Update and Will it Last

Elijah had an AWESOME week at school last week. He has seven chances to earn a red, yellow or green(green is the best) for each class he has. He had all greens for every day but one last week and on that day he still only had one red. NOW, will it last?? That is the question. He was more argumentative this weekend, but then I realized he had two doughnuts for breakfast yesterday and one today...HMMM...could that be it. He earned them by having good days. Let's just say, he will be working for money for next weekend. No more doughnuts for him! I just think the sugar gets to him and causes it. We shall see.

I did email his teachers to ask them how he is really doing. We are going back to the doctor in a week and I really want to give her a good update on how he is doing. The green marks on his status sheet give only part of the story. I am hoping I haven't jinxed things by sending the email. We are also going to the endochronolgist this Friday....I sure hope he has grown! I'll keep y'all posted!

Medication

Elijah takes a great deal of medication to address his Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD. He also takes medication for his asthma. We recently changed his ADHD medication and he has been much calmer and more focused. We have noticed a significant change at home and we were glad to see that he had two very good days since we went back to school this past Monday.

Elijah brings home a status sheet each day that lists each class period. He can earn GREEN which means he behaved, a YELLOW which means he needed prompts and behavior was not so good, or a RED which means he had a really hard time in that class and there was probably a trip to the office to calm down. Elijah had ALL GREENS for the last two days. He was so proud of himself. Today he had six greens and one red. He had an extreme meltdown after lunch and his teacher had emailed me. She was curious to know if I might know what set him off.  I really had no idea. She also mentioned he had a bit of a hard time in PE and maybe that started it. Now Elijah gets NO iPad, nintendo or Wii during the school week. He had purchased a mini iPad of his own(saving for a long time!) and I told him if he had an ALL green day he could have 30 min on the iPad. I was shocked that he had had two all green days.....he had trouble getting even four or five greens in one day for the last few months. I thought maybe he was worried about getting the iPad and so that caused the melt down.

Well, later tonight, he went to take his evening medication and he says, "Mom, my Tuesday medicine is still in here." I went and looked and sure enough he had not take his medication last night. I always remind him to take it and he always goes and takes it. I remember reminding him last night, but I had not double checked to make sure he took it. I emailed his teacher to let her know that he had not taken his medication last night and this was probably the reason he had the melt down.

I know there may be many people out there who don't believe in medicating children OR adults, but Elijah couldn't function in the world if he didn't have his medication to support him!

Maintaining Processors

Elijah's cochlear implant processors usually require very little maintenance. He changes his batteries when they die and that is usually what we deal with the majority of the time. He told me last week that his right ear sounded funny. I had seen the red light on the processor(Freedom) blink a few times, and there had been no code for a dying or dead battery(H1 or H2) code. The coil wire was very bent and I know it has been at least six months since we have changed it. I called Cochlear and they sent me a new one under the warranty. We have two back up coils, so I had already change it out and had the old one ready to be mailed back. The new one came in today and I got the old one all ready to be mailed back.

Sitting at dinner tonight, Elijah tells me that his left ear is now bugging him. We change his program and he says it sounds better. Later I notice the red blinking light and ask him to come over. This time there is a distinctive H3 code, which means the coil is NOT on his head, but it was on his head. So, we put a new coil on this processor and now I will call Cochlear on Monday and get them to send us another coil. At least this time, there was a code so I knew that the coil wasn't working.

He has a controller(bottom piece) that I need to replace, because the FM port cover came off. However, when they send you a new one of those, someone has to be at the house to sign for it. UGH, that is a hassle. I am going to wait for Spring Break and call before then and get another one. It works just fine and he uses his FM at school everyday, so I am sure the next controller's door will come off as well.

Elijah's warranty/service agreement on his processors expires in June of this year. I will pay for another warranty for another year. I think it is worth the money. I will also get the loss/damage coverage WITH the service agreement.

Looking Back on 2012 and Forward to 2013

Here we are again at the end of another year! Overall, I would say it has been a good year. There have been several milestones this years for all of us. Jacob took driving classes and got his permit. He is now a junior and got his class ring! He is taller than me and growing up way too fast. He has a friend that is a girl, who has been over to our house several times. He and I have had some really good talks lately and he showing signs of becoming an adult and other times he is still such a teen. Next year brings him taking his test for his driver's license and turning 17. He still plans to referee soccer and then possibly getting a job in the summer.



