I feel lucky today.

An online friend, whom I have only gotten to meet once in real life, announced yesterday through a post that her daughter was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome. It was on a forum for developmental delays, so it's a pretty normal occurance for someone to post that their child received a diagnosis. But the raw pain in my friend's words was arresting. She talked about getting the call, seeing who it was on the caller ID and not wanting to pick up the phone but forcing herself to anyway. She wrote how the kindly doctor asked her to sit down and then delivered the news she least wanted to hear.

By the time I finished reading her post, I was weeping. Not only because Rett is not a great diagnosis to get, but that because I have seen this child. I know how beautiful she is, how gentle and kind her mother is. My friend has worried aloud for her baby for months but neither she nor anyone else suspected this. She is also pregnant and has worries for her unborn baby as well. It is too much for one family to bear. I want to help, but I can honestly say that I don't really know how. I have offered her a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold, but I may never have any real idea what she is going though.

I feel like I have spent the past year of G's life trying to give whatever is going on with him a name. Calling it benign hypotonia has just not been enough for me. Maybe I need to stop and count both my lucky stars and my blessings. I certainly have enough of both.