Many of you are intimately aware that Spencer is not potty trained. Okay, well maybe he is, but only if I remember to take him. Call me lazy, forgetful, scatter brained, whatever; I'm just not very good at remembering to take him. We (okay so maybe the therapists mostly) have been working TIRELESSLY the past year on teaching Spencer to "mand". (I think I've explained this before, but "manding" is basically the skill of "asking" or "requesting" something.) This is CRITICAL to move to the next step in getting him OUT OF PULLUPS for good! (Cause let me tell you, a 9 year old poo is no fun at ALL!!). This is the one thing that makes me crazy and completely irritates me about having a kid with Autism. I mean, come on I have been changing diapers for 11 years! ENOUGH already! (You might be thinking, geez Tami, if it bothered you that much you would not be so "forgetful" in taking him, but oh contraire it is not that simple...we do really good for a few weeks, but then I give up, thinking it will NEVER happen. The only thing worse than changing a pull up is changing real clothes that have been poo'd on...YUCK!)
Well, we had a little break through at home yesterday. I got home and was a little sleepy, so decided to lie down on the couch and read a little while. Spencer was quietly playing his video game. (He loves his video game, but more than that, he really likes to watch someone else play.) So as I was reading I started to doze off a little bit. Next thing I know, I feel a little tap, tap, tap, on my arm. I think to myself, that it's probably Parker needing something, but as I open my eyes, there's sweet little Lou standing there with the Wii control in his hand looking at me. I asked, "Do you want mommy to play?" He says "ess".
Please pray that we get to see more manding, I feel like we are so close!! More than that please pray we get him out of pull ups before he turns 10!! :)
Until next time...grace, peace, hope, love and prayers
T
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Amazing Music Man
Most of you know how much Spencer LOVES water, specifically water in motion, like sprinklers and splashing. You also probably know how much he likes music. Well, last night I went to pick him up from my mom’s house and she said he was making music with the water. We talked for a minute about it, but I really didn’t actually witness him doing it. We get home about 8:30 and needed to water the front plants, so I hand him the hose to help me out, his favorite job of all!!
After about 10 minutes my neighbor Bekkah pulls up with her friend Darian in the car. Both of these girls absolutely adore Spencer; Bekkah babysits for us and Darian is his caregiver at Promise Land. They hop out of the car and come over to talk to me and visit with Spencer. We start chit chatting and Spencer goes on about his way of watering the plants. Now that he realizes I’m not watching, he starts watering everything else; the house, the windows, the concrete ground, the grass, ME, the girls, everything. As he was doing so I noticed he seemed to be not only watching the water but listening to the sounds the different surfaces made when they were sprayed with water. (He especially liked the reaction he got out of us when he sprayed us!) I started thinking about what my mom had told me and realized YES, he is making music with the sounds of the water!! He would “spray, spray, spray the grass, then spray, spray the windows, then spray, spray, spray the grass again, and then spray the door, then spray, spray the windows again. I know that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense reading it and you have zero perception of the different sounds it was making. If you were there listening to it though, you could start to recognize he was making a pattern, and I like to believe he was trying to make music!! He is AMAZING….The Amazing Music Man!!! I think he may be on to some cutting edge new music movement!
Until next time, grace, peace, hope, love and prayers!
T
After about 10 minutes my neighbor Bekkah pulls up with her friend Darian in the car. Both of these girls absolutely adore Spencer; Bekkah babysits for us and Darian is his caregiver at Promise Land. They hop out of the car and come over to talk to me and visit with Spencer. We start chit chatting and Spencer goes on about his way of watering the plants. Now that he realizes I’m not watching, he starts watering everything else; the house, the windows, the concrete ground, the grass, ME, the girls, everything. As he was doing so I noticed he seemed to be not only watching the water but listening to the sounds the different surfaces made when they were sprayed with water. (He especially liked the reaction he got out of us when he sprayed us!) I started thinking about what my mom had told me and realized YES, he is making music with the sounds of the water!! He would “spray, spray, spray the grass, then spray, spray the windows, then spray, spray, spray the grass again, and then spray the door, then spray, spray the windows again. I know that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense reading it and you have zero perception of the different sounds it was making. If you were there listening to it though, you could start to recognize he was making a pattern, and I like to believe he was trying to make music!! He is AMAZING….The Amazing Music Man!!! I think he may be on to some cutting edge new music movement!
