Well ladies and gents, it’s been a hell of a week. Today is Sunday and I finally find myself with a few minutes to myself where I can look over the week behind me as well as the one that stretches out ahead of me.
In the week that has passed we have had some serious struggles. After much soul searching Patrick and I decided that it is best for our family if I stay home, and so on Monday morning I gave my notice. Once they find a replacement for me I will become a full time stay at home mom.
I’m sure that is a post in itself, so all I will say about it for now is that while I am very happy that we are financially safe enough for me to even have the option to stay home, but I will miss work. Of course every day I left here (for a whopping 6-8 hours twice a week) I missed the kids immensely. I know it is definitely for the best.
I’m sure most of you are familiar with Xander’s struggles. If you need a refresher course, you can find an entire page about Xan at the top of this one. Look for the tab that says Xander’s Story.
Everybody all caught up? Good!
So Xander is a picker. Or more specifically, a peeler and a scratcher. Since he was very young he would remove his skin in patches, typically on his feet and legs. Lately (since the regression, specifically) we have noticed that this only happens when Xander is either A. upset or B. tired. So whether it is him stimming or a coping mechanism for his severe anxiety issues or even something completely different, we just don’t know yet.
We are used to this behavior, as sick as it sounds. Now it barely phases me to have to soak everything in oxyclean and change his sheets almost daily because he bleeds through them.
But on Tuesday we noticed that Xan had a low grade fever and stopped bending his left leg. When we investigated further we saw that he had removed all of the skin from behind his knee. We fixed it up as best we could and figured that, like always, it would take care of itself with some tender care from us.
Later in the evening my mom in-law told us she was concerned. She and Xan had been cuddling together and his leg was looking far worse. There were blisters and pus and so much blood. We bundled Xan up and took him to emergency where we were given a diagnoses of impetigo, many snarky looks from people who probably think we abuse our son as he walked around pantless and covered in blood, and a fist full of prescriptions and a dermatologist referral.
Long story short, it’s getting better. It got worse before it got better and Xan had a scary fever spike, but he is on the mend now.
Whew.
The last few days the baby has been out of sorts as well, and after last night’s awake-a-thon it’s safe to say that he and I are both sick. My worst symptom is the lack of energy and an incredibly sore throat, and it seems as though the baby has the sore throat along with a runny nose and even crankier disposition than normal. This child screams almost non stop in the best of times, I’ll leave it up to your imagination to figure out what his “off” days are like.
If you throw in the dog’s obedience classes and off-leash park excursions, we have had a very busy week.
Next week is looking even crazier. Next week will be a blur of me working, Patrick going out of town, Xander’s appointments including EI, dermatologist and a second EEG (to investigate the abnormalities they found), but I know we will survive. We always do.
There were some highlights this week too. This week we started shopping for Xander’s 3rd birthday party! I am so pumped. We rented a SHIP for his party. A ship, in the middle of the prairies! So naturally we will be doing a pirate theme, and the ship happens to be an exact replica of the Santa Maria and is inside West Edmonton Mall. Pretty rad, right?
In other happy news we found a vegetarian chicken stock! This could single handedly change our lives… almost. With Xander’s life threatening egg allergy, eating chicken in any form is out of the question. Until now! I’m sure there will be a full review sometime in the future.
And so on that high note, I am signing off.
Wish us luck for our EEG on Thursday, we’ll need it.
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I’m so sorry you have to deal with all of this! Life of a special needs parent, right? I know Xander is allergic to eggs, but did the doctor actually say he could not eat chicken? My son tested sensitive to chicken eggs but he can still have duck eggs and they never said he could not eat chicken.
Here’s an article I think might be helpful: http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broths-adrenals-bones-teeth/
Bone broths are a big part of the GAPS diet. Now, I have not put my son on this diet but many people who have children on the spectrum rave about it. Also, have you ever heard about an organization called TACA (Talk About Curing Autism)? Their website is http://www.tacanow.org
You can message me any time you like. My son was diagnosed 6 years ago with PDD-NOS. I’d love to help any way I can. God bless!
Aww Dawn. I didn’t know about Xander’s condition. I hope that it gets better and maybe one day he stops (or finds a healthier way of coping). Poor guy.
Best of luck on Thursday!
Good luck for the EEG! That picture makes me hurt. I’m so sorry Xander does this – hopefully they can help him stop. I worked full time until we moved to NJ 2.5 years ago (kids were 13 and 6). I miss certain things but I don’t miss it nearly as much as I thought I would. Real Housewives rule
Wow, that is a super crazy week. I sort of envy you for ending your job. I’ve been at home with my son for the past 3 1/2 years and decided that now that he’s in a preschool autism class 26 hours a week, that I should work 20 of them. I went out, found a part time job, accepted it last week and am supposed to start the week after next. I’m panicked wondering how I’m going to fit that many hours in. Anyway, good luck with the EEG! I hope you get the best news.
Poor little dude. And poor mommy!
I didn’t realize before that Xander was a picker – his poor little legs look so painful