Read more about the article Here’s how Gavin’s surgery went at @AkronChildrens Hospital today
Akron Children's Hospital / Gallery / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts / Surgery

Here’s how Gavin’s surgery went at @AkronChildrens Hospital today

Unfortunately, I'm not feeling very well tonight and I think it's my body turning on me because of all the stress. I'm going to make this super quick because there isn't a great deal of information to share for another week or so. As I said eariler, Gavin's surgery went well. The staff at Akron Children's Hospital are second to none and we are so grateful for how well they treated Gavin. The entire procedure was about thirty minutes and it went smoothly, without any complications. Gavin did well under anesthesia and that was something we were a hit concerned about because of his autonomic disorder. When the doctor met with us after, she explained that almost everything looks great. They only problem they found was in his stomach. There…

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July 20, 2018
Read more about the article A quick update because just got home
Akron Children's Hospital / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts / Surgery

A quick update because just got home

We just arrived home. Everything went as well as expected. I'll explain what they found a little bit later on. Right now I'm going to be bed. Gavin is taking a nap and sleeping off the rest of the anesthesia. I appreciate all the support we've been shown in the last say or so as we prepped for today. Thank you very much.. ☺ I'll be back after I get some sleep.

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July 20, 2018
Read more about the article We have arrived at @AkronChildrens for Gavin’s surgery
Akron Children's Hospital / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts / Surgery

We have arrived at @AkronChildrens for Gavin’s surgery

We've made it and made it early, thrifty minutes early to be exact. We had anticipated construction but it didn't occur to me that we would be driving through before the workers started for the day. Anyway, we're here, checked in and waiting for a room. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that have been coming in all night. This should be fairly quick and painless. Let me tell you how much I don't want to be awake right now. 😉 Zzzzzzz

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July 20, 2018
Read more about the article Please keep Gavin in your thoughts and prayers
Akron Children's Hospital / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts / Surgery

Please keep Gavin in your thoughts and prayers

Everything is a go and I'm off to bed cause we have to be up and moving around 4 AM. I'm not looking forward to that at all but I'm grateful it's actually happening that early because Gavin won't have to go without eating any longer than he has to. In theory, and barring any problems, we should be on our way home by lunch time. I don't know if we're picking the kids up on the way home or if we're going to be able to sleep for a bit first. I know that all Gavin cares about is getting a burger on the way home. ☺ Speaking of Gavin, he's very nervous about the procedures. That's a bit unexpected because he was fine the last time. He was…

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July 20, 2018
Read more about the article Gavin’s scheduled for surgery tomorrow but did we get everything worked out?
Akron Children's Hospital / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts / Surgery

Gavin’s scheduled for surgery tomorrow but did we get everything worked out?

I need to get you all caught up on Gavin's status and whether or not his scheduled surgery is a go for tomorrow. I couldn't really share anything until this afternoon because I didn't get the final word until a few hours ago. There are three things that needed to be addressed before we could move forward with his surgery. So we're on the same page, Gavin is scheduled for a colonoscopy and endoscopy. The doctors refer to it as surgery, I assume that's because of the biopsies but regardless, I'm keeping consistent with what terms his doctors and the hospital are using. I should mention that part of the complication with this whole thing is Gavin's overall health. As a result, he can't have the procedures done the way…

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July 19, 2018
Read more about the article Trying to explain how I feel isn’t easy
Autism Parenting Confessions / My thoughts

Trying to explain how I feel isn’t easy

I thought I would take a few minutes and talk about where I'm at right now. I don't mean where I'm physically at, but instead where I'm at emotionally. I haven't really spoken about my mental health for a little while and because it's a huge part of my life, it's important to talk about. There are so many pieces and parts that make up the person I am but my mental health has an overwhelming impact on all of them. I would never represent myself as the picture of mental health because that couldn't be further from the truth. I struggle at times. In fact, there are times I struggle a great deal. Those struggles aren't always associated with my ongoing, lifelong war with Depression either, which you can…

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July 19, 2018
Read more about the article It’s a special day today
Happy Birthday / Lizze / My thoughts

It’s a special day today

Today's a special day in our house because it's Lizze's birthday. I won't mention her age, aside from saying that she's younger than me.. ☺ Lizze is difficult to plan a birthday for so we're gonna wing it. We did the movie yesterday and we'll probably do something small at home. We don't make big deals out of our birthdays, as we reserve our resources for the kids. Maybe we'll do take out for dinner and have a movie night with one or more of her favorite movies. She's a huge fan of the Now You See Me series and the new Jumanji. Those movies never get old for her. While we don't go overboard for our birthdays, we also don't take them for granted either. When Lizze and I…

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July 18, 2018
Read more about the article It’s so unbelievably frustrating but it’s also not his fault
Link / My thoughts

It’s so unbelievably frustrating but it’s also not his fault

We got back from our trip to the movies and it was an adventure but not always in a good way. First of all, the general consensus is that the movie was mostly terrible. It made us wonder why they didn't stop at two.. Anyway, for the most part, everyone behaved quite well. The behaviors that were problematic were basically owned by Mr. Gavin. Just so we're clear, most of Gavin's behavioral issues are not his fault and are instead, the result of his overall decline. While it's challenging for Lizze and I, we try very hard to maintain perspective but it's not always easy. The main issue we had with Gavin this afternoon revolved around movie snacks. Gavin has a very difficult time with self-regulation, especially when it comes…

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July 17, 2018