Leg braces and breakthroughs

I'm sorry I've taken so long to update everyone on Sadie, your pestering emails just show how much we are loved (..heather). So much is going on but let me start with, Sadie is doing great and making tremendous progress. In this last week we've been down to San Diego Children's hospital twice. We finally got her leg braces. Sadie walks on her tippy toes. Most Autistic children will walk on their tip toes for sensory reasons. Sadie however cannot physically get her feet flat without major effort. Her muscles are way to tight (and for some reason there isn't a doctor in the world who can tell me why). These braces will help stretch her foot and aid her in walking which is getting better in better each day!
Next we had another MRI but this time of her spine to make sure all the nerves were working. We haven't gotten the results yet for that. This time she was given anesthesia with the mask and let just say that I was NOT prepared for that! I feel like it will just be another thing to rule out but this is what we need to do to solve the puzzle.

I FOUND A NEW DOCTOR!!! I found a doctor at Loma Linda Children's who specializes in more holistic approaches. When I told the appointment desk what happened to me with our last ped. she immediately recommended Dr. Katerie. I went in and he spent over an HOUR with me just talking about Sadie. Hello! I gave him her very thick pile of medical records and put a big picture of her on top of them so that when he pulls out her file he will remember my daughter or at least that she has a crazy mom. He asked me what I was willing to try to help my daughter overcome autism and of course I said "Everything!" So we discussed some biomedical treatments that he recommended and I had already researched. We also discussed vaccines. and although he is an advocate for the alternate schedule he wanted me to be educated on why I wasn't going to give Little Micah the shots. So he recommended a book (The Vaccine Book by Robert Sears) and wanted me to read it and when I came in again for Micah's appointment we would discuss my reasons. It was such a great experience I wanted to dance and twirl out of the office but I had sling full of baby and a sleepy toddler in the stroller so I refrained.

Last but not least I am Ni Ni. She finally has a name for me, calls for me, looks for me, I am crying just typing this right now. She lunges away from dad calling "Ni Ni" to get into my arms. I just can't get enough of her long past due separation anxiety. She actually gets sad when I leave and is excited to see me when I come back. She sits in my lap and looks into my eyes while she plays with my hair and babbles. These major break through s in the last month and a half have left my heart soaring. Micah and I are thrilled to pieces over very little thing our Sadie overcomes. We know the road will be long but things like this make it worth while.