Until next time, grace, peace, hope, love and prayers!
T
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Little White Rocking Chair--CBTX Part 2
This year was TOTALLY different!! I was so excited to send him! This due to the amazing time he had last year and the very special friendship we have since formed with his counselor, Mike. A few days before he left Mike asked if we were okay with having him be Spencer’s counselor again this year!! Of course, we said yes!! I felt so comfortable him being there, I honestly didn’t even think about it once while he was gone!! (Last year I think I emailed the camp director every day!)
When pick up day came around, I couldn’t wait to see him!! We first went by Parker’s cabin to get him, because I was most curious about his experience as a sib. We then headed over to Spencer’s cabin, we walked in the door and he got a big smile on his face and gave us all big hugs but was quickly back to being interested in looking at his camp book with Counselor Mike. Spencer can’t tell us what went on at camp, but I KNOW he had a great time. But for us to know about his time there, we have to rely on what his counselors tell us and our own feelings and impressions of the experience.
There are so many things I would love to share about my impressions and feelings, but so much of it really can’t be put into words. I could probably sum it up that the people there are probably the closest example to Christ like love that I have ever witnessed!! In the world of parenting a special needs child, we are often faced with adversity, prejudice, side ways stares, and sometimes people being down right nasty. (But then again you see that everywhere no matter if you have a disabled child or not) To see such an out pouring of genuine love for all the kids is such an amazing testament and at the same time reassuring that there is good in this world. On top of that, many of our special kids have behaviors and tantrums that aren’t for the faint of heart and as parents we deal with them in hopes of a rare smile and hug from our kid. But to see these volunteers willingly and boldly stand up to the challenge and give so much of themselves for very little in return, is truly amazing. Man, you can just feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when you are in the room during closing ceremonies.
Okay, so those are some of the things I felt, but here are a few little tidbits I got from Mike when we picked him up….
The Cross Carry
I think this is my favorite story from camp. During the last night at camp they have a Cross carry where the Cross goes from cabin to cabin and as it does each group comes out stands around the Cross and they pray over the week. Mike said they had some “challenging” kids in their cabin, so as they were going around, the counselors would say things like, "thank you for giving me patience", "thank you for giving me wisdom", etc. Mike said when it came around to him; he felt kind of bad because Spencer is such a joy, he prayed, "thank you for joyfulness, smiles and laughs." I just LOVE that!!
The Little White Rocking Chair
At the end of camp the parents come and they have a closing ceremony where we all gather in the main room, the worship band plays, they show a video and the Directors talk about the week. As we are sitting there, Mike leans over and said “see that little white chair over there with the drum? That’s Spencer’s chair. He got to sit there every night with the worship band and play his drum.” Right about that time, the band started getting into position to play and Spencer hopped right up, went on stage and sat in his chair and played along with the band. I LOVE IT!! (Wish I had a picture, but here's one of little drummer Lou)
As we were about to leave, we were saying our goodbyes and KT, the keyboard girl from the band, came up and introduced herself and said how much she loved Spencer and wants to come hang out with him sometime. Well, about that same time a few others came up and were saying how much they enjoyed spending time with Spencer. Mike, then says to me that they have decided that he can’t be Spencer's counselor anymore, because he needs to share the Spencer love with the other counselors. I said, “they are going to have to get my approval first.” But seriously, it fills my heart with so much joy and love to know that these complete strangers have grown to love both of my kids so much in just a few short days at camp. (here's a picture of Spencer banging it out on KT's keyboard)
When I get frustrated with Spencer and his autism, I remind myself that I wouldn’t have experienced this powerful example of Christ or have these people in my life if it weren’t for autism. Man, I am humbled beyond words, because I am so far from exhibiting this kind of love. It’s a powerful message that I have A LOT of work to do….
