Surgery

Well, it looks like surgery is in Matthew's future.  He's not too happy about it either!  A couple of weeks ago during one of his therapy sessions his doctor mentioned that he thought Matthew wasn't getting good sleep at night.  We had been talking about how hard it is to get him up in the mornings and then how slugglish he is during the day.  So, Dr. Kropp (the psychologist) referred him to an ENT specialist.  The ENT is one that our family has had dealings with.  He performed surgery on Lily when she was 4 (removed tonsils and adenoids) and then he performed sinus surgery on Bryan a little over a year ago.  So, we are comfortable with this doctor and we trust his opinion.  We finally got to see the ENT this week (Monday) and he said that Matthew's right tonsil and adenoids are enlarged.  He thinks it would be best to remove them.  I haven't gotten the call to schedule the surgery so I don't know when that will be yet. 

I am really hoping that this surgery helps him sleep better at night.  And I am really, REALLY hoping and praying that the surgery [and him sleeping better at night] will help his behavior.  I have done some research online and this is the main cause of sleep apnea in children.  I know how I am if I don't sleep well, and I can't imagine how I would feel after months of night sleeping well. 

On a more positive note, this Saturday is Matthew's birthday.  He will be 12.  It's so hard to believe that he is already 12 years old!  We are going to celebrate by going to the movies and out to eat.  He doesn't know it yet but we are getting him a cell phone.  We are actually giving him my old cell phone for a trial run because we are not sure how he will be with a cell phone.  This will be a good way for him to communicate with me during the day while he's at his grandparents' house.  He calls me at work alot with questions so this will be better.  I think a little responsibility will be good for him.


"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Update

An update on Matthew:

We have made some changes hopefully for the good.  Matthew has been seeing a psychologist since the end of December.  We really like him and Matthew enjoys going to therapy.  The doctor also has a therapy dog (a solid white German Shepard) that sits in on the sessions so Matthew likes that too!  I feel that the therapy has been really good for him.  Something that this doctor has mentioned that hasn't dawned on me is that Matthew may have sleep apnea.  Which would cause alot of the problems Matthew has been having.  It wouldn't be the cause for everything but it could be making things worse.  So, he has referred us to an ENT doctor to check that out.  We will see that doctor mid February and I am anxious to see what he thinks.

Also, we made a decision that was risky but I think it was the right thing.  We took Matthew off of all of his medication.  I spoke with the psychiatrist about it before I did it and he agreed that it would be worth a try.  I've been praying about what to do and I just felt a peace about doing this. I just feel that the age he is at right now, hormones are starting to kick in, and that, mixed with the medication, is just causing more harm than good.  He has been off of the medicine for 4 days and so far things have been better (I'm knocking on wood here!).  I'm hoping and praying that we are starting to see the light at the end of the long, dark and scary tunnel! (I'm seeing more of my Matthew!)

Home school is going good.  It's not perfect, but it seems like every week it gets a little bit better.  He is a little behind but we are working on getting caught up.  He does like it much better than going to public school.  I keep telling him that he has to do well and get his work done or he will have to go back to public school (that motivates him to try harder!). 

I know that we will still have rough days but I sure am thankful for each and every good day that we have!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1




"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Good things...

Instead of blogging about all the problems we've been having, today I'm blogging about good things!

Last night my daughter (who is 8) accepted Christ.  She has been wanting to do it for a while but we wanted to make sure she was ready.  She is so smart and she knows in her head that this is what she is supposed to do.  But, we wanted to make sure she was under conviction by the Holy Spirit.  We thought that maybe we were too close to her to really see, so we decided to let her talk with our Pastor, Bro. Jerry.  After talking with her for a few minutes, he led her to Christ.  Now our whole family is saved and on our way to Heaven!  I am so proud of my little girl.  She is so grown up in so many ways.

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14  

The service last night was different.  We had a singer/songwriter Mark Lanier.  It was a very moving service and both of my kids (and most of the church) were in tears.  Both of our kids were touched by a lot of the songs.  Mark writes a lot of his own songs and he is very "ministry minded".  He thinks about how his songs are going to get the gospel message across to people.  http://www.marklanierministries.com

Matthew has started school with GCA (Georgia Cyber Academy).  He hasn't had to do a lot of work yet, it is still in the orientation phase.  Hopefully this week he will get his assignments and get started.  I think he will like it once he sees it's nothing like public school.  He still has good days and bad days, we are working on trying to have more good days than bad. ;-)

"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

Oh, and one more good thing to add.  I started Weight Watchers January 1st and so far I have lost 5 lbs.  It is a slow start.  Usually when I start a diet or change my eating habits I drop the weight alot quicker, but I do realize that as I get older it may not be as easy.  I am not discouraged but encouraged by this, because I am 5 lbs lighter than I was 2 weeks ago!

