My goal in sharing what has happened with our child has not been to garner sympathy or pity.  My goal is simply to be open.  To allow you to acknowledge that these things do sometimes happen, even to homeschoolers, and to let you know that if it happens to you, someone else has been through it and survived.  I wish this chapter of my life were complete, that I had already read the closing paragraph on this issue and I could report a happy ending.  I do anticipate one.  If you are going through this, don't be afraid to acknowledge your pain and your confusion. Don't be afraid that you will lose face with other homeschoolers.  My homeschooling friends were the last ones I wanted to tell about my child, but they have also been some of the most caring and supportive.  Remember that God cares.  What has happened is not something that He wanted, either.  But it is something that he can use to make you grow.  Not a challenge you would choose, but something that has come your way none the less.  Never give up, never give up, never give up!