Elijah is in sixth grade and will enter middle school next year. He will soon enter his teen years when his birthday rolls around in April. He told grandma today that he will be 13 in 2013! He is still such a little boy though. Children with Tourette Syndrome act 2/3 their age when it comes to maturity and I can definitely see this with Elijah. He is 12 but sometimes act more like an eight or nine year old. I guess he will grow up soon enough. He has had his ups and downs this past  year and we have made many changes in medications, but through it all we just keep on going. We recently made a new change in his medications and I think it has been a good change. We will know more when he goes back to school. He still sleeps with his stuffed animals and likes for me to tuck him in. One of these days he will grow up and not want me to "mother" him too much, so I think I will try to enjoy it while I can. Here is playing with a castle he made using styrofoam. He has a good imagination.

 

Things continue to go well with me and my honey. We have had a wonderful year together and are looking forward to many more years. We have fixed up the house and have plans to fix things up even more. We talked today about putting money away to travel to Germany in a year or two. I enjoy our family and I see such a difference in all of our happiness since my honey came along. My job is going well and keeps me busy. I enjoy my job and it brings me much satisfaction when I see growth in our students.

I am not sure what 2013 has in store for us. Jacob will have to start thinking about what he wants to do after he graduates. He still plans on being in ROTC next school year. Elijah will change schools in the Fall and have new teachers to get used too. I am sure something will change at work, it always does, but I will just have to roll with it. I know my honey will be there to support me through all of this as I will support her.

Please be safe tonight and Happy New Year!

White Christmas

We had a White Christmas here in the Dallas area yesterday. It started around 1:30 in the afternoon and finished up around 6:00. We got at least three good inches of snow. Jacob went out in it for quite a while and even built a snowman. Elijah enjoyed some time out there too. Later, at my dad's house I challenged my little sister(age 21) and my little brother(age 24) to a snowball fight. We all went out and had a fun time, but boy were my hands cold. Both boys had a great Christmas. I ordered Elijah his mini iPad...he is using the money he got for Christmas plus the money he has earned from chores and being good at school. We set up Jacob's new desk today too!

I hope everyone else had a great Christmas too. Here are some pictures and a video!

Elijah and his cousin Tabitha!

                                         

Jacob and his snowman!

T

Elijah outside!

Update on Elijah

Well, Elijah had a much better day at school. Hoping that the tweak in his meds is finally kicking in. He had four greens on his status sheet yesterday and six today, so that makes 10 greens. If he gets 10 greens then he gets a blizzard......and he got his blizzard! I was very proud of him. Only one more day left until Christmas break! I think we are all ready! I have to remember days like today to make up for those not so good days!

Dealing with a Special Needs Child

This is a link to a blog titled, "I am Adam Lanza's Mother: A Mom's Perspective on the Mental Illness Conversation in America."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html

I read this blog and thought it was very well written. I hate to say, that since the shooting in Connecticut I have thought of nothing else then could this be my son? Elijah has a neurological condition and his brain doesn't always work right. He can get angry at time and have full rages. I don't share this too often on this blog, because it is hard to talk about. He takes four different medications in the morning and then two at night to help him with his implusivity and his tics. People with Tourettes can have Tourette Storms--he has trouble controlling his anger and when he is in the middle of one of these storms, there is no reasoning with him.

Thankfully, these storms do not happen very often and very rarely happen at home. When he is at home he is in his most comfortable place and there are not as many demands as there are at school. These storms seem to happen at school and we can go months without one and then when he has one it is out of the blue. When he does have one it is a lot of yelling and kicking at walls. He has been known to bite objects and people. He may also spit at people.

We manage as best we can with medication. I run a strict household with written rules. He has no access to the iPad, computers or video games during the week. He gets limited amounts of these things on the weekend. Many people may think I am too strict with him, but they don't understand. We don't go places during the week so we aren't out late at night. He needs to be in bed by 8:00 if it is a school night.

When I hear other parent's stories, I am thankful that Elijah's problems don't seem too severe, but then when it flares up I am saddened. At times, I wonder if I can continue, but there is no other choice. I am thankful for my partner and for others in my family who support me emotionally. Jacob is an awesome big brother, but even he has his limits.

I do love my little man though and we will keep on keeping on....it will get better.