Cleveland Clinic Archives - The Autism Dad

Surgery went well and I humbly thank my friends at the @ClevelandClinic

I really appreciate all the concern. It took a bit longer to get this out than I had originally planned because I'm moving a little slower than I thought I would be, but I wanted to let you all know how I'm doing. I'm in between meetings at the moment so I will make this super quick. Yesterday I had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to remove a cyst that was right in the center of my back, along my spine. This was elective in the sense that it wasn't giving me any problems yet but it would become problematic if left alone. I simply chose to deal with it before it became a problem. The surgery went great. It's a surreal experience to have your back operated on while…

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August 26, 2021

My thoughts

I think 43 going to be my best year yet

For those who don't know, I turn 43 years old on Tuesday of this week. I used to hate the idea of getting older because it scared me. I've since learned to embrace life in all its stages and live them to their fullest. Turning 43 isn't upsetting to me all and it feels good not to be dreading my birthday. In fact, 43 looks to be my best year ever and I'm excited for all the new adventures. Over the weekend, I went out to dinner for my birthday, and it was amazing. The kids are doing great being back at school and that's awesome. I don't really have any plans for Tuesday aside from sneaking in one last workout before my surgery on Wednesday. I'm a little nervous…

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August 23, 2021

My thoughts

I was in the emergency room yesterday and ended up at the @ClevelandClinic

Yesterday was one of those days I'd like to avoid going forward. If you don't follow me on Facebook, then you're probably out of the loop. You can find my Facebook profile linked at the top of the page. Just sayin'..... Wednesday I began experiencing a sore throat. Not a huge deal but it was getting worse. I woke up about 3 am on Friday morning and took some motrin for the pain. It felt like a pill got stuck in my throat. When I woke up in the morning, I felt like I was choking and it scared the shit out of me. I was supposed to get the kids to Akron Children's for the first COVID shot at 10 am. I couldn't talk without feeling like I was…

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May 15, 2021

Autism Parenting Struggles / Cleveland Clinic / Gavin / My thoughts / Psychiatry

UPDATE: A little bit about the neuropsychological testing and how things are going so far

I don't know if you're familiar with neuropsych testing, but here it is in a nutshell. According to my friends at the Cleveland Clinic, "a neuropsychological evaluation is a test to measure how well a person's brain is working. The abilities tested include reading, speaking, understanding, paying attention, and remembering." We've been here for about four hours so far, and I filled out paperwork when we first got here. Then there was a lengthy interview process with tons of more targeted questions. Gavin isn't able to really answer the kinds of questions being asked, but he was able to rattle off needed dates for a few things like it was nobody's business . 👍 Gavin was very preoccupied with having not eaten lunch, and the doctor said I could bring…

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June 11, 2019

Cleveland Clinic / Gavin / My thoughts / Psychiatry

Gavin has major testing today at the @ClevelandClinic

Today is a massive day for us. Gavin will be spending the day at the Cleveland Clinic for one of the most critical appointments he's had in a very long time. Gavin will be undergoing another round of neuropsych testing. It's been many, many years since he went through this battery of testing the first time and it's long overdue. It's very difficult to get in to have this done because they were booked out so far into the future. We also had insurance issues that indefinitely delayed things as well. Click here for previous posts on neuropsych testing and why it's important. Basically, Gavin will undergo hours of psych testing today. The purpose of this is to see where he is cognitively, as well as emotionally, and compare it…

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June 11, 2019

Cleveland Clinic / Lizze / Migraines / My thoughts / Neurological Center for Pain

What happened at the @ClevelandClinic last week?

I just realized I neglected to mention how Lizze's appointment with the Neurological Center for Pain at the Cleveland Clinic went. For starters, the staff was absolutely amazing. Not that it's a surprise, but it really is important to note that because we've had some truly awful experiences with other medical facilities in the past. The Cleveland Clinic, however, never disappoints. Anyway, as I had previously mentioned, Lizze needed to decide how to proceed with her migraine medication called Aimovig. Aimovig is a once a month autoinjector that is designed to help prevent migraines by blocking a protein thought to trigger migraines. Lizze has been on the lowest dose for about four months now (I believe) and she hasn't really noticed any improvement. If she didn't have use of her…

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May 20, 2019

Cleveland Clinic / Headache Infusions / Lizze / Migraines / My thoughts / Neurological Center for Pain

My wife begins her 2nd day of headache infusions at the @clevelandclinic

It's been a busy morning already. Lizze didn't sleep very well. She's in a lot of pain and extremely nervous about her second Infusion today. It's very hard to be hopeful when you've been in so much pain for so long and nothing has ever been able to help. I'm trying to get her to go into this as positive and hopeful as possible because state of mind makes a difference. It's a big ask and I understand where she is right now but I just want this to work for her. I view the fact that yesterday's infusion brought her migraine from a 10 to an 8 as a very positive thing. Unfortunately, the last medication that they pushed undid all that progress and made things worse. I understand…

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February 12, 2019

Cleveland Clinic / Headache Infusions / Lizze / My thoughts / Neurological Center for Pain

I was an awful parent (by my standards) this morning and I feel horrible

It was a very chaotic morning and I regret a great deal of it. We were trying to get everyone out the door and nothing was going right. The boys were being kids and I simply had no patience. Elliott is at that age where we aren't sure how much is Autism, anxiety and depression or how much is normal teens stuff. All I know is that I needed cooperation and he was not being super cooperative. He would dig his heels in and I just wasn't having it this morning. Rather than continue to offer him patience and guidence, I yelled. I wasn't really yelling at him but rather at the situation and that was just as bad. I'm not talking simply raising my voice but actually yelling at…

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February 11, 2019