And then I fell on my face - hard!!!

I know, I know. Taking care of kids with special needs is like running a marathon, not a 50 yard sprint. I am really good about giving this particular piece of advice to parents of newly diagnosed kiddos, but I am absolutely TERRIBLE at taking my own advice. Well, looks like Mother Nature decided that enough is enough and she slapped me over the head hard enough to make me fall on my face.

Typically around this time of the year (late fall, early winter) I have trouble maintaining my insane pace anyway, and I become more prone to respiratory problems. This year was no different and the coughing fits started like clockwork around early November (2005). I tried to be good, took my vitamins, took my antivirals, took my immune boosters, even took a course of Zithromax at the end of 2005, but I wasn't able to quite clear things up.

This weekend my upper respiratory 'bug' came back with a vengeance. And on Tuesday morning, while driving my boys to their schools, I had a coughing fit that was so bad that I almost blacked-out behind the wheel. Finally decided that enough was enough, and off to the ER I went, where I was greeted enthusiastically (I am on a first name basis with most of the ER staff by now, as I am a frequent visitor with either one or both of the kids - too bad they don't do frequent visitor points or something - I would have earned a free stay by now).

Apparently, my presentation scared enough people that a full work-up was ordered. I was tested for pneumonia, pertussis as well as heart problems - thank goodness all came back negative. After spending about 3 hours in the ER coughing my lungs out (to the point that the lady next door from me with emphysema offered me some of her oxygen as I sounded worse than she did, LOL), the verdict was that I have acquired myself a 'lovely' case of bronchitis that, unfortunately, will require another course of antibiotics to try and regain some measure of control. So, I'm back on Zithromax (and hope that this course will do more for me than the last one) and I have an inhaler to help deal with the coughing fits and resulting shortness of breath.

I ended up not making it into work for the remainder of Tuesday as well as Wednesday. I was barely able to get the boys up in the morning, get them fed and dressed for school and out the door - getting that done wiped me out so much that I was in no shape to get in the car and start the commute to work. Thank goodness my boss is so understanding about it all (as my attendance record in the last quarter of 2005 left much to be desired because of challenges with the boys), but it left me with much stress as my employment situation is dicey at the moment. Can't get into more specifics there right now - we (my boss and I) are trying to get to a workable solution. Will post more once I have more clarity.

Am now on my 3rd day of Zithromax (I don't like it, but it's a necessary evil at this point) and I think it is starting to make somewhat of a dent in 'the bug'. I definitely have a die-off going on, as I am absolutely wiped-out beyond description tired (and itching like crazy). I can barely get myself in and out of the car without seeing black dots and purple balls. And anytime I sit down for more than 2 minutes while not keeping myself mentally occupied, I find myself nodding off.

I know that I have to slow down, and right now, I have no choice BUT to slow down. I am not liking it one bit though (as to be honest I am an adrenaline junkie of the worst kind - mentally I thrive on going at breakneck speed, physically is apparently a different story altogether). However, as we will be starting the second block of an intense Auditory Processing/Occupational Therapy program that we are doing with Salamander in less than 1.5 weeks, I MUST make sure that I am well enough by then to handle all the physical and emotional stress that comes with getting Salamander through the program (which, not in the least, involves me driving an extra 110 miles a day getting him from school to therapy and back home, and wreaks absolute havoc on my attempts to maintain a consistent schedule at work).

Oh well, this too shall pass. But I'll be putting my, typically boundless, energy, for the next couple of weeks toward healing myself instead of using that energy to blog about our continued adventures in BiomedLand (as we are about to embark on a few new adventures; one of which will involve a trial of Transdermal Low Dose Naltrexone to attempt to regulate Potatey's and my immune systems (I'd like to trial it for Salamander too, but have decided that Potatey gets priority treatment this time), another will involve a good hard look at Salamander's current diet to investigate whether he has an oxalate problem that is preventing his gut from healing as well as it should).

Salamander has had an absolutely awesome 1.5 weeks though - he is very together, calm and even keeled (except for a situation yesterday morning that, to be honest, I brought on as I wasn't my usual patient self). Homework has been a breeze - he needs a fair bit of prompting to get started, but once he gets started, he is able to maintain focus and attention with a minimum of verbal chatter. His handwriting is improving by leaps and bounds, and so is his ability to sort through his thoughts and get them out on paper in an order that actually makes sense to others than himself. I firmly attribute these changes to the first block of the AI/OT program I briefly mentioned earlier (I will blog about the program and what it has/is doing for Salamander in a separate blog entry). It is so nice to see him being so comfortable in his own skin, and to see him glow with pride over his accomplishments. His 2nd grade teacher even sent a note home last week stating that he has been very engaged and happy and cooperative in class. She ended the note stating that she hoped that this development would continue as Salamander 'is such a wonderful boy that has so much to offer to the world' (the note is definitely a keeper!!). Quite different from some feedback I got from school earlier this year, implying that Salamander was so distractable that he was becoming somewhat of a behavioral problem and that as a result of his distractability he only showed 'average potential in acquiring the 2nd grade curriculum' (which I know is absolutely bull s###, considering the kind of intellectual powerplays this kid pulls off at home).

I so hope that this development continues. It would indicate that after almost 2 years of working my a$$ off in developing a comprehensive program for Salamander (which combines biomed treatments with more conventional remedial treatments such as speech, social skills, vision therapy, OT, auditory integration etc), there is a glimmer of light at the horizon.

Potatey on the other hand does give me some worries currently. He is doing very well in acquiring the expected developmental milestones (socially and emotionally he is lightyears ahead of his pre-school peers, this child truly learns by osmosis and gets a lot of stuff just by observing me and Salamander work together). His allergy situation however is anything but stable. We had another nasty 'allergic reaction to something' episode last week - I think I have pinpointed soy and sheep cheese as the culprits. So out of his diet these two foods went, and he is doing much better now. It worries me that, at the age of almost 3 and despite me being very careful with his foods, he appears to be developing additional food allergies. Tells me his immune and metabolic systems are fragile too, and require just as much attention as his older brother's. So it's time that I put dedicated time and effort in developing a biomed treatment plan that is tailored specifically toward Potatey's needs (as opposed to a scaled down version of Salamander's plan).

It's always something, isn't it?

P.S. Shit, reading back over my previous entry I realize that I haven't posted anything yet describing the boys' current biomed treatment plans and what issues I hope to address with these plans. A post describing the trips we've taken so far into BiomedLand will follow soon, I promise...