Gavin and I challenged ourselves to walk the track on the way home from taking the boys to school. It was in the high twenties or low thirties and quite snowy but Gavin really wanted to walk. We ended up doing really well and it was great way to start the day..
It's been a really long day and I'm not in the best place right now. Either than force anything tonight, I thought I would share a picture I've been promising but haven't yet delivered on. The main reason for the picture is to show what Elliott looks like after his haircut from a week or so ago. They took off at least four or five inches and it took him a little bit to adjust before he was willing to pose for a picture. The last picture here is of Gavin. He actually got a haircut today because it was far to long and if we don't keep in short, we run into hygiene issues. I happen to think he looks really good and I'm not just saying that because…
I took a large part of the weekend off from writing. Things were getting stagnant for me and I think a break was in the cards. I'm feeling good and my thoughts are stringing together will less effort. Yay for the little victories... ☺ There's one main thing to touch on tonight before I go to sleep and that's about how Gavin's doing as we've cut his Lithium in half. Gavin's been on 900 mg of Lithium per day for close to a decade. Overall, it's served him well. That's something that we are grateful for because it improved the quality of his life by helping to manage his bipolar disorder. The problem is that sometimes these improvements come at a cost. In Gavin's case, it seems that the combination…
The appointment went pretty well with Gavin's shrink this afternoon. It probably goes without saying that Gavin did a good job while he was there. As I mentioned in the previous post, this was supposed to be a med check and nothing more. I also mentioned that I can never know for sure because it's Gavin and everything about him is fucking complex.. Let me get right to the point. Gavin's rather significant level of confusion might be related to the fact that he has childhood disintegrative disorder. Frankly, that's what I've thought and sorta run with. As it turns out, the confusion may me related to his Lithium or rather the Lithium/Clozapine combination. As a result, we're doing something we never done before and that's begin to wean him…
Mr. Gavin and I are waiting to be seen by Dr. Reynolds. I've been assured that we don't have to wait very long today because he's relatively on time. This is a simple meds check but you never know with Gavin. So far, Gavin's been weighed and vital'd.. He's still not gained any weight and his BP of 126/78 is really high for him. He's not nervous or anything, so I'm not sure what's up with that. Anyway, after this appointment, we will go fill the water jugs and go pick up Elliott and Emmett from school. That should mark the end of our adventures away from the house today.
My goal with this entry is to help provide insight into one particular kind of challenge faced by parents of kids with significant cognitive impairment. As someone with a background in emergency medicine, I find it particularly frustrating when I need to gather medically relevant information from Gavin. This is a very difficult situation because Gavin is significantly cognitively impaired and is unable to provide information about how he's feeling or doing. Today was a perfect example of this and it was unbelievably frustrating for me. Shortly after dinner, I told Gavin that we've made it past the 72 hr mark and that he should be okay. It was about 72 hours ago that he'd eaten raw chicken and we were watching him carefully for signs of Salmonella poisoning. After…
You may recall that a couple of days ago, Gavin accidently ate raw chicken. Click here if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Anyway, we've been keeping a close eye on him for any sign of possible illness associated with eating that raw chicken. The concern is obviously Salmonella poisoning and it can take up to 72 hours to show any signs. So far so good. Gavin's feeling just fine and dinner tomorrow will mark the 72nd hour. Thankfully, it seems as though we dodged a bullet and he's gonna be just fine. This was just one of those freak accidents that happen and teach a valuable lesson. Whenever buying frozen chicken tenders, be sure that they are already cooked and ready to eat. If you find they are not…
There are two things I need to touch base on in regards to our day today. By far, the most important update has to do with Mr. Gavin and his eating of the raw chicken. I kinda joke about the ridiculousness of this but it's actually pretty serious or could be very serious. Gavin has gone well over twenty four hours without any signs of him getting sick. He's fighting headaches lately but I think that's related to his vision getting worse. We are so grateful that he's doing well and we thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.. ☺ The final thing on the agenda tonight is also very positive news. It's only less important because it's not potentially linked to Salmonella... We celebrated my Mom's birthday tonight.…