Emmett John / Meltdowns / My thoughts

I don’t have any shits left to give today 

I was going to try and find some witty way of doing this post. I was going to try and find some humor in it because I'm trying to be positive. Unfortunately, I just can't make that happen without being totally disingenuous and I'm not going to do that.  Today has been a trial of patience for both Lizze and myself. It's only 8:30am and I'm already done for the day.  Here's the deal...  Emmett woke up in a good mood. He woke up early and climbed into our bed to snuggle. Who isn't up to snuggle one of their kids in the morning? In fact, I thought to myself, oh thank God he's in a good mood today because that will make for a good morning.  Unfortunately, that prediction…

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November 17, 2016
Bad News / Clozapine / Gavin

I have bad news about Gavin

As I shared earlier, Gavin had an appointment today with Dr.Reynolds, his psychiatrist for over an decade.  The trip to this appointment was incredibly difficult for Gavin because his bladder issues were ramped up and causing him a great deal of distress. Thankfully he made it without incident..  His appointment went as well as it could, considering why we were there. We were there to both follow up on meds and discuss Gavin's current status. I'm going to try and make this short and sweet.  We talked about how Gavin's delusions and hallucinations are as strong as ever. There isn't a significant difference between his status while on 600mg of Clozapine and what it is now while on 800mg of Clozapine per day.  This is a scary thing for many…

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November 17, 2016
Emmett John / Meltdowns / Sensory / Shoes and Socks

Zero to Meltdown

I talked this morning about how awesome it was that the boys got themselves dressed and ready for school before we even woke up. That's all very true and something I'm quite proud of them for.  Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends and the meltdowns begin.  Emmett was fine until it became time to put something on his feet. He's been wearing slippers to school without socks for about a week or so but for some reason, he wasn't able to tolerate them today.  He went from having a great morning to an ear drum shattering meltdown in nothing flat.  We finally ended up settling on flip flops but packed his slippers and a pair of socks should he change his mind.  The whole thing lasted roughly twenty minutes…

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November 16, 2016
Gavin

Gavin was convinced he was bleeding from his eyes tonight 

Earlier today, Lizze and I were catching up on the show Elementary. In this particular episode, they were trying to solve a murder that involved snake venom.  The victims were bleeding from their eyes before they died.  Gavin steped into the room as this happened and freaked out before walking back out. I didn't really think anything of it because Gavin freaks out over things like this all the time. He simply leaves the room and comes back later on. No big deal.  Nothing else was said about this the rest of the day, until about an hour after bedtime.   Gavin came downstairs, convinced he was bleeding from his eyes. He said that every time he closed his eyes, it felt like they were bleeding... This was pretty strange…

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November 16, 2016
Autism Parenting Woes / Gavin / My thoughts

His endless talking is driving me nuts

The day overall was pretty good. We had something pop up with one of our utilities but I was able to figure it out and now we're good with that particular one. This could have been bad but it worked out that that's super positive.   Where I struggled today was in dealing with Gavin. I know he means well but holy shit was he driving me crazy.  It was one of those days where he shared every thought that went through his head. It seemed constant and without reprieve. Lizze and I were both feeling the burn on this one today.  When I say he shared everything that went through his head, it was more like he had to verbally announce everything he did or was going to do. …

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November 15, 2016
Elliott / My thoughts

I never expect perfection from my kids

I picked Elliott up from school and rather than go straight home, we had to run a few errands. Typically, Elliott doesn't do well with these types of unplanned excursions.  That being said, he took this in stride.  I'm really proud of him because he did really good and while there was a few tiny hiccups along the way, he kept himself in control.  I never, ever look for or expect perfection from my any of my kids because they aren't perfect and neither am I. Great job Elliott, you did really awesome today while we had to do our running around. 

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November 14, 2016
Read more about the article It wouldn’t be a Monday without this… 
Gavin / IVIG Infusion

It wouldn’t be a Monday without this… 

It's another Monday morning and aside from Emmett being home sick, it's been a pretty good start to the week.   Unfortunately for some, Monday's really suck. Gavin is one such example. Every single Monday, he must undergo a process called an IVIG infusion.  He's the proud owner of a severely compromised immune system and he needs to receive donor antibodies every Monday and Friday.  It's not a super invasive process but it is painful, comes with side effects and will have to be done for the rest of his life.   I'm super thankful that he is receiving these treatments but I really hate to be the one causing him pain by sticking the needles in his belly.   He's doing really well with his infusion this morning. I…

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November 14, 2016