Until next time…grace, peace, hope, love and prayers
T
Mike gave Spencer the award for Joyfulness and chose 1 John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Parker Sees Things in a Different Light--Thank you CBTX!!
Camp Blessing was totally awesome for the boys. Last time I said one of the biggest things I wanted from Camp was an experience for Parker that would expand his views on people with special needs and more importantly Spencer. God sure did listen!! He is definitely a changed boy!!! He had such a great time!! One of the first things he said to me was that he wanted to be a “Barnstormer” when he turned 13. (And he keeps telling me over and over again that he wants to go back next year and then be a Barnstormer the next). A Barnstormer is a younger volunteer at Camp Blessing that helps during meal times and with activities. For him to serve in that role at such a young age is so incredible and I’m so very proud of him that he wants to do it, too bad he has to wait another summer.
My very favorite thing for him was that he got to see Spencer in a different light. You see we have come to realize that Spencer is probably the most “popular” kid at camp. (Those are Parker’s words.) I think P felt really special that his brother was a camp favorite and that everyone was so in love with him. Parks now realizes that Spencer is in fact “cool” and he is really proud to be his brother. Before camp, I think he just saw him as somewhat "helpless" and a "bother". Don’t get me wrong, he loves Spencer, but Parker always sees us having to do things for Spencer, make special accommodations for Spencer, and listen to Spencer scream when he doesn't get his way. He often thinks things are "unfair" when Spencer gets more time on the video game, doesn't get "in trouble" when he screams in public. But for him to see so many people pour out so much love for Spencer and be genuinely in love with him, made him stop and think “hmm, my borther is one cool dude.”
Another cool thing happened on the drive home….Parker is generally annoyed with Spencer in the car, (because Louie is usually screaming about something: driving by a car wash, water fountain in a lake or any other sort of water thing that he wants or he’s pissed that his DVD player has run out of juice). But on the way home, I had bought Peej a pack of Now n Later’s (our favorite candy) and the first thing he said was “mom can Spencer have one”. SHOCKED!! “Yes, of course he can, that’s really nice of you Parks.”
Parker is such a really cool, amazing kid and to see him grow in this way makes me so very proud of him! I can't seem to put into words how their relationship has changed, but it has, it's just different now. Maybe more love, more respect, more compassion (okat that's going out on a limb..HA!). Parker got a Facebook account after camp so he can stay in touch with his friends and there have been quiet a few pictures posted of the boys. (You can see most of them through my Facebook page). Parker commented on some pictures of Spencer.. "love u forever" "I loved camp and my brother". Here's a picture of Parker praying with his cabin during the "Cross Carry"....
We were home from Camp Blessing for less than 24hrs before the boys and I headed to Ft. Worth for the weekend. I left Parker there on Sunday to stay with his Grammy and Craw for a week at TCU Basketball camp. He had a great time and his teams came in second in the 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 tournaments. He absolutely LOVES TCU and is stoked they are in the CWS (sorry Longhorn fans)!! He spent the evenings at the golf course with his Craw where he got his first EAGLE!!! He was sooooo excited!! He came home this past Friday night, got all his clothes washed and packed back up for his next adventure. We dropped him off yesterday afternoon at Pine Cove in Columbus, TX. I can’t wait to see how God will continue to work on him this next week at camp!!
Parker comes back home on Saturday and starts the Dan Miller Basketball Camp at Seven Lakes High School next week. Then we finally head out for our family vacation on the 4th. Should be fun and relaxing visiting with Mike’s family and hanging out on the beach in North Carolina! Such a beautiful part of the country!
Spencer has somewhat settled back into his usual routine of school and back on the diet. I plan to follow up with a second post about Spencer’s time at Blessing, because it was equally amazing!!
Until next time...grace, peace, hope, love and prayers!
T
Each camper is given an award at the end of camp and a special Bible verse chosen by their counselor. He was given the "Bravery" award which totally fits him, and here's the verse that was chosen for him...
Psalm 31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.
