This week, our darling Alexzander had to go to the doctor. I scheduled him with the nurse from Pediatric Specialties (they specialize in doctor visits for children with special needs) that was there when he was diagnosed with Autism, and she was amazed with the progress he has made! She was excited to see that he was in good health, but still a very picky eater. She was glad that we are finding ways to get the nutrients he needs in him despite this. He is perfect in weight, he is on the tall side for his age (of course), and she, like all the other women who know him, is jealous of his eyelashes.
But, with all the praise, he still did not have a good trip to the doctor. It was a new place, scary, with a bunch of unfamiliar people. AND, he had to get two shots and some blood drawn. The two shots were his Preschool immunization shots, and she suggested another shot, however, his insurance didn't cover it, so I have to find a way to get it for him. The one shot has been making him very tired, and yesterday while I was at work, he got sick, threw up on the floor, so Tony let him take a 2 hour bath (putting warm water in periodically, of course). When I got home, Alex was passed out on the couch. Even now, he has been a little bit better, but he is curled up in Tony's blanket on the floor. But, he has at least eaten today, drank some juice, and has been talking to us. He even watched an episode of House this morning (he loves that show).
When the doctor was trying to give him his exam, he would tell her what all of her instrumentation was called and he would use it on himself and sometimes her, like her stethoscope. She was quite amazed that he knew all of the names! He even took my blood pressure, making sure that I was healthy too. But then, the terribleness started.
They took some blood just to make sure that he was ok. They wanted to test for lead in his blood, since he does like to put stuff in his mouth that doesn't belong there. When he got the shots, it only took 3 of us to hold him down, but when he had to get his blood drawn, it took three of us and Tony. But, after the shots and blood being taken, Tony took him to get chicken nuggets and fries before taking him to Grandpa's house so he could relax. When I got there after work and school to pick him up, he was still treating me like I had ruined his life, putting him through unmentionable horrors. But I reminded him that there is no one else he would rather cuddle with at the end of the day than me.
The doctor sent us home with an application for the Children's Miracle Network, in hopes they will give us money for an iPad for Alex. I want to get him two, one for here at home and one for Grandpa's house, because I think that he would benefit from the lack of distractions at Grandpa's house, and here we would be able to help him figure out how to play games and find him new apps to conquer here at home. Also, that way, we don't have to worry about it being broken during transport. I am thankful for the hospital doing this for us, but it is times like these when I wished I was not a poor college student and could get the stuff that would benefit him, no matter the cost. One day, hopefully within the next year, I will graduate and be making money and finally substantially contributing to our household. HOORAY for becoming an ADULT!
I have said it before, and I will say it again, I am so surprised by the amount of people who are interested in my child. Before this all started, I just figured it would be me and him, and I didn't want to be one of those parents that pushed him in everyone's faces and forced them to love him. Instead, he has done it all on his own, capturing people's hearts. I am equally surprised every time I get a message saying how much people like reading my blog about him, and, even though I don't have the time or publishing company, how people think I should turn this into a book.
Alex is a one of a kind kid. As the "Always Unique Totally Intelligent Sometimes Mysterious" page on Facebook stated, "For a person with autism to behave as "normal" would be unnatural. They offer amusing & imaginative humor which brightens up the day." Its true. And he would not be that way if it were not for the people he has in his life, who are there no matter what, every day. We all have a part in making him who he will be in the future.
Scary, huh?
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