Spiraling Out of Control

By Sandy on September 11, 2015

The last few weeks of summer and the first 3 days of the new school year were very difficult. Josiah didn’t sleep much. Most nights he averaged 3.5 to 4 hours of sleep at best. We had to take turns staying up with him, or trying to get him back to sleep. After a few weeks, we called his psychiatrist to ask for something to help Josiah sleep. It didn’t work like we had hoped.

Over the years we have tried just about everything we could think of to help Josiah sleep. I’ve even offered suggestions to other parents who faced similar sleep related issues. Sometimes we’d have periods of time in which Josiah would sleep well. Just a couple of months ago, I remember him taking my hand at 7:30 in the evening to walk me into his room. He crawled up in his bed, scooted down under his ‘Skweezers’ and fell fast asleep. He slept til 8:30 or 9 the next morning. This lasted for weeks. Perhaps I was over confident during those days and felt I had answers to offer others. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Women Warriors

By Sandy on August 8, 2015

More often than not, with Josiah getting bigger and stronger, it takes an extra pair of hands to help with him. I’m not so quick to whisk him off on an errand as I was when he was much younger. Gone are the days when his little body could be transferred from car seat to stroller, allowing us to get out and about at whim, having fun.

Now, it takes a willingness on Josiah’s part to participate. If he’s not on board with the plan of the day, life becomes much more difficult for all of us. If Josiah decides he’s not interested in something, he can easily cause enough of a ruckus to almost get his way. Notice the word ‘almost’ there.

The Ball Park

By Sandy on July 20, 2015

Free tickets to a professional baseball game? Why, but of course we will take some. What could be better than a fun afternoon at the ball park with Josiah? A full body wax perhaps? A root canal with no anesthesia maybe? Seriously, what was I thinking?

In his defense, Josiah did great for the first 4 and a half innings. There was some serious fruit snack bribing in the beginning to get Josiah on the elevator so we could get to our seats. Then, just before the doors closed, an attempt to push through the crowd to escape. I hollered out, “Rick!” to alert my husband I needed assistance, as I grabbed for Josiah. The man next to me assuming I was talking to Josiah said, “It’s okay Rick” in a comforting voice as if to assure him the ride wouldn’t be that bad. The doors closed before Rick, I mean Josiah could dart out.

We found our seats and settled in to enjoy the game. Josiah was quite content to be there. Almost looks as if he is concentrating on the activity on the field doesn’t it? Without those purple beads, I doubt he would have lasted 10 minutes. We keep a pair with us at all times. We learned long ago, beads mean Josiah stays put.

This was the 1st inning. By the beginning of the 3rd inning, we started feeding him. He had ice cream and some funnel cake, then more funnel cake. We’ve also learned food means Josiah stays put.

Then, around the middle of the 4th inning, Josiah started getting noisy. He stood up a few times, made some loud vocalizations and began swinging his beads wildly. I asked Rick to take Josiah’s beads away for a little while. It usually helps to calm him. Not today.

Dropping Like Flies

By Sandy on March 31, 2015

There seems to be a recurring theme to my blog posts. I tend to dwell on these issues: sleep (or the lack thereof), recurring illnesses, behavior challenges or bathroom blunders. I guess it’s because these are the recurring themes with Josiah. If we could just resolve even one of these concerns, life would be easier. Today is all about illness. I just checked Josiah’s online school records. He has missed 26 days of school so far this year. With approximately 50 days of school left we are almost at a 15% absence rate.

Josiah gets sick at the drop of a hat. Picture dominoes in a precise line, then cough on the first one. It doesn’t have to be a direct-in-the-face kind of cough, just an in-the-general-direction one. BAM! Down that first domino goes; Josiah in this scenario. Directly behind him all the others collapse, ie,. the rest of the family. I can not tell you have many times our entire family has been wiped out once Josiah gets sick. I really should be keeping track.

We Need Guidance

By Sandy on March 23, 2015

Josiah’s pediatrician’s office called last week. His most recent blood work shows elevated prolactin levels, most likely due to the medication Risperdal. Prolactin is a protein that in humans is best known for its role in enabling female mammals to produce milk, It can also cause breast tenderness and enlargement. Josiah is not female. We really don’t want this boy wearing a bra or producing any milk.

We were instructed to call his psychiatrist who prescribes and monitors Josiah’s medications to see what needs to be done. A few days later, the psychiatrist called me directly to discuss the situation. I was quite impressed he took time from his busy day to consult with me. This is Josiah’s first elevated level which seems to indicate it’s not a grave concern. However, Josiah hasn’t had blood work done in an extremely long time. Maybe the levels have been high for a while and we’ve just not known until now?