Update from Vanderbilt

I had no more than signed off from my last post when the doctor from Vanderbilt called. He apologized for the extreme delay in response, but said he had been particularly troubled as to the findings of Matthew's MRI. He explained a little about the white matter of the brain and said that it began developing at a rapid rate at birth, and continued through out childhood. He noted that the white matter acted as insulation to the nerves and other parts of the brain to keep all parts communicating well. He went and sat down with the radiologist and both agreed that Matthew had the degree of white matter that would be seen in about an 12-18 month old child. He said that both of them felt this was very rare, and that what he would like to do is discuss with the radiologist further to see if it would be worthy to discuss with the radiologist's colleagues because it is so rare. They could not tell us what would have caused this, but he will check to see if there are any other things we could do to get to the bottom of this. He said something he felt that was notable was that Matthew did continue to progress, even though it is at a much slower rate. He at least doesn't seem to regress. He is going to send me a letter as to the findings thus far, and if there are any other bits of info that I have failed to post, I will include them then. Of course now that I'm not on the phone I have questions. Like, how will this effect him in the future? I guess I will wait until I get the report and then I can call back with any questions that remain unanswered. He didn't offer a diagnosis, and I don't really know what to think myself. I mean, if there is a rare brain abnormality, does that mean he doesn't have autism and could be diagnosed with something different due to the abnormality? I guess I will do a little googling to see if anything turns up. Oh well, no matter what, one thing remains the same despite all the diagnoses in the world...I love my little boy, and will continue to help him grow and learn, but most of all will try to provide him as happy a life as any mother would any child. Really when you look at it, I treat him and Jacob the same...I expect the best of their ability from them both. We have bad days, but I know the Lord won't give you more than you can bear. Sometimes though I have to draw strength from my friends and family :) Thanks for remembering us ♥