Gavin Archives - Page 50 of 113

It’s heartbreaking to see him like this

When you're a parent to a child with fragile physical health, a degenerative condition and severe mental health issues, it seems like there's no end to the heartache. Gavin is the child in our family who the above paragraph describes and it's true, there's no end to the heartache we feel as his parents. Helplessly watching him lose skills, abilities, memories and independence is a gut-wrenching experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. Poor Gavin is having such a hard time today. He's been walking into people and things all day long. He's stepping on things he shouldn't because he's not paying attention or isn't focusing on his surroundings. It's not his fault but he doesn't get that and frankly, it doesn't make it any less disruptive either. We're decorating the…

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December 9, 2017

Gavin / My thoughts

Everything in one needle stick

The boys were up super early today, before 5 AM early. They were excited because Saint Nicholas paid them a visit last night and left some surprises in their shoes. As a result, they were a bit grouchy but we managed. Gavin and I took the boys to school and then headed to get his bloodwork done. We were able to get the labs from his other doctor faxed down, so we are able to combine his labs and do everything in one needle stick. At the moment, I'm just waiting for Gavin to come back out before we head home. Traffic really sucked this morning but we made it. It took ten times longer to get there but we got there. ☺

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December 6, 2017

Gavin / My thoughts / Vivint Gives Back

Keeping an eye on Gavin because he’s not doing well tonight

Gavin isn't doing so well this evening. Everything was fine until an hour after he went to bed. He came downstairs in a lot of pain, feeling nauseated and convinced he was going to throw up. We told him if he thinks he needs to puke, he needs to be in the bathroom. If he was going to puke, we didn't want to give him his meds if he was going to puke them right back up. He went to the bathroom and then took himself back to bed, without letting us know. I've been keeping an eye on him through our Ping Camera, provided by the Vivint Gives Back program. We're able to watch and listen from wherever we are in the house. Gavin is currently sleeping and we…

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December 5, 2017

Cleveland Clinic / Clozapine / Gavin / My thoughts / Pediatric Neurology

This is what’s going to happen at the @ClevelandClinic today

Here's the game plan for today. Shortly after taking the boys to school, we have to get Gavin to Dr. Reynolds for a follow-up and to discuss how he's doing since lowering the Clozapine dosage. The appointment is pretty early so we should be his first or second patient, meaning it won't take all day. 😀 On the way home, we will take Gavin for his weekly bloodwork before returning home to eat a quick lunch and then head to Cleveland for the rest of the day. Assuming we aren't back in time to get the boys from school, my Mom is going to pick them up and hang out with them until we get back. I'm pretty sure this is a 3 hour EEG so we likely won't get…

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December 5, 2017

Autism Parenting Insight / Gavin / IVIG Infusion / My thoughts

Sometimes I feel like a dick for raising my voice

Gavin had his IVIG infusion this morning and he did it on his own. This was probably the most successful one that he's done on his own. The infusion went relatively well and there were no physical hang ups after it was started. Gavin did get upset while he was putting the needles in place though. He doesn't deal with frustration very well and has a tendency to want to quit or get help before he's really tried. Today was one of those times. There was an issue with the tape the holds the needles in place getting all bunched up. His first reaction is to panic. Lizze and I were right there but we didn't rush to his aide because we wanted him to work through it. All he…

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December 4, 2017

Autism Parenting Woes / Gavin / My thoughts

He wanted to break every bone in his body

Gavin came home from his Grandparents in a good mood. Unfortunately, that mood ended when he realized that he forgot to take his morning medications. Lizze and I were already aware of this because they were sitting on the kitchen counter. He had gone into the kitchen to take his meds this morning but set them down and walked away without without having taken them. I wouldn't call what he ended up doing as a meltdown becsuse it was more verbal then anything else. He kept calling himself stupid and screaming that he wanted to break every single bone in his body. Of course, Emmett had to point out that 206 bones is a lot of bones to break. That didn't help matters. Gavin was quite upset for a period…

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December 3, 2017

Cleveland Clinic / Epilepsy / Gavin / My thoughts / Pediatric Neurology

Did you know one of my kids has #epilepsy?

This week will find us returning to the Cleveland Clinic for Gavin once again. This time it's for an epilepsy appointment with his neurologist. He's scheduled for a 3 hour EEG. This will hopefully give us an idea of where he is in regards to his seizure activity. Gavin has always had absence seizures and they are very hard to detect. Most commonly, when these occur, he will appear to be staring off into the distance. He's not aware of anything happening but he's not even close to someone who can accurately describe what he's experiencing. Kids with Autism can also have staring spells and it's not related to seizure activity. Unfortunately, in Gavin's case, he was diagnosed with epilepsy many years ago but thankfully, it's never been a major…

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December 3, 2017

Gavin / IVIG Infusion / My thoughts / Today's Victory

Today’s MASSIVELY AWESOME Victory

Today marked the third time in a row that Gavin has done his own IVIG Infusion, start to finish. I can't tell you how proud of him I am. When I look back 5 or 6 years, I remember how much he struggled with needles. It would literally take half a dozen people to draw his blood. The experience was awful for all of us but especially for Gavin. Now he goes in and has his bloodwork done on his own while I wait in the car. The last major obstacle he needed to overcome was starting his own IVIG Infusion and that required placing the needles into his belly. He's wanted nothing to do with that until recently. For the third time in a row, Gavin has done it…

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December 1, 2017