A new bit of Hope???

We went to Dr. Jerry Kartizinel in Irvine last Monday.  He is a D.A.N. doctor.  While sitting there talking to him I just felt like, finally, a doctor who will listen to me.  He wants to find out why Josh acts like he does, instead of putting a band aid on the problem.  He is doing 26 different blood test, urine tests, poop test, and spit tests.  We are also going to be changing the way he eats and cutting down on sugar.  This will be a very slow process.  I am excited, scared and a little Leary as I don't know for sure if it will work.  I pray that God watches over all of us at this time and guides us through this process.

Here we go again...

Well so much has gone on since the last time I posted. Josh has been on yet another seizure med. This time they put him on Triliptal because the Lamictal was making his tummy hurt and making him vomit just about every day. Then he has been having severe anxiety to the point that he makes himself throw up about 2 to 3 times a week. We have been to a GI specialist at Choc, which I have to say I was not impressed with at all. He basically told me that Josh was obese and constipated. Josh is over weight but it is only because of taking Risperdol and as far as constipation goes, he has no problem in that area either. After getting an upper GI and blood work we have decided not to go back to that doctor and to pursue other areas of treatment. His upper GI came out just fine and so did his blood work. He was supposed to get an MRI of his brain but when he arrived at the hospital he had a major panic attack and threw up all over. The MRI department refused to do it and said we would have to do it under general anesthesia. Well I do not want that because it is only a follow up MRI and not an emergency. That is basically where we are. One more thing Josh can read now and got another 100% on his spelling test. I really think that this new school is the answer we all have been praying for. Thank you God!!!

Progress.. Maybe???

Well we have been at the new school since the beginning of the month. He started taking the bus a week ago or so and loves it. He is making progress, he can identify almost all his letters and most of his numbers. He actually eats at school everyday. Which is a huge difference from his old school. At his old school, I would send lunch with him everyday, and everyday his lunch box would come back full. Everyday at his old school he would have bad behavior (I wonder why, maybe because he was starving). He really likes his new school even though he hates getting up in the morning. Hopefully this is a new leaf we are turning over. Oh also I almost forgot we are changing meds again. His seizure med we think was really hurting his tummy and making him throw up 2 or 3 times a week so we have started a new one and we are weaning off the old one. So far the transition has been alright, except for a 3 hour tantrum yesterday we are doing good. I will keep you updated.

It's been a while...

Well I feel like I have neglected this blog long enough. I thought that life would get a little easier as he got older, well I was wrong on so many levels. First of all let me catch you up to what has gone on since I last posted. He started first grade in an special day class first through third grade class. His teacher was horrible. She did not understand his needs at all and instead of making progress we found out in October that he has not met one single goal in almost 4 years in the school district. Now being a home schooler of my other children I would not normally be that concerned if he was at home. However, if you have my child in your class for 6 hours a day 5 days a week, what exactly are you doing other than babysitting him? We had already hired a lawyer last May and after a very long process over the summer of many, many tests it was determined that Josh would do much better in a private school. Well last week he started and I love it. His anxiety though is pretty much out of control at this point. Everyday I must listen to him go on for hours upon hours that his tummy hurts and he wants to throw up. I have taken him to countless doctors that all say the same thing, his tummy is fine it is just anxiety. We are going to start working on a healthier diet to address that end of it but as with any special needs kiddo, diet changes are hard. For now one change at a time, like going to a new school is about all he can take. He will also be taking the bus starting in a few weeks. Did I mention that I am having anxiety about that? I have never, ever had a kid take a bus before. Time will tell if it is a good option or not. Well that is about it. I will update this much more often I promise. Keep him and us in your prayers as our journey along this life path continues.