Garrett's last basketball game...the almost winning shot!

Garrett has come along way in the last two/three years that we have been working with him on his visual and auditory processing, his ADHD, his learning disabilities and his food sensitivities.. It has been a long road with dietary changes, therapy and all sorts of other things to keep him off medication and get him healthy.

When Jason was younger, he suffered from similar issues and he hated what the medication did to him. As an adult, he had heart problems from it and swore none of his children would go through what he did.

Lucky for us, Garrett has responded to our aggressive attempts to detox his little body and rework a lot of that neurological stuff. He is at grade level with his reading and math and with tutoring twice a week, play therapy and everything else, we are plugging along! Some days it is so hard. Some days, like his last basketball game, he makes me cry because he is so amazing and determined and just a great kid!

So, all year, he faithfully went to practice and games. He was a great defender and rebounder, but was always bummed he didn't get the ball as much as he would have liked. Fast forward to the last game of the season. His team was in the final playoffs. It was a crazy game. The other team had a coach that was screaming at the refs, our coach was pacing the sidelines, a technical foul for bad sportsmanship from one of the other team's players - where does and eight year old learn how to do something that would require a technical?!?!?!?

Anyway, so we are down by three points and the time is almost up. In a scramble, Garrett gets the rebound and shoots and SCORES! The best part of it was, I was screaming and cheering, but the other parents were whoopin' and hollerin' almost louder than myself! Everyone kept screaming "Great job, Garrett!" It was an adrenaline rush moment, for sure! Another foul shot and we tied the game. Lucky for everyone, especially their coach's blood pressure, they do not do overtime in third grade, so it was a tie and EVERYONE WON!

Since it was the last game, we had a party afterwards to celebrate. The coach praised Garrett over and over again for being such a great asset to the team. We, of course, went crazy with the hugs and high fives and everything else. It was so wonderful to see the fruits of his hard work and determination. We reminded him that he was a key member of the team and because he was there and doing what he was supposed to do, that shot was because of all of his hard work!
Here are some of his biggest fans at the game...yes, Jason was actually at that game. He didn't have to teach that morning, which made it perfect for Garrett and everyone else! We love you Garrett!!!