My very favorite thing for him was that he got to see Spencer in a different light. You see we have come to realize that Spencer is probably the most “popular” kid at camp. (Those are Parker’s words.) I think P felt really special that his brother was a camp favorite and that everyone was so in love with him. Parks now realizes that Spencer is in fact “cool” and he is really proud to be his brother. Before camp, I think he just saw him as somewhat "helpless" and a "bother". Don’t get me wrong, he loves Spencer, but Parker always sees us having to do things for Spencer, make special accommodations for Spencer, and listen to Spencer scream when he doesn't get his way. He often thinks things are "unfair" when Spencer gets more time on the video game, doesn't get "in trouble" when he screams in public. But for him to see so many people pour out so much love for Spencer and be genuinely in love with him, made him stop and think “hmm, my borther is one cool dude.”
Another cool thing happened on the drive home….Parker is generally annoyed with Spencer in the car, (because Louie is usually screaming about something: driving by a car wash, water fountain in a lake or any other sort of water thing that he wants or he’s pissed that his DVD player has run out of juice). But on the way home, I had bought Peej a pack of Now n Later’s (our favorite candy) and the first thing he said was “mom can Spencer have one”. SHOCKED!! “Yes, of course he can, that’s really nice of you Parks.”
Parker is such a really cool, amazing kid and to see him grow in this way makes me so very proud of him! I can't seem to put into words how their relationship has changed, but it has, it's just different now. Maybe more love, more respect, more compassion (okat that's going out on a limb..HA!). Parker got a Facebook account after camp so he can stay in touch with his friends and there have been quiet a few pictures posted of the boys. (You can see most of them through my Facebook page). Parker commented on some pictures of Spencer.. "love u forever" "I loved camp and my brother". Here's a picture of Parker praying with his cabin during the "Cross Carry"....
We were home from Camp Blessing for less than 24hrs before the boys and I headed to Ft. Worth for the weekend. I left Parker there on Sunday to stay with his Grammy and Craw for a week at TCU Basketball camp. He had a great time and his teams came in second in the 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 tournaments. He absolutely LOVES TCU and is stoked they are in the CWS (sorry Longhorn fans)!! He spent the evenings at the golf course with his Craw where he got his first EAGLE!!! He was sooooo excited!! He came home this past Friday night, got all his clothes washed and packed back up for his next adventure. We dropped him off yesterday afternoon at Pine Cove in Columbus, TX. I can’t wait to see how God will continue to work on him this next week at camp!!
Parker comes back home on Saturday and starts the Dan Miller Basketball Camp at Seven Lakes High School next week. Then we finally head out for our family vacation on the 4th. Should be fun and relaxing visiting with Mike’s family and hanging out on the beach in North Carolina! Such a beautiful part of the country!
Spencer has somewhat settled back into his usual routine of school and back on the diet. I plan to follow up with a second post about Spencer’s time at Blessing, because it was equally amazing!!
Until next time...grace, peace, hope, love and prayers!
T
Each camper is given an award at the end of camp and a special Bible verse chosen by their counselor. He was given the "Bravery" award which totally fits him, and here's the verse that was chosen for him...
Psalm 31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
They Call it Camp Blessing for a Reason
I know it’s been a very long time since I last updated, but things are moving so fast these days, it’s a miracle we get anything accomplished! But summer is finally here!! The kids have so much going on and so many cool adventures in the next few months I know it’s going to be a fantastic time!! I hope to be able to give more updates over the next few weeks as we venture through the summer!
This coming Sunday we drop the boys off at Camp Blessing (formerly known as Camp Barnabas). They are both really excited about going. The last few nights we have pulled out Spencer’s camp book from last summer and go through all the pictures and journal entries. He gets such a big smile on his face every time! We ask him if he wants to go to camp and he gets a huge grin and says “ess”. I can just tell by the look on his face he actually knows what we mean when we say “camp” and he truly is looking forward to it and is very excited!!
