My thoughts / Sensory

Sensory issues kept Emmett home from school today

It's going to be hard to chalk today up to a win because for the most part, it's been a disaster. Lizze had a really hard time sleeping last night, which meant I had a really hard time sleeping last night.  It was one of those nights where bad dreams really created havoc.  We ended up oversleeping a little bit this morning and the tone for the day was set.  Elliott did an amazing job of getting dressed and ready to go this morning. That stood in strong contrast to what it was like with Mr. Emmett.  Emmett ended up not going to school today because he wasn't able to tolerate clothes on his skin at all. It's like he woke up more hypersensitive than normal. That being said, this…

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September 29, 2016
Emmett John / My thoughts

It’s important to find the humor in life or else you’ll go nuts. This is especially true for #Autism parents

I try to find the humor in everything. It's just how I cope and it's not always easy but it's something that truly believe is worth the effort.  ☺  I want to share a picture because this is one situation that I find humor in because it's so classic and innocent. If you have a child with Autism and/or sensory processing issues, you probably won't need an explanation for what you see..  This is what I find in random places around the house, shortly after Emmett arrives home from school.  It's totally a sensory thing and has to do with not being able to tolerate clothes on his skin. The moment he gets home from school, his shoes and socks are off his feet and on the floor.  On the…

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September 29, 2016
Cleveland Clinic / Clozapine / Gavin / My thoughts / Pediatric Urology

A major update about Gavin’s health and where we go from here

Today was really rough for Mr. Gavin. He can't ride in the car for very long at all, without feeling like he's going to have an accident. This is the worst it's ever been, by a long shot. I was able to get ahold of his prescribing doctor and we are to immediately drop him down to his previous dose, beginning Thursday (tomorrow) morning. This means we are back down to 600mg of Clozapine a day. We aren't going to stay there though. After running 600mg for seven days, we will begin to increase by 50mg per week for the next four weeks. The idea behind this is that perhaps if we bring him back down and then slowly bring him back up, the side effects might not be so…

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September 28, 2016
My thoughts

This life is not for the faint of heart

I wasn't doing well this morning at all. I think that all the stress and anxiety I've been living with caught up to me.   Lizze took care of everything this morning, in regards to the boys and school. She doesn't drive much at all anymore but that's how bad I was this morning.   I slept until it was time to get the boys from school, which I was in a much better position to do at that point.  I've felt better since waking up and it's just been the boys and this afternoon/evening.  I'm really thinking it's going to be an early night for me because as the day goes on, I'm getting tired again.  This life is not for the faint of heart. It's stressful, exhausting and…

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September 28, 2016
Clozapine / Gavin / General Medical Stuff

Gavin’s really struggling with these side effects and it’s heartbreaking 

We've got to figure something out with these bladder issues because they are now constant and very rarely ever let up on him. Poor Gavin keeps apologizing for having to go to the bathroom over and over and over again.  I keep telling him that it's not his fault and he needn't apologize for it because there's nothing to apologize for.   Unfortunately, I wasn't able to leave Gavin behind when I went to get the kids from school because Lizze has class today and would likely have to leave before I got back.  We've been here ten minutes and Gavin's already run to the bathroom twice, as well as paced the alley.  I'm not getting to the school super early to write because I don't want him to have…

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September 28, 2016
My thoughts

I’m really struggling today

It's been a long ass day. Gavin and I did our walk this morning. I was so tired and didn't want to go but Gavin was very focused on going.  I'm glad he pushed me to go because I need to push myself. We did pretty awesome and made good time. Gavin even said hello to everyone that walked by us.  Today was one of those days where I woke up feeling so completely burnt out already. I totally crashed after the walk and felt a little better afterwards but spent both physically and mentally.  The boys had a good day at school and I'm really proud of them for that.   We had some car troubles after getting home but managed to get it working before we had to…

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September 28, 2016
My thoughts

My favorite moment of the day

We all have those things we look forward to each and every day. We have those things that motivate us, give us drive and the strength we need to keep moving forward, even when it seem impossible.  There are several of these types of daily moments in my life but my most favorite moment of every day is in the picture you see below..  ☺ 💙 

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September 27, 2016
General Update / My thoughts / Reunification

Positives and Disappointments: Four months after my wife moved back home

I've tried to be as transparent as possible during the almost two years my wife and I were separated. I focused on my personal struggle with the monumental loss, as well as how the boys and I were managing on our own, with me as a single Dad. I wanted to try and set a positive example of how to make sure the kids come first, despite my personal feelings. When my wife and I reconciled about four months ago, I began sharing that journey as well because it's not easy to move past something going like that but we did it. As we approach our fourth month back together, I want to take this opportunity to sorta share how things are going. There's a great deal of positive but…

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September 27, 2016