Diagnosis... and relief.

When I got up the next morning, I decided to go ahead and try to get Jesse an appointment with another doctor before I headed home to Ringgold. There weren’t very many developmental psychologists in the area, so the pickings were going to be slim. I wanted to go with a medical doctor, but most of the psychiatrists in the area either didn’t see children or required a referral or had a waiting list a mile long. I finally was able to get an appointment with a counselor in Ringgold for the next week. She said they could do some testing to help determine what was going on with Jesse. I had, truthfully, been considering counseling for the boys anyway. Ken’s illness had been so hard on them both. I figured maybe they would be more willing to talk about it to someone other than me and Ken.

In a final desperate move, I called TEAM Evaluation Center in Chattanooga just to find out how long their waiting list was. The lady I spoke with said, “We just had a cancellation. Can you bring him Tuesday?” I was convinced that my ears must be playing a trick on my brain. “Which Tuesday?” I asked. “This coming Tuesday”, she said. Sigh... Isn’t that just like God? You struggle and struggle with a thing and when you FINALLY give up and turn it over to Him, He smiles and pats you on your stubborn little head. “YES!” I said, “We will definitely be there this coming Tuesday!” I shouted, “Hallelujah” and “Praise God” a few hundred times and hurried home to tell Ken.

The next week Jesse started his appointments with the counselor and at TEAM Evaluation. I poured out my soul at both places and was very clear with them that we were trying to determine which of the two diagnoses was appropriate. Over the course of the next two weeks, he had appointments every day at one place or the other. When all of the testing was finally said and done, everyone who had seen Jesse OVERWHELMINGLY confirmed the Asperger’s Syndrome diagnosis and ABSOLUTELY dismissed the Bipolar Disorder diagnosis. (Thanks, again, God.) The moral of this story is that, as a parent, you know your child BEST. If someone tries to give you a diagnosis you don’t agree with, GET A SECOND OPINION!!!

Ken and I were so relieved. We had our medical diagnosis of AS, so Catoosa County would have to offer special education services to Jesse. He was finally going to get the help (and hopefully, the understanding) he had been needing ALL ALONG. In the following months, even up until he died, Ken thanked me several times for not just going along with that first doctor and for making sure that Jesse was diagnosed correctly and treated appropriately. Interestingly enough, while I was taking Jesse to TEAM Evaluation, I met several parents who had taken their children to that same doctor. I learned that his nickname was “medicine man” and that BPD and Abilify were pretty much his standard diagnosis and treatment with any kid that walked in the door. You see, if he puts a kid on Abilify, that kid would have to be followed closely by a doctor. More office visits, more money. It was that simple.

So, to any parents who might be reading this, God gives us instincts for a reason. Trust God and trust your instincts!