The Rocky Road

It's been a rocky road, this diet & new lifestyle we've been leading for the past month now. We went into this with tonz of energy and determination. But that slowed as Colton's progress did the same. I guess I kept thinking once we pull these toxins out of him he will day by day get better and better. But I never factored in regression days. I didn't figure the amount of hours each day/week it would take to dedicate to his new diet. Shopping at least 5 days a week at Whole Foods (thank the Lord there is one now in Allen) and Market Street....anywhere there is a half decent organic/gf section. And we didn't even think about the fact that one of the "social gatherings" of our generation, EATING OUT, would have to cease. We had a few set backs thrown in the mix as well. My 7 yr old daughter Cassidy gave him a cracker one day, and he just ate it before he really thought about it (she always shares with him so to her this was no biggie). He ate a peppermint a few weekends back and you would have thought I had given him a sugar injection by his reaction.

Our progress had slowed at a few weeks back. I noticed Colton was really losing weight at his coloring is looking very pale. I was concerned and emailed his doctor about it. Cole can be a pretty stubborn kiddo and if he does not like something, he will go without rather than eating it. The old cliche of "If your child is hungry, he/she will eat" does not really apply to my son. He simply misses his old favorites and was begging to just have some pizza or any of his old favorites. The doctor stressed to me that we get a very balance menu in front of him...all i could think was...SERIOUSLY? Just to get him to try something new is a monumental feat. But we kept trying.

Another setback we had was we stopped his vitamins and supplements a few days before a doctor appointment too, as the doctor wanting to view him with nothing in his system. And WOW did that make a huge, negative difference. He pulled away and was quiet and tired all weekend. He played alone and really didn't interact with anyone much. It was very odd and to be honest, a little scary for John and I to see. After the doc appt he had us start back up with the vitamins and supplements and he snapped out of the fog he was in.

But then, we have a day like today. It started typical....worrying about what to make him for breakfast, stressing that I had to run home from work to cook him a meal for lunch and drive it up to the school, then plan out a dinner for him and figure in the time to cook it from scratch while getting everything else done for the day. I've said it before, but I totally respect Laura Ingalls Wilder! Anyhoo, when I was dropping off his lunch today, his teacher stopped me and told me of some fantastic strides he made today in math class. He finished a lesson before anyone else in the class and turned it in to her. She looked at him skepically b/c Colton NEVER has EVER finished before anyone much less first. For a long time he has struggled with an understanding and application of math. When his teacher looked over his worksheet, she found that he got everything correct! This was huge for my boy who has lived in such a fog that grasping even basic math was frustraing and extremely difficult. He would get it one day, then lose it the next. The blessing in all this was seeing his teacher's reaction to this tiny breakthrough. She was as excited as I was and I love her for that! I walked back to my car with tears in my eyes, got it, locked the doors and cried. It was that tiny news of my boy finishing a worksheet. Something that use to be a herculean chore for him at times. Something that any other parent of an average child would not think even twice about...that made my day, and made me hopeful for what else is to come of this.

I know God is pulling me through this. I see the signs often and need to recognize them more and be thankful for the ups and the downs of this journey. I need to realize that this is a slow process and I need to be patient and just love my sweet kiddo through all this.

I'm thankful too for the women that have been placed in my life during this journey. I have met some amazing new friends who have given me advice and encouragement like I could never have imagined. Women who have walked in my shoes and are walking along with me. God brought each of you into my life and I am so thankful and blessed to have each and every one of you. Oh, and Paiger....you do not even know how much our talks have kept me going through all this, I love you friend and can't imagine riding this rollercoaster withouth you! The only way I can think to repay everyone is to pay it forward. And hopefully I can do so with giving as much information on my journey as possible through this blog and connecting with others dealing with children on the Spectrum. And so I march forward. And so I press on.