The Physical

Last year we touched upon the subject gently - April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month. This year I want to share a little more with you on how it affects you personally. You have allowed me the honor of getting to know more sides of you this year and understand how many factors of you are affected by abuse and neglect. It is no secret that you have had a rough past. When I first brought you home I had this idea that I would not share with others that you were adopted. That when you were old enough it would be your choice to share the information or not but otherwise it did not define who you are or who we were as a family. I quickly discovered that unfortunately, it did define some of your actions and was imperative information for those around us to know to better understand who you are and where you were coming from.

I wanted to start with the physical because this is the most obvious. This is what continues to change on a daily basis but stands out so much to those who only see you on occasion. Abuse and neglect caused you to be very malnurished when you arrived home. At the age of 5.5 years you were wearing a size 3T clothes and 11 shoe. I believe you weighed about 30 pounds, maybe a little more. Your teeth were about half the size they should be due to chewing furniture and also neglect. From head banging you had two horns atop your head. I look back at pictures from April of 2010 when I first met you and I notice how skinny your arms were, how your clothes hung off you, and your head was not porportional to the rest of you. Your face was scraped up because due to drug exposure you did not have the reflexes needed to break your falls.





It took awhile to get you to eat a variety of foods and start putting on weight. You were so used to only eating crunchy food that you stole off counter tops or things from baggies that it was different for you to sit at a table and eat a full meal. I mean you were the child who used to drink his water from the fish tank! We had endless battles over this. We had to limit snacks and what you ate due to trying to get you to a better balanced meal. It quickly became obvious though that it was all paying off and your physical features started to change. You started growing taller and you seemed more coordinated. Your facial features even filled out a little.





Today, almost two years later, you are still small for your age but it is not nearly as obvious. Once we discovered your gluten allergy (celiac) and removed it from your diet you started to put on more weight, shot up in height, and your hair turned curly! Yes, you are truly my little hot mess and some days look as if you stuck your finger in an electrical outlet. Your head fits your body, you are lean and a lot of muscle, but most importantly you are healthy.





Today you are about 50 pounds and have grown more inches then I can count. Every time I think we made it through a growth spurt and I buy you new clothes you have another one. Your coordination is no longer affected by lack of exposure but instead by your growth. You tend to fall not because you can't run, but because your body has not yet kept up with all of your growth.

Child abuse caused your growth to be severely delayed. Abuse and neglect have directly influenced the way your body has developed. With all this though you are a beautiful child who is the light of my life. You light up a room with your smile, you attract others with your eyes, and you draw a crowd with your giggle.

Keep on Truckin Baby
Love
Mom