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Good Changes

I have updates! Good ones too!

Bryan has accepted a part time position at our home church assisting the Pastor. He is going to continue to work for the funeral home as well. The church position may turn into something full time down the road. We'll keep praying and asking God to direct here. It is amazing how the Lord works.

Matthew's troublesome school days are over. Unfortunately he had a teacher call him a name and say some embarrassing remarks to him in front of the whole class. This was unacceptable and I let her know that. The next morning we went and talked with the principal and let her know what happened and we went ahead and withdrew him. He only had three days left anyways, and I was not going to put him through any more of the problems he has been having! I already had him enrolled with the GA Cyber Academy to start in January. My mother in law is going to have him during the day and alot of the work he can do himself on the computer. We will work with him in the evenings on any projects and things that need to be done. I think he will do much better and bring his grades up without all of the stress!

Keep praying for us. It is finally starting to feel like it's going to be a Merry Christmas! I hope and pray that all of you have a Merry Christmas as well!


"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Asperger's

Just before Thanksgiving Matthew's doctor changed his diagnosis.  A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving we met with the principal's at his school. He had been getting into trouble for retaliating against bullies and we wanted to share his side and see what needed to be done.  After speaking with them for about an hour they had us talk to the school counselor.  She picked up on a few things that made her think he had more than just ADD/OCD.  I have thought so for a long time but hadn't pushed the issue.  She thought that he was showing signs of Asperger's Syndrome.  I knew exactly what she was talking about because I had studied up on it years ago when Matthew was younger.  We already had a regularly scheduled doctor appointment a few days later so I talked with the doctor about it and he changed his diagnosis.  We haven't had all of the testing done but the doctor said that he fit the criteria. I have done a lot of research on my own and I believe he fits the criteria.  It's hard to get a diagnosis for Asperger's because it is so hard to understand.

Asperger's falls under the spectrum of Autism Spectrum Disorders.  Which yes, that means that Matthew is a little bit autistic.  This would come as a surprise to those that know him unless they have spent a lot of time with him and understand Asperger's.  Now that I am talking about this more and talking to some other parents that are familiar with Asperger's they are telling me that they can see it in Matthew.  I have a dear friend who I trust.  She has an 8 year old son with Asperger's.  She also has an older son, who is Matthew's age.  Matthew has spent the night with them a couple of times.  When I talked to her about this, she told me that she had seen it but hadn't wanted to say anything to me because she didn't want to upset me.  I assured her that I wasn't offended, I trust her opinion since she has been dealing with this for several years.  She gave me some books to read on it and they have been very helpful.  I am learning all I can so that I can help Matthew as much as I can.  One thing that we have decided is that we will home school him after the first of the year.  I have already started working on getting him enrolled into the GA Cyber Academy.  If he can get into that, it will be great because it's free and it's considered public school.  Just taught at home.

Now some of you may be wondering, what is Asperger's Syndrome?  As I mentioned it is a form of Autism.  Autism is a whole spectrum of disorders from very moderate to very severe.  Matthew is what I like to call slightly autistic.  There are some with Asperger's that cannot function as well as Matthew.  Asperger's is on the high-functioning end of Autism (which means he functions at a higher level than those with low-functioning Autism).  Symptoms of Asperger's include:

• Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject
• Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures
• Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes
• Appearing not to understand, empathize with or be sensitive to others' feelings
• Having a hard time "reading" other people or understanding humor
• Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast
• Moving clumsily, with poor coordination

Pretty much all of these apply to Matthew to some extent.  Some just more than others.  Some trait's of Asperger's were more present when he was younger.  He has learned to conform to more "normal" standards as he has grown.  That is the thing about Asperger's, they can learn to cope but will always feel different than everyone else.  They feel that they don't fit in.  They often feel that they are very much alone.  This is alot of what Matthew has been going through lately. We've been having some issues at home and alot of issues at school.  It doesn't help when some of his teachers are not the least bit understanding!  I am very disappointed in the school and am definitely feeling that home school is the best option for Matthew. We are still working out the details for that to happen.

Sorry this was such a long post.  I'll try not to make it so long next time!  Keep us in your prayers and especially Matthew with all that he is dealing with.


"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19