Double Ear Infection Week

Greyson started his week pretty good this week. He has had moments lately where he get very agitated if he is really overly tired or frustrated or anxious about something. So...the past few weeks have actually been pretty uneventful...at least until his ears started REALLY hurting. You see he had complained casually that they were hurting but it didn't seem to be a big deal. I thought it may just be allergies and pressure from his stuffed up head. Anyway...on Wednesday his teacher called me right after I left school and said he had an ear ache. I hurried back to find him almost crazy. He ran toward me and was frantic. I got him and took him home and quickly got him laying down with the heating pad, gave him some meds and called the doctor. He was having a huge melt down...hitting at me and kicking when it hurt the worst. When he does this we constantly have to tell him it is not ok to hit or kick but when he is over the top with anxiety I am not sure it makes much difference. It's sad to see but it is also frustrating for us. The last thing we want is him hurting someone else or himself when he is like this. At times he does hit himself. I hate watching it happen and not be able to get through to him. I did feel better after reading an article in the New York Times. A mother of a boy with Aspergers wrote in in response to another article and explained what her life was like. the melt downs, how her son hits them, bites them, has tantrums in stores while others stare. It was a that point that I knew we were lucky. Yes we deal with those issues...but on a much smaller scale from what I could tell. You see, once again it is apparent why they call it a spectrum. Your child can fall anywhere on it when diagnosed but regardless of where they fall, it is stressful and frustrating for all those involved. It made me better realize what I have known all along. It could be better, but it also could be much worse. Either way it is what it is and it's our normal. After going to the doctor she confirmed he had a bad ear infection and gave antibiotics. Greyson has had a history of sensory issues especially with taste buds and meds. I have tried every trick in the book to give him things...and he is always keen to my tricks. Sometimes he pukes, sometimes he spits it out, sometimes I slip it by, but usually we end up battling it out to get meds on board. This visit I begged for pills for him. i was determined if I could get him to swallow the pills it would save us from here on out. Well guess what? After crying and panicking for a while thinking he was going to choke to death...(literally), he did it! We practiced on tic tacs first...and then headed for the "real deal". There was some bribing involved...so sue me. I held his hands, looked him in the eye and said firmly, "You can do this!" He took a deep breath, cried some more and then he was ready...he did it! He did it again! Yay for Greyson and his triumph over the meds!!!!! Next week he has another big milestone for him. He tests for his red stripe belt. This is his last colored belt before he tests for a black belt in Shorinji Kempo Karate. wow! He has come sooooo far with that. We hope we can help him get all the way to black belt. I know he can do it and we are very proud of what he has accomplished. Despite the moments of anxiety, frustration and stress there are giant periods of success, love and fun. Hooray for being different. Our family certainly is just that.