of Liam. We shared at that time that we had felt God calling us to adopt a child who had special needs and the Holy Spirit let us know that Liam was to be our son. We traveled to China with the faith that God was at the wheel. As the months have passed and we have come to know this most precious gift, we have learned more of where he struggles. Many of the details are personal and are for Liam to share when and if he ever chooses. What we share is that he has experienced brain trauma that is causing a host of challenges. The two biggest are his walking and talking. The best way to describe it (and the bigger of the 2 problems) is his speech or lack there of. It is referred to as apraxia although it has like 8 different names. What that means is that his brain 100% completely knows what he wants to say but that the messages are not accurately relayed from his brain to his mouth. Trust me in understanding that it is VERY complicated. Interestingly, we had been primarily concerned about his walking but have learned that children with apraxia often are hypotonic (which means low muscle tone primarily of their core) and have poor balance as well as poor fine motor skills-all of which Liam experiences. Liam receives PT/OT/ST all through Meadow's Parkway where he goes 4 days per week. We are also seeking private therapy with God helping by recently opening a door to a therapist in this area that specializes in apraxia. In addition, you can only imagine what goes on within the walls of this house with a doting mama and dada and 3 loving siblings. The prognosis is unclear...only God and time will tell. To help Liam be able to express his thoughts, he has learned some sign language but we are actively learning more. There are also other alternatives we are exploring like using an I-pad as a communicative device. We are thankful for his speech therapist as this is completely out of my domain of physical therapy. The hard part for many to believe is that this little cutie patootie understands everything, and yes, I mean everything, we have to say. How is that for smart?! He has only been hearing English for 10 months and this kid doesn't miss a beat. He is about the happiest child I have ever seen which is only by the grace of God. And just these last few weeks he is letting us know what an amazing sense of humor he has. This kid has had us in stitches countless times. It means so much that you all genuinely love this little boy along with us. We appreciate your prayers and concerns over his well being. And as for us, we amazingly aren't worried about tomorrow. Along with Liam and all his obstacles to overcome, I believe God gave Steve and me an amazing peace. My biggest concern is simply making sure I don't let Liam down by not providing him with every opportunity that could help him along this journey. Don't be fooled by his small stature or physical limitations. This little boy is the best gift we have ever been given!


A few pictures from Liam's first trip to the beach; March 2011