One of the neatest things this year is that Parker gets to go with him. They have one week each summer where the siblings of the special needs child can come along and they have activities just for them. I’m not really sure what to expect and neither is Parker. I have to admit I’m a little skeptical about sending him. He is a “seasoned” summer camper and has gone to Pine Cove in Tyler, Pine Cove in Columbus for 2 summer, Camp Allen in Navasota, Second Baptist Kids Camp and Second Baptist Next Level Camp. I’m sure it’s similar but these other camps are the “big guns” and cost a small fortune to send him. That being said, they are PACKED with so many activities that an ADD kid feels right at home! Anyway, we have been trying to tee him up for it and setting the expectation a little lower than what he is used to from Summer Camp. Last night we were in the car talking about summer plans and all the different camps he will be going to and he then started asking me about Spencer. It’s funny how an 11 year old thinks, he asked me “mom, since you and dad weren’t supposed to have kids because dad had cancer, is that why Spencer has Autism?” We had a long conversation about Autism and Spencer, why he has it, how his autism is different than some other kids. As we talked I realized, that Camp Blessing CAN give him one thing that all those other camps can’t--a broader view of people with disabilities, much farther reaching than what our family experiences.
What I pray for now and will continue to pray for over the next several days, is that Parker leaves camp "blessed" with a better understanding and appreciation for his brother, himself, our family and what it takes from all of us to raise Spencer up to be the most that he can be.
We are blessed, we are chosen, and it takes EVERYONE in Spencer’s life to help him and each other along the way.
Until next time...grace, peace, hope, love and prayers
T
This coming Sunday we drop the boys off at Camp Blessing (formerly known as Camp Barnabas). They are both really excited about going. The last few nights we have pulled out Spencer’s camp book from last summer and go through all the pictures and journal entries. He gets such a big smile on his face every time! We ask him if he wants to go to camp and he gets a huge grin and says “ess”. I can just tell by the look on his face he actually knows what we mean when we say “camp” and he truly is looking forward to it and is very excited!!
One of the neatest things this year is that Parker gets to go with him. They have one week each summer where the siblings of the special needs child can come along and they have activities just for them. I’m not really sure what to expect and neither is Parker. I have to admit I’m a little skeptical about sending him. He is a “seasoned” summer camper and has gone to Pine Cove in Tyler, Pine Cove in Columbus for 2 summer, Camp Allen in Navasota, Second Baptist Kids Camp and Second Baptist Next Level Camp. I’m sure it’s similar but these other camps are the “big guns” and cost a small fortune to send him. That being said, they are PACKED with so many activities that an ADD kid feels right at home! Anyway, we have been trying to tee him up for it and setting the expectation a little lower than what he is used to from Summer Camp. Last night we were in the car talking about summer plans and all the different camps he will be going to and he then started asking me about Spencer. It’s funny how an 11 year old thinks, he asked me “mom, since you and dad weren’t supposed to have kids because dad had cancer, is that why Spencer has Autism?” We had a long conversation about Autism and Spencer, why he has it, how his autism is different than some other kids. As we talked I realized, that Camp Blessing CAN give him one thing that all those other camps can’t--a broader view of people with disabilities, much farther reaching than what our family experiences.
What I pray for now and will continue to pray for over the next several days, is that Parker leaves camp "blessed" with a better understanding and appreciation for his brother, himself, our family and what it takes from all of us to raise Spencer up to be the most that he can be.
We are blessed, we are chosen, and it takes EVERYONE in Spencer’s life to help him and each other along the way.
Until next time...grace, peace, hope, love and prayers
T
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Art, School and some not so good news......
Since Spencer has been going to Spectrum he has to come to work with me a few days a week before school so I can get some things done before I drop him off. Generally we get there at 7 and leave about 8:45 to be at school by 9:00. He is always so well behaved, he just sits at his desk and watches his movies. Last week one day, he reached over and grabbed my purple marker and started drawing on a pad of paper....here's what he drew....
