The Mom's Testimony 

Around 2 ½ years ago I noticed that my daughter started having really big reactions to things that she had never struggled with in the past. She was in her mid-teen years so I wrote it off as hormones for a little while. After a few months of this it just kept getting worse and I started to do some research. We could see that her reactions to seemingly small things lined up with OCD. We talked to a counselor and they gave us some recommendations but nothing we did seems to really break through. Our whole family was struggling. We had little toddlers that just couldn’t understand why their sister got so angry when they wiped their snotty nose and then didn’t immediately go wash their hands. Or the older children didn’t understand why we didn’t get (Kate) in more trouble when she raged at them for not taking off their shoes immediately when they got home from work. I could see her mind constantly keeping track of all the germ trails throughout our home. She couldn’t touch door handles if a certain sibling that she deemed unsanitary had touched it. She couldn’t stop washing her hands over and over again, her skin was getting so red and irritated. There was one night that I believe God told me to pray for her while she was showering. I knew it was a struggle to shower as it seemed unsanitary to her, yet she knew she had to do it. So I prayed, and came to find out later that she had thought about using the razor for something other than shaving her legs. That is so devastating as a parent. As much as I knew she couldn’t always help herself I struggled to keep my reactions balanced as she hurt the rest of the children with her cutting words and actions. To say we were walking on eggshells seems like an understatement. I had been taking one of (Kate’s) sibling to Mrs. Linda for some help with a learning struggle so at our next appointment I asked if I could bring (Kate) along. I remember telling Mrs. Linda that I just didn’t know if I could do it anymore. Life for us was so unbearable. After her evaluation Mrs. Linda explained to (Kate) that she had been able to help others who had OCD and that she could be helped too if she put in the effort. I still remember the tears welling up in both of our eyes. (Kate) ended up needing to switch her hand dominance as almost everything else lined up left except that. We both put in the work, she did the actual program and I was the cheerleader/taskmaster. By the next evaluation I remember telling Mrs. Linda that she was still triggering some of the time but that if we had to live like this the rest of our lives it would be bearable.
Fast forward to now OCD seems like a nightmare of the past. I can’t remember the last time (Kate) triggered. We both still get choked up when we remember it and say a grateful prayer of thanks for deliverance from it. Just this Thanksgiving when we were going around saying what we were thankful for she said “Healing”. Me too my sweet girl, I am so thankful to have my vivacious, sparkly, cheerful girl back. One who isn’t held back by the fear of germs but can go and be free. We can’t thank Mrs. Linda enough for bringing us this path of healing and deliverance.