Sunday, May 17, 2009

6 Rounds and Well

We started his 6th round of the low dose high frequency DMSA/ALA chelation this weekend. Jonathan has actually shown some nice progress in the past couple of weeks, mostly in comprehension and memory. But it is hard to say if it is due to the Neurofeedback sessions he had (he completed 40 sessions and we stopped 2 weeks ago), the new homeopathic drops (which miraculously stopped his throat tic) and the DMSA/ALA chelation. Or a combination of all.

The DMSA/ALA seem to aggravate this leaky gut. His stools are well formed but they have small white dots only during the weekend while he is taking the pills. But I don't see any sulfur related issues. I was worried to give him DMSA with ALA because of his nutrigenomics genetic mutations. But, aside from the extra yeast, he is doing quite well. We (my dad, my husband and I) have been incredibly disciplined to give him the pill every 3 hours. We have not missed a dose yet.

I am planning to try a new probiotic that was recommended by one of the autism groups that I belong to. It is called In-Liven.

Jonathan's motor skills are concerning me. He is having a hard time with physical activities: riding a bike, skating, climbing, even running. He gets tired very quickly. But the other issue is that any activity that requires him to use his arms to help him, he simply quits on. Climbing is such an issue. He has a terrible time pulling himself up. He doesn't seem to have strength in his upper body. I believe part of the issue is that he is too heavy. He is 7 and weighs 75 lbs. But he likes to eat (and not junk precisely) and changing the diet to low carbs would be very hard. It is better to get him to become more active. For the summer, we enrolled him in sports camps. I need to find a solution to this problem. The new school he is going to attend in the fall will have tons of physical activities which I hope will help him build his strength.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Muffins for Mom

Today was pretty special. Last night, while I was giving Jonathan a shower, he told me that I needed to come to his school today for a mother's day event. I was shocked because his teacher had not sent a note home (as far as I knew). As we conversed about it, he told me that he had done a card for me and a book and a flower and that he had picked out a muffin for me and that I had to come. At first I said that I couldn't because I had a meeting (thinking that he was making it up or saying something out of context), but then he looked at me with tears in his eyes and asked me to please go. Of course I said yes. When I put him to bed, he again made me promise that I was going to his school. I said yes.

In the morning, he came to our bed and as I was getting ready to go downstairs to fix breakfast, he asked me if I remembered that today was Muffins for Mom's day and if I was coming. I told him yes. At 8am, I called the school and they confirmed that it was an event for first graders and for his class it was at 9:30am. I took him to school and on our way, he spoke out the schedule, by this making sure that between taking him to school and going to work, I was going to his school first.

I showed up at 9:15am to sign in. When the teacher saw me, she was very happy. She expressed that she was very worried that I had not RSVPed to her note. I told her that I did not see the note and apologized. I am very glad that Jonathan told me the night before, because 25 out of 26 moms went and the kid whose mom did not go was very sad. I know how traumatic these things can be.

He was so excited to see me. He showed me to his desk and gave me all the things he made for me. And hugged me and kissed me. He was genuingly happy to see me. That made me very happy. The event was only for 45 minutes. The kids had to take their mom's breakfast order (1 of 3 choices of muffins and a juice) and the kids picked it up and brought it back to them. It was funny to them balance the huge muffin on one hand and the juice on the other, but they did it. We ate and talked to our kids and looked over their journals and other working books. It was truly special and I am very happy I did that. Jonathan appreciated it too. When he went to bed tonight and I kissed him, he told me that he was very happy that I went to his school today and that he loved me very much.