More Info on Bryce

Okay so we are very busy once again getting everything ready for Bryce as he turns 3 on April 1st. And no that is not a joke, I am not fooling you, He was really born on April 1st 2006. Bryce will be going to preschool 2 days a week for the next 7 wks or so. He qualified for the ECSEC program in our school district. It is a special education curriculum designed for early intervention. I must say that I never thought I would be one of the moms freaking out over sending my child on a bus to school. But I must admit, I am freaking out. I know he will be safe in the bus, I have been reassured that he will be fine. They have an aide on the bus as well as the bus driver. They also have the 5-point harnesses for the kids. It is not a matter of him being physically safe it is more my worry over him and his emotional state. I fear that he will freak out and not like it. My fears will be either made real or dismissed in a few short days.
This weekend I need to go look for a backpack small enough for him and has anyone noticed it is not that season? I am sure I can find something. Bryce starts preschool with Mrs Keim on March 31st. She is a very kind and gentle teacher whom I had the privilege to meet last week. Bryce and I went to see his classroom. He loved being there, but did not enjoy being made to sit for circle time.

We have not started Bryce on any special diets yet, it is just too much change right now and we already have so much going on. Plus the diet is expensive. We also have not put him on any meds as of yet. We are still researching it. He is on daily vitamins with Iron and we briefly put him on a detox to clean out his system. While we were detoxing him he got sick with the flu again. That is the 3rd time this year. So he went off the detox. We are looking into doing it again, however he now has a cold and I am going to wait til he is over that. Detoxing can be expensive as well, but I feel it is important to get the junk out.

We had quite the ordeal with getting his blood drawn on Tuesday. Bryce's developmental pediatrician order several tests and we dreading taking him to get the blood drawn. A little background as to why we didn't rush in... At Christmas time Bryce got the flu so bad that he had to be hospitalized for dehydration. They tried 3 or 4 times to get an IV in to give him fluids, finally on the 4th try they got it in but not in is arm , they had to put it in his hand. He was also given a catheter. So you can imagine the trauma the poor boy went through. So we took him in tues. at 7:45 am and when he saw the chair he started getting really nervous. Nick went with us and took Bryce and held him. It took forever for the lab tech to get his tests all sorted out. Finally they started to blood draw. They put the needle in and Bryce started kicking and screaming. I could tell it really hurt. Plus the blood draw was a true draw. It went from the needle into a syringe which they later put into the vials that were specifying each test. After the draw, he wanted me to hold him, which I was thrilled to do. As he sobbed in my arms, I was grateful for my husbands help and support. Poor Nick felt like the bad guy and he so isn't. As I held Bryce I was waiting for them to say something like you are done or hold one minute while we sort through all the tests. But the tech wasn't saying anything. Finally I asked if we were done or if we needed to stay or what was going on. The tech finally turned around and said that she wasn't sure that they got enough blood for all the tests. Imagine the feeling I had in me. I was not looking forward to another blood draw. So I asked when they would know if they had enough. She sort of didn't really answer at first. So I asked if it would be today, tomorrow, or next week. I was just trying to get a general idea. She then assured me that it wouldn't be that day. So we left. On our way home we stopped and got McDonalds breakfast for the boys, my mother-in-law who was home with Brayden and Brenna, Nick and myself. We got home stepped in the door only to hear that the hospital called and wanted us to come back in for more blood because they indeed did not have enough. Can you imagine my frustration and anger? Nick was more upset than I was. He is not one to get upset easily. He had to get to work, so his mom offered to stay with the kids a little longer while I took Bryce back to the hospital. So we ate then went to the hosp. When we got there he knew where he was. He was poked in the other arm and it blew the vein, so they had to go back to the arm they pulled from the first time and re-poke that arm. My poor baby! His little arms are bruised. It was a rough day. The supervisor was the one that did the second draw, and I asked why they didn't know how much blood they needed to start with. She then told me that the tech said that we were in a hurry to leave. MAD!!! yes I was. The supervisor told me she didn't believe the reason from the tech when she was told it. They gave us a Wal-Mart gift card and told us that she would be reported. I assured them that it is not about $$. It is about traumatizing this poor child. Most children would not do well with that situation, but an Autistic child going through all that is 10 times worse. I was not trying to get her in trouble, but I did want them to know this was not a minor incident. They assured me they knew it wasn't and apologized profusely for the inconvenience.

Bryce also just saw his developmental pediatrician. She was very impressed with his progress in spite of not using the meds. I was glad because I am not sure I want Bryce on the meds she prescribed. It is an anti - psychotic drug and I really think he is fine without it at this time. She wants to look at putting him on it in the 2nd week of June. We will see. I am praying for other remedies. The last time the DP (developmental Pediatrician) saw Bryce he was only saying 5 words. He is now up to about 14 or 15. God is good. We are praising him for this progress in just 4 weeks. He also stacked up blocks for the first time in his visit with her. I was so proud of him. Yes, it is the little things that we get excited over, but trust me if your child was Autistic you too would be excited.

Brayden and Brenna are doing good. We are all getting over colds. Yuck! Brenna is still in First Steps and Brayden will be evaluated soon just to make sure he is where he needs to be. Brenna reverted a little the past few weeks. She won't take the bottle and now does not want to eat from the spoon. She is going to be tested for Sensory Integration Disorder soon. I will let you know the outcome of that when we know something.

Nick has been staying busy with work and I have decided to stick with Pampered Chef. I am looking into taking classes for OT which is Occupational Therapy. I feel it would be beneficial for my family with all their issues. I am praying for funding.

Well that is enough writing. My hand is now cramping. lol I will try to be a little more consistant with my blog so as to keep you posted. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts.

The Clark Family