On the not so good news front.....if you look back at my previous post I was soo jazzed about the results of his most recent Challenge test....well, I was totally wrong in my assumptions. The EDTA wasn't any more remarkable than the DMSA, so we won't be chelating any more. The blood draw did show low Vit D, chromium and Molybdenum. So we are adding 3 more supplements. Joyous!! :) Next steps with Thoughtful House, I'm not real sure. I've decided to keep all the Biomed stuff in a holding pattern for right now. He's doing well, progressing at school, and is generally happy and compliant. I'll probably touch base with Lucas sometime in March to evalutate how Spencer's doing and see if there's anything we need to tweak or add/change. I'm kind of tired of all the biomed right now, it's a little bit of work, fairly costly and I'm just not seeing as much as I would like. That doesn't mean I'm abandoning it, I'm just burned out and need to take a break from it.
Until next time....grace, peace, hope, love and prayers
T
Everything on the top of the picture he drew himself. Once I noticed the "art" he was drawing, I made some little dotted lines with the letters of his name. He then traced the dots to make his name. Now, this in and of itself is not that remarkable because he has been "writing" his name like this for a long time. What IS remarkable about this picture....if you look at the top you can see 2 "e"'s that he drew independently without dotted lines. If you look further at the picture, you can sort of tell he was trying to write his name independently!!! A HUGE task for a kid with SEVERE Apraxia, very "weak" hands and fine motor challenges. YAY little buddy!!
I am soo proud of him! We had a review of his most recent VB-MAPP a few weeks ago. (This is his assessment tool that shows his progress.) He is currently being evalutead on about 170 points, when he was evaluated in August he scored something like 57 out of 170, when he was re-evaluated in October he scored in the 70's!! That is VERY impressive in just 2 months to have mastered close to 20 skills!! He will likely be re-evaluted every 3 months or so....he is making amazing progress!! The Supervising Therapist said he moves through their programs so quickly that she is having to write new ones every week!! Her words were "he sure does keep me on my toes and makes me work!!!
Until next time....grace, peace, hope, love and prayers
T
Friday, January 8, 2010
I'm baaaaaaack!! And I have some news to share!!
I'm venturing back into blog-o-sphere!! I have been away quiet some time and a lot has happened. We have had a great fall!! The 5th grade Sparans made it to the first round of playoffs, but sadly didn't adjust too well to playing at night on artificial turf and lost.
We spent Thanksgiving in Ft. Worth at Dad's house where we had a great time!! We did they typical feast and football on Thanksgiving day. Little (that would by my little sister) and I of course HAD to take advantage of Old Navy being open on Thanksgiving day and got some ski gear for the little boys for our trip this spring. Friday we went to see my Meecie (my Grandma) and had a nice visit with her. That evening, the "kids"--that would be the adult kids and the little kids went to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags, which was quiet fun...the weather was crisp and they had that place decked out with Christmas cheer!! Parker FINALLY got his dad to ride the Titan...by far his (and dare I say my) FAVORITE roller coaster of ALL time.....check out this pic taken at the top of the 280 foot drop...SOO COOOOOL!!!!
Saturday we saw TCU spank New Mexico!! Lots of fun, Spencer LOVED LOVED LOVED the marching band. Even Spencer has turned into a tride and true Horned Frog....you hold up the hand sign and say what is this and he'll say "go gogs!" Very cute!! It's been a lot of fun watching that little school in Ft. Worth rise to national recognition...too bad they just couldn't pull it off agains Boise State in the Fiesta bowl. Here's a pic of Lou saying "Go gogs"
The following weekend, my dad got tickets for "his girls" to go see the Big XII Championship game. Now before you get all excited about how cool it was that we got to witness the "great" game, let me tell you the first 3 quarters were a total snoozer!! The ball would travel up and down the field with zero TD's and I think maybe one or two field goals. But man oh man did that last minute make up for it...what a dramatic ending!!!
The following weekend I took Spencer to Austin for his EDTA Chelation (this is the one that is done through IV so we had to go to Thoughtful House to have it done). It was actually a pretty fun day....in this journey it's not very often that you get to spend a lot of time with someone who totally understands what you are going through. My friend Stephanie was also taking her son to have EDTA so we rode together and had fun talking about everything under the sun. 3 hours to Austin, 15 minutes at Thoughtful House, a stop at Chik Fil A and then back to Katy. Yep, you travel 6 hours in a day for a 15 minute treatment. BUT....we got our test results back today and it was TOTALLY worth it!! Here's a little breakdown....
