Raeanne was born on June 4,2013 very happy and healthy!!! Such a sweet little snuggle bug! At around 3 months old we noticed she wasn't reaching certain milestones, very concerned we discussed it with her pediatrician. Her doctor suggested we try Help Me Grow therapy that will come out to our house and about 5 months old we were able to start!! While in therapy we noticed that her eyes would constantly cross and we found out later that the muscles being her eyes never strengthened, so she has surgery a day before her first birthday to correct her eye muscles and make her eyes straight. With therapy and fixing her eyes she started reaching gross motor milestones such as sitting up, crawling (which turned into hitching very quickly), standing up while holding onto furniture. It seemed she was progressing fast. But then she hit a standstill. She couldn't walk, her fine motor was so far behind, she couldn't talk and at a year old she couldn't eat anything but baby food. We had an MRI done on her head, an ultrasound on her head, DNA bloodwork and even throat scopes and everything coming back normal. Which was all bittersweet because we were thankful she was coming back healthy but still so many unanswered questions to why she was still so far behind. Her ENT noticed that she consistently had fluid in her ears which could delay development. So we right away decided to go ahead with ear tubes. She started to be more vocal, making sounds but still not talking and at 2 years old she started walking!!! we were so excited!!!! As time went on we still noticed her fine motor was still so far behind. She could wave, blow kisses, point or really anything. She still wasn't talking except for an occasional MaMa or BaBa. And sadly she still couldn't eat regular food yet. As she was getting older i started noticing stage behavior. Repetitive play, needing to eat out of the same bowl for every meal, sleeping in her crib ONLY with peppa cartoons playing, not being able to go into public places, not cuddly anymore even getting a hug was hard, just so many things that were red flags for me. All of her therapists said they didn't believe she was Autistic because from other kids they work with she just didn't meet the criteria. But I knew in my heart they were wrong so i pushed and pushed. Finally in June 2016 she was evaluated and diagnosed with Autism. Even though I felt relief because now everything that has been going on her entire life finally made sense but then at the same time my mom mind went to the future and i immediately started to worry about her future. We're a family of 6. Raeanne has 2 older sisters (Lantica and Gracelynn) who are so patient with her. They realize Rae is different and they want to protect and teach her. She has a little brother (Evan) who is her partner in crime!! He's a year old but even with being so young you can tell he understands Rae and loves her the way she is and he loves showing her new things. We're learning as a family. We're growing as a family. Together we are finding ways to make life easier and more comfortable for Rae. To help make her safe and to find the routine that works best. There is super hard days but that one day where she reaches a new milestone and shows complete happiness takes all the hard days away. We love Rae just the way she is and couldn't imagine her any other way. She is one of the happiest girls I've ever met. She's never been able to say "mommy i love you" but when she runs over and touches me with her forehead that's her way of saying it. she's made me laugh harder, love stronger and dream bigger than I ever thought I could! She will always be our Rae Rae and we will always do what we can to continue to make her life happy and healthy, living everyday to the fullest and never taking a second of it for granted!!
You can also mail a check or money order to:
W.A.G.S. 4 Kids
112 East Center Street
Berea, OH 44017
Please make a memo that your donation is for Raeanne.