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Christmas with the Gorski’s: A Special Needs approach to celebrating Christmas

Just some brief background before delving into this as it's important for context. My wife suffered from caregiver burnout and that lead to an almost two-year separation while she was focusing on getting the help she needed to recover. We never divorced but she lived with her parents and I raised the kids on my own. This past June, we put our lives and our family back together. Having spent two Christmases with our family being fragmented, this Christmas is/was very special to us. Christmas is different for every family. Some families can go all out and others not so much. Everyone is different and that can prove to be especially true when it comes to a family like mine. Having three kids with special needs changes just about…

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December 26, 2016

My thoughts

Please go the f**k to sleep

It's very quickly approaching 1:30 am and Elliott still isn't asleep. We've tried everything to help him but he's just too anxious. Melatonin hasn't helped and neither has endless back scratching. We had him take a relaxing bath and even tried essential oils in the diffuser. Lizze and I are so fucking tired. We obviously can't go to sleep until all the boys are asleep. It's our job to ensure that not a creature is stirring, not even an Elliott. Perhaps some of you are going through the same thing... This is for you... ☺ https://youtu.be/6-HjtRGIcog

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December 25, 2016

My thoughts

Christmas Eve has been absolutely exhausting

I've got a larger Christmas entry coming soon, so I'll save most of the Christmas related stuff for that. 😀 For now I wanted to talk about how everyone seems to be doing as the holiday excited sort of envelops us in all its overstimulating glory. The short version of the story is that its been a very, very, very long day. I picked the boys up from my parent's house around noon today. It was quite apparent that they were extremely anxious about Christmas. Frankly, any kid would have a higher level excitement as Christmas day approaches. With my kids however, regulation is something that doesn't come easy for them. They wear their excitement and anxiety on their sleeve for the whole world to experience with them. 😁 Gavin…

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December 24, 2016

Gavin / General Update / Heartbreak

A HEARTBREAKING UPDATE on Gavin 12.24.16

I wanted to take a few minutes and bring you all up to speed on Gavin's current status. Lizze and I have been seeing some things that while concerning, aren't really super surprising. Behaviorally, Gavin is continuing to do well. Unfortunately, there's more to Gavin's situation than behavioral concerns. I remember a time in the not so distant past where his behavioral issues were so serious, we had to actively seek out residential treatment. That's no longer even visible in our rearview mirror. The issues of concern right now are are physical and emotional health. Gavin's physical health seems to be sorta stable right now but we're waiting to get his lab results before letting our guard down. Over the last few weeks, we've been witness to relatively significant cognitive…

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December 24, 2016

Lizze / My thoughts

It’s heartbreaking when someone you love is massively depressed

The boys have been at my parents tonight and Lizze and I have been taking advantage of the time to finish some Christmas things up, as well as physically regroup. It's been a long week and I'm grateful to see it come to a close. We've had a stressful week because Lizze isn't doing so well right now. Lizze began taking Lithium a few days ago (as she's discussed on her blog) and while it's too early to really expect any major changes, from my perspective, it seems to helping. This is a really tough situation because it doesn't really matter what I think. What matters is how she's feeling and she's not feeling better, at least not yet. Like I said, it's still too early. The doctor said that after…

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December 23, 2016

My thoughts

Come hell or high water

Lizze and I have the night to ourselves, thanks to my parents. While we need the break, especially considering Lizze current state of being. This will give Lizze and I a chance to finish our Christmas preparations. Come hell or high water, we will not be up all night on Christmas Eve. ☺️

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December 23, 2016

Elliott

I have a sick kiddo tonight

Poor Elliott is unable to sleep tonight and after he tried for almost five hours, we moved to the living room. He's complaining of a stomachache and he couldn't get comfortable, so he's chilling on the love seat in the front room. I'm so tired but can't fall asleep until Elliott does... 😢

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December 23, 2016

Lizze

My wife is not doing well and could use your thoughts and prayers

If you've been following Lizze's blog, you know that she's going through a very difficult time. She's living with bipolar type 2 and is on a mission to share her story, in order to help others gain insight into this very challenging human condition. People with bipolar type 2 have depression as their default state of being. When the pendulum swings to the right and they enter a manic phase, they tend to be more productive, creative and efficient in their daily lives. Mania is very mild. When the pendulum swings to the left, they hit a massive, massive depression. Lizze has entered into a major depressive episode over the last few days and she's really struggling with life. Continued on next page - - - - - - > As…

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December 22, 2016