Two-Year Update

It has been almost two years since I have regularly posted to this blog, and with the encouragement of a friend, I am picking it up again, so this is a quick update. In January of 2013 I shocked myself by deciding to become a distributor for the essential oils that my son uses. This has coincided with his behavior being so much easier to manage, and while I still spend a lot of time cooking and caring for him, dealing with his behavior and worrying about him getting better has not been the main focus of my life. I have taught hundreds of people about oils and many of them deal with autism or Lyme, so it has been very fulfilling to help others in the process of helping my son. When I hear from another person who is doing better, I look at my son and tell him he has been the means of blessing another life.

I have been able to leave my son for a few days with his dad and other helpers and go on several trips by myself, no longer worried about whether they can handle him.

For almost two years, my son has gotten to play with a wonderful respite worker who sings, talks, and reads to him nonstop for three hours at a time, is six inches shorter than him and not the least bit intimidated.

His occupational therapist has been coming to our home on Monday nights every two weeks for more than two years, and at EVERY visit, is amazed by the progress my son has made since the last visit. This is quantifiable progress that she can report on, such as a much-improved pincer grasp, or him tolerating her working on his mouth, which he would never allow before. She told me that she has never seen a child as severe as my son make the progress he has made, and she says that on Tuesday mornings, all the other therapists at the clinic can't wait to hear what new thing my son has done!

In the past two years, my husband and I have had to adjust to not having a built-in babysitter at home since our youngest daughter started college, but we have managed! More tender mercies from God.

I have received key, life-changing helps with my anxieties from a wonderful energy worker named Sheridan Ripley, who has helped me to be more relaxed and hopeful, reminding me what a noble spirit my son is inside his challenged mortal body.

Our neurologist recently recommended a new drug for our son's subclinical nighttime seizures that were not being addressed by the oils, and he seems to be sleeping MUCH better and continues to be calm with no side effects so I'm hopeful that this drug is working for him.

We are still working on toilet training, with some success at home and at school, and my son is much more cooperative than he used to be.

I know he was in pain when he was so self-injurious, and was using hitting to tell us that and to try to get help. He used to want to lie on his stomach so much of the time. Now he runs around, dances, sits in chairs, rides a special bike at school.

He loves to be with people now and snuggle with us on the couch. He likes to lie on the couch and watch me crochet!

I read a book this weekend that inspired me with new energy to help my son grow and become more independent (more about that book in another post). I am grateful beyond words for the healing that has taken place in the past two years in my son and in me.