Christine Rose Paschetti here.  Thought an update on our family was in order, in particular, our now seventeen-year-old daughter, Brittyn Hope.

Brittyn continues to enjoy life to the full:  nothing has (nor ever will) slow her down.  She did have pneumonia and spent time in the hospital; happily, though, she has recovered, and is back to her happy, giggly self.

Brittyn continues to enjoy school (she has been promoted to the eleventh grade from the tenth) and scores high grades in all of her classes.  She is very meticulous about getting her homework assignments completed on time; that is one of her top priorities (personally, I think she does it just so she can have weekends off from any schoolwork!  LOL).

Brittyn also continues to work hard on her therapies.  She is walking more; however, Brittyn still doesn't talk.  Doctors don't know if she ever will or not; yet despite lack of speech, she is very good at making her needs known to others.

She is still the size of a one-year-old.  She hasn't grown any since I last wrote, which is very frustrating to her (and to us).  We hate that people stare at her or make comments; this makes us all very uncomfortable.  She can't help the way she is; people need to go on and get a life!

We have two other children besides Brittyn, but Brittyn takes up a lot of our time because she is so tiny.  Any little thing can go wrong, like if something heavy falls on her:  that is a real fear of ours.  To find our daughter crushed like a bug.  There are so many hidden dangers in our home; we've tried to make it as safe as possible for our oldest daughter, but we still have these fears lurking deep inside.

Our other children are Tony (13) and Gina (10), who are very protective of their older sister.  They know she is special, so they stand up for her when people stare, point, or make rude comments, and they would do anything for her, to make her life somewhat easier.  They don't understand why she has this "unnamed syndrome" and they don't, but they try to make the best out of a bad situation.  They are very good with her, which we, the parents, appreciate.

Well, I hate to go, but it's time to get the children up, so they can get ready for school (actually, Tony and Gina; we'll get Brittyn ready).  I also have to get them their breakfasts and make sure they have all of their school supplies before they head out the door.  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Christine Paschetti saying so long and God bless!

~Christine.  :)

*to be continued.*