Read more about the article We had such a good time tonight
Family Time / My thoughts / Photography

We had such a good time tonight

We had a really fun time with the whole family last night. We spent the evening celebrating Mother's Day with my parents and siblings. We haven't all been in the same place at the same time in a really long time. It was awesome. The boys did really well but sadly, Elliott wasn't feeling well at all. He was okay when we first got there but shortly after arriving, he began to not feel well. It's the same sore throat, headache and nasal drip thing he's been dealing with. It's been on and off for the last few days. If he's not feeling better by Monday, we'll get him into to see his doctor. I'm pretty sure this will have to runs its course but nothing wrong with erring on…

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May 13, 2018
Read more about the article This isn’t good
Clozapine / Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

This isn’t good

I spoke previously about Gavin changing the way he takes his medication. I also shared how we suspect that the voices in his head are the ones telling him to do this because it wasn't us (see As if life wasn’t already hard enough, it seems the voices are back). We're seeing further evidence that the voices have returned. So far this afternoon, Gavin has come down from his room on the second floor because he swears we called him to come down. We haven't called him down and that leaves one of two possibilities. Either he just thinks he's hearing us and wants to double check or he's actually hearing us call him in his head, even though we aren't. Gavin is Schizophrenic and has been experiencing both audio…

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May 12, 2018
Read more about the article As if life wasn’t already hard enough, it seems the voices are back
Clozapine / Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

As if life wasn’t already hard enough, it seems the voices are back

Last night, Gavin came downstairs after being in bed for a couple of hours, mumbling something about a glass of water and claiming to be wheezing. He was heavily sedated and that's not necessarily normal for him. With no changes having been made to his meds, there shouldn't be any change to the way they impact him. This morning, I mentioned to Lizze that something wasn't right last night and I wonder if he's taking his medication, specifically his Clozapine, correctly. We were prepared to write if off as a one off event and move on. Right about that time, Gavin came downstairs and I asked him about last night. As I suspected, he didn't really remember what happened. I then took the opportunity to ask him about whether or…

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May 12, 2018
Read more about the article I’m getting sick again
Confessions / Depression Management / My thoughts

I’m getting sick again

Today's been rough for me because I've been getting sick again. By sick, I simply mean very nauseated when I eat and unfortunately, I still have to eat. This has only been a problem since discontinuing Paxil in January. While today sucked, my days do seem to be getting better. I just wrote a post about how well I was doing because it'd been a week since I had gotten sick. Sure enough, a day or so later, I start getting sick again. I need to keep my mouth shut from now on. I'm hoping to sleep this off tonight and I'll just keep my intake on the lighter side of not eating much. It sorta sounds funny but that's actually what I'll have to do. I just have to…

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May 11, 2018
Read more about the article If you worry about #Autism related wandering, we can help
My thoughts / Vivint Gives Back

If you worry about #Autism related wandering, we can help

Over the years, there have been a few areas in regards to Autism parenting, that have really become personal for me. Wandering is among the most important of them. As a father of 3 boys with Autism, I count myself truly lucky that we haven't had to deal with wandering, any more than we have. I've shared on a few occasions, how Gavin managed to let himself out of the house at least twice. We found him collecting recycling out of people's trash cans. I don't think Emmett ever successfully escaped but my goodness, he was determined to. I was able to snap this picture when he was younger. It shows the lengths he would go to let himself out of the house. This is no joke. I think he…

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May 11, 2018
Read more about the article My plans for the day have been scuttled
Elliott / My thoughts

My plans for the day have been scuttled

Unfortunately, my original plans for the day have been scuttled. I ended up getting sick after eating breakfast and it really kicked in while I was waiting for Gavin to have his bloodwork done. I made it home and went to bed for a little while. I woke up just in time to answer a call from my friend David Cannington, co-founder of Nuheara. They are the creators of the amazing IQbuds. While I can't share the contents of the conversation, I can share that it was interrupted by a call from the school. Apparently, Elliott wasn't feeling well and needed to come home. I had to excuse myself from the conversation and go retrieve Elliott from the school. Thankfully, Elliott's not pukie sick. Puking makes everything worse. He seems…

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May 11, 2018
Read more about the article Way to go Gavin
Gavin / My thoughts

Way to go Gavin

I'm sitting in the car, waiting for Gavin to have his blood work done again. As I'm sitting here pondering life, I'm reminded of just how far Gavin has come. Up until about five years ago, the idea of Gavin needing bloodwork would send shivers down my spine. The reason for that is because until about five years ago, Gavin did not do well with bloodwork. It used to require scheduling a head of time because they would need to have make sure there was enough staff present to pull this off. Gavin used to have to be restrained because he would freak out, lash out at the tech and be anything but cooperative. There were times it would take six people to hold him down and draw his blood.…

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May 11, 2018
Read more about the article A frustrating moment with Gavin
Gavin / My thoughts

A frustrating moment with Gavin

I had a frustrating moment with Gavin last night. Actually, it was several moments long and I was really, really frustrated. Gavin had finished moving some things around in the ferret pen, including their litter boxes. He's not super graceful with his movements and so I wanted him to make sure that he washed his hands really good before touching any food. We have hand sanitizer throughout the house for everyday things but when you're working with a litter box, you need to wash with soap and water. If he wants hand sanitizer after that, whatever floats his boat. He only used hand sanitizer last night and I reminded him that when his hands are actually dirty, he needs to use soap and water. That will help to physically wash…

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May 11, 2018