Blog - Page 426 of 1612

Why I’m not asleep at 3 AM

Lizze and I had a quiet evening tonight. Her parents ended up taking the boys, and that worked out well because I feel like shit. I'm not sure what's going on, but I just don't feel well. My stomach is upset and my head hurts. I fell asleep on the couch for awhile but it's now 3 AM and I can't fall asleep again. I don't know if this is a stomach bug or if it's the culmination of stress from the past week or so. It doesn't really matter because the end result is the same. I'm hoping to get some sleep tonight and be feeling better in the morning. It's really important to me that I at least make it to my parents reception around lunch time. It…

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May 7, 2017

The struggle is real and so is the toll

I just woke up from a four hour nap. I feel a bit better but I'm far from being back in my feet. This week has taken so much out of me, but it's also been an unusual week and on that hopefully won't be repeated anytime soon. The fever disorder that Emmett struggles with has interfered with so much of his life already. It seems to literally dictated a large portion of it thus far, and that's not fair to Emmett. When these happen during the school year, it's far more distressing than having this happen during the summer. While I'm caring for Emmett while he's in a fever cycle, I'm not physically experiencing it myself. With that being said, I'm so exhausted from playing my part, I feel…

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May 6, 2017

Emmett John / My thoughts / PFAPA

What’s less than running on fumes

Emmett is in such a foul mood today. His fever is back up to almost 102°F and he's a nightmare to deal with this morning. Lizze and I are completely spent. We're so far beyond running on fumes, I don't know how to put this into words. All I want to do is go to bed and sleep forever at this point. Fat chance that's going to happen anytime soon.. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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May 6, 2017

Emmett John / My thoughts / PFAPA

Barely surviving the worst fever cycle ever

We've made it to the end of the week, and what a week it's been. This week has brought with it a few firsts, and they have proven to be very challenging. Emmett began and is still inside of his worst fever cycle ever. We're at the seven day mark and he's still running enough of a fever to keep him out of school. I really don't know when this cycle is going to stop, but they historically last about ten days. Having said that, there have been a few over the years that lasted every bit of twenty one days. Lizze and I both love Emmett but we need him to go back to school. I'm burnt the fuck out, and need a day or two without a kid…

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May 6, 2017

Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts

Generalization is a b!tch

One of the most frustrating things for me as an Autism Dad, in regards to my kids with Autism is generalization. Merriam-Webster defines generalization as the act or process whereby a learned response is made to a stimulus similar to but not identical with the conditioned stimulus. In layman's terms it means that if something happens once, it always happen again. Kids with Autism tend to apply this concept to just about everything in their lives. My kids are no exception. In fact, my kids are the poster children for generalization. Let me give you a few examples from recent history, most of which center around Emmett. If something tastes funny this time, it will always taste funny. Even if the reason it tastes funny is because you just brushed…

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May 5, 2017

Emmett John / My thoughts / Partners

I’ll give you one guess

I spoke with Emmett's dentist this morning, explained what we were dealing with and apologized for the late notice. He said that it's best to keep him home and reschedule, and not to worry about it because he understood. I hate canceling at the last minute for anything. I fucking hate it, but sometimes it can't be avoided. As for Emmett's status today, he's running a fever. I'm sure you're all as shocked and surprised as I am, but it is what it is. He's in a good mood for the most part today, and that's a good thing. I'm not the one physically going through this fever flare, but goddam if it hasn't completely worn me out. Emmett was up at 5:00 AM this morning and wouldn't go back…

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May 5, 2017

Lizze / My thoughts

A MAJOR update about my wife

This is a really important update, not only because it deals with my wife Lizze, but also because of how she's choosing to deal with a major struggle. Lizze doesn't have an easy life. She's living in chronic pain, thanks to Fibromyalgia, and chronic, untreatable migraines. She's been dealing with menopause, and hormone replacement therapy as a result of an emergency hysterectomy a couple years after Emmett was born. A couple of years ago, she was diagnosed with Bipolar II, with Borderline tendencies. This has been very challenging to manage because much like Gavin, her biology tends to make her process meds differently. This makes finding the right combination of medications, very difficult. She also struggles with severe social anxiety that makes it difficult for her to leave the house…

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May 5, 2017

Autism Parenting Struggles / Emmett John / My thoughts

My wife and I have been going back and forth over this

I've been trying to figure out what to do in regards to Emmett's dentist appointment tomorrow. I remembered that we've had a similar situation in the past and the office said that as long as he's not sick, the fever is fine. The only difference between that and this is his mouthful of sores. Lizze and I have been going back and forth over this, but it's not an easy decision. He's already not going to school because he's running a fever still. If it were just the fever, we would probably move forward with the appointment. Unfortunately, he has a mouthful of sores and I'm pretty sure that's something they are going to notice. He already has another appointment in June. Elliott and Emmett both do actually. They bumped…

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May 4, 2017