First Test we did without any chelator showed Arsenic, Beryllium, Nickel, and Thallium, all of which were in the "within range" which basically means they aren't high enough to be concerned about. Remember that this doesn't really mean anything, because his body may just be unable to rid itself of these metals.
The second test was when he took the DMSA suppository chelator at home in October. This one showed all of those above and a little bit of aluminum and lead. Again, all of them were "within range". If you remember back from this post you will recall that this pretty much meant that the DMSA didn't "pull" any metals. From that, the next step was EDTA IV Chelation....here are the results....
Elevated (meaning higher than what is acceptable)...Aluminum, Cadmium, Uranium and Thallium. A few that are on the cusp are Lead and Nickel. Now, I haven't actually talked to Lucas about these results, but from what I can tell....the EDTA WORKED!! The even more reassuring thing is that Stephanie said that her son's metals came out more and more with each treatment.
I find it somewhat surreal, that I look at these test results that show my sweet precious baby is full of toxic metals and I am exstatic!! I know why I feel that way, because I have something to grab onto, that we have found something that we can treat and pray it helps. But nonetheless who would think to feel "happy" to see that their child is full of heavy metals that his own sweet little body can't get rid of one it's own??
After a pretty typical Christmas we are finally settling back into a routine. This has been a tough week for Spencer...he took a pretty big turn for the worse behavior wise right around New Years day...lots of tantruming, not following directions, drooling and chewing on his tongue and cheek...made running errands no fun at all. Tuesday and Wednesday when I dropped him off, he cried and screamed and didn't want to get out of the car at school!! It's amazing what routine will do for him...today he was back to his old self!! Still have some residual defiance and tantruming, but 90% better than where we were a week ago. Life is hectic when the kids are back in school, but the routine is so comforting...to ALL of us (not just Spencer).
Until next time....grace, peace, hope, love and prayers!
T
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. Psalms 116:1-2
We spent Thanksgiving in Ft. Worth at Dad's house where we had a great time!! We did they typical feast and football on Thanksgiving day. Little (that would by my little sister) and I of course HAD to take advantage of Old Navy being open on Thanksgiving day and got some ski gear for the little boys for our trip this spring. Friday we went to see my Meecie (my Grandma) and had a nice visit with her. That evening, the "kids"--that would be the adult kids and the little kids went to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags, which was quiet fun...the weather was crisp and they had that place decked out with Christmas cheer!! Parker FINALLY got his dad to ride the Titan...by far his (and dare I say my) FAVORITE roller coaster of ALL time.....check out this pic taken at the top of the 280 foot drop...SOO COOOOOL!!!!
Saturday we saw TCU spank New Mexico!! Lots of fun, Spencer LOVED LOVED LOVED the marching band. Even Spencer has turned into a tride and true Horned Frog....you hold up the hand sign and say what is this and he'll say "go gogs!" Very cute!! It's been a lot of fun watching that little school in Ft. Worth rise to national recognition...too bad they just couldn't pull it off agains Boise State in the Fiesta bowl. Here's a pic of Lou saying "Go gogs"
Sunday after Thanksgiving we took the boys to the Texans game. This was Spencer's first and I will say, I was a little apprehensive....he has this habit of wandering and we were planning to tailgate (just imagine what I was anticipaing....me chasing after him all over the Reliant parking lot). He was awesome!!! He stayed right with us while we cooked out, then he played a little football with Mike and Parker. During the game I was prepared to spend a good majority of the game walking aroudn the concourse with him, but once again the little dude amazed me....he sat with us the whole time, cheered and clapped and was full of smiles, he loved it!! This was a GREAT day!! Here's a great one of Mike...he threw a long pass to Parker and judging by the look on Mike's face the ball was headed toward someone's car and hot stuff tightend Parker James was not going to catch it!
