The Unknown

When Matthew was first diagnosed when he was weeks old, I think the unknown is what I feared the most.  Would he smile? Would he sit by himself?  Would he walk?  Would he talk? Would he be able to feed himself? Would he be able to care for himself?  Would he be able to drive?  Would he be able to hold a job?  Would we be 65 years old with a totally dependent 30 year old?  In the last 3+ years, many of the unknowns have made themselves beautifully known, though some still remain. 

In the last few months, I am less and less fearful of Matthew being a totally dependent adult. 

The day he was released from the hospital in April, Mattie brought me a bag of goldfish to open--meaning:  he knew he was hungry, opened the pantry, decided what he wanted to eat, pulled the goldfish from the shelf, attempted to open himself (as indicated by the teeth marks on the bag), figured out he couldn't, determined that mom would help, found me, and handed me the bag to open.  Sounds simple enough, but it is something I worried Matthew might not be able to do.  I love being proven wrong by Mattie!

The other day I heard water running in the bathroom.  I found Matthew on a stool brushing his teeth-- meaning:  he decided he wanted to brush his teeth, pulled the step stool into the bathroom, got his toothbrush from his drawer, and turned on the water.  Again, sounds simple, but I love watching him be so self sufficient!

There will no doubt be many challenges for our sweet Matthew in the future, but I am so very thankful for the beautiful resolutions to the unknowns to this point.