Autism begins with the letter A but so does the word AWESOME! That is just what our son TJ is AWESOME. Blessings from the Kruckenberg clan! For this week’s blog post I am giving an insight into just how awesome he is. Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are your works.” We truly believe our son is wonderfully made and that God knew just what we needed. Although we face challenges, we praise the Lord for blessing us with our son, who we prayed for. We also believe that through his story God will get the Glory.
Speaking of his story, let me start from the beginning with our birth story. His birth like him was nothing ordinary. Me and my husband had been married a year when we found out we were expecting. We were ecstatic and could hardly believe it. In fact, it took seven pregnancy tests for it to sink in. It became real though in December of 2021, the day our son was born. That day me and my husband went to work, and it was at work that my water started to break. At the time I was nonchalant about it, because my water had not fully broken, but there was a slow leak. In fact, after work that day I had an appointment in another town. However, going up the road to my appointment I started having contractions and feeling uncomfortable. All I could do while going down the road was close my eyes, and no I wasn’t driving. I proceeded to make it to my appointment, which did I mention that my appointment was not baby related.
From the appointment I managed to make it back home where it took an entire army to convince me I was in labor. Not really but it did take my husband, my mom, and then finally my grandma to convince me to go to the hospital. When I finally was convinced, I went to the hospital to begin the labor process which took twenty-four hours. Then it came time for me to push. I started pushing and was able to get his head out but then complications started to arise, and an abruption occurred. I was then told to stop pushing and rushed to the OR for an emergency C-Section. What a whirlwind it was but I thank God for his protection during the delivery. At 6:15 that evening our son entered the world. From that day on our son has not only impacted our lives but the lives of others.
We brought our son home from the hospital and his newborn and infant stages were just like any other baby. We went through the sleepless nights, crying, fussing, despising diaper changes, and refusing to be put down in his bassinet. He was hitting all his milestones even though he hit them backwards. Climbing before he could crawl, running before walking. As me and my husband say he moves to the beat of his own drum!
Me and my husband started noticing that he wasn’t being verbal. That was the biggest red flag that led us to believe that he could be on the spectrum. Being parents, we were concerned so we met with his pediatrician who then referred us to a speech therapist. Though today he still isn’t 100% verbal, he is making strides in the right direction. Other signs we have noticed, leading us to believe he could be on the spectrum, are the types of toys he plays with and how he plays with them, what food he will only eat and how he eats. All signs I look forward to writing about in future blog posts!
For now, God Bless from the Kruckenberg clan! Remember this no matter what challenges you and your child face, whether they have Autism or not. Or another type of special needs. They too are fearfully and wonderfully made and are AWESOME!