The following weekend I took Spencer to Austin for his EDTA Chelation (this is the one that is done through IV so we had to go to Thoughtful House to have it done). It was actually a pretty fun day....in this journey it's not very often that you get to spend a lot of time with someone who totally understands what you are going through. My friend Stephanie was also taking her son to have EDTA so we rode together and had fun talking about everything under the sun. 3 hours to Austin, 15 minutes at Thoughtful House, a stop at Chik Fil A and then back to Katy. Yep, you travel 6 hours in a day for a 15 minute treatment. BUT....we got our test results back today and it was TOTALLY worth it!! Here's a little breakdown....
First Test we did without any chelator showed Arsenic, Beryllium, Nickel, and Thallium, all of which were in the "within range" which basically means they aren't high enough to be concerned about. Remember that this doesn't really mean anything, because his body may just be unable to rid itself of these metals.
The second test was when he took the DMSA suppository chelator at home in October. This one showed all of those above and a little bit of aluminum and lead. Again, all of them were "within range". If you remember back from this post you will recall that this pretty much meant that the DMSA didn't "pull" any metals. From that, the next step was EDTA IV Chelation....here are the results....
Elevated (meaning higher than what is acceptable)...Aluminum, Cadmium, Uranium and Thallium. A few that are on the cusp are Lead and Nickel. Now, I haven't actually talked to Lucas about these results, but from what I can tell....the EDTA WORKED!! The even more reassuring thing is that Stephanie said that her son's metals came out more and more with each treatment.
I find it somewhat surreal, that I look at these test results that show my sweet precious baby is full of toxic metals and I am exstatic!! I know why I feel that way, because I have something to grab onto, that we have found something that we can treat and pray it helps. But nonetheless who would think to feel "happy" to see that their child is full of heavy metals that his own sweet little body can't get rid of one it's own??
After a pretty typical Christmas we are finally settling back into a routine. This has been a tough week for Spencer...he took a pretty big turn for the worse behavior wise right around New Years day...lots of tantruming, not following directions, drooling and chewing on his tongue and cheek...made running errands no fun at all. Tuesday and Wednesday when I dropped him off, he cried and screamed and didn't want to get out of the car at school!! It's amazing what routine will do for him...today he was back to his old self!! Still have some residual defiance and tantruming, but 90% better than where we were a week ago. Life is hectic when the kids are back in school, but the routine is so comforting...to ALL of us (not just Spencer).
Until next time....grace, peace, hope, love and prayers!
T
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. Psalms 116:1-2
A December to Remember and some pocket change
Ever wonder why December and Remember sort of sound the same? I wonder if someone did that on purpose? You know it's the end of the year and I always find that during this month we generally spend a good deal of effort talking about and remembering all the events of the past year. And funny how this month that rhymes with remember ends with a new year! Okay so that was a pathetic attempt to open this post sort of witty and thought provoking, but maybe not so much?!?!
So for me, as this year is coming to a close I find myself thinking about all the things that have changed over the last year and this has been a pretty eventful 2009 especially where Spencer is concerned. And I'm seriously crossing my fingers (and maybe a toe or two), wishing, hoping and mostly PRAYING that 2010 will bring about more BIG change. That seems a little weird to say out loud, most of the time I really don't like change, I like for things to plug along nice a smoothly no bumps in the road. But oh how change is soo good! I mean really life would be rather boring if we spent a lot of energy and effort getting things set to function a certain way, and then what...you just go along day in and day out with no change. That would seriously be a big ole bore! Maybe that's why so many people are so unhappy?? They just avoid change.
Until next time...grace, peace, hope, love and paryers!
T
So for me, as this year is coming to a close I find myself thinking about all the things that have changed over the last year and this has been a pretty eventful 2009 especially where Spencer is concerned. And I'm seriously crossing my fingers (and maybe a toe or two), wishing, hoping and mostly PRAYING that 2010 will bring about more BIG change. That seems a little weird to say out loud, most of the time I really don't like change, I like for things to plug along nice a smoothly no bumps in the road. But oh how change is soo good! I mean really life would be rather boring if we spent a lot of energy and effort getting things set to function a certain way, and then what...you just go along day in and day out with no change. That would seriously be a big ole bore! Maybe that's why so many people are so unhappy?? They just avoid change.
Until next time...grace, peace, hope, love and paryers!
T
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