Its time to bring you up to date with some of the post stories ...

3 Months to Live
The friend who was given 3 months to live is still with us, albeit quite depressed as she enters 2009 as I presume the inevitability of this year being her last wraps itself around her thoughts. She has had to move 3 times, and was burgled 3 times at the first property. Now her landlady has passed on and the family strongly wanted to sell the rental property.


Behavioral Optometry

We did get a second opinion for Agate and for her age she is doing well. I wanted to focus on her visual-spatial skills and so a couple of take-home exercises were prescribed by the Optometrist.

We will test her again after a year to get a better idea.


Agate

I have written a few posts about Agate and the various areas I have tried to explore to help me understand her and help her.

I now tend to believe what I have read - that ASD disorders may be a 3 year delay in neurological functions reaching maturity, as she has improved significantly. In fact I would be loathe to say she has ODD but rather some strong-willed reactions to her SPD and encopresis.

The later is the area that we have made little headway. So we are now in the middle of waiting for some laboratory tests results to come back to see if they give us / the doctor any insights. I really wanted to save her from blood tests but looking at the bigger picture - she needs to have a solution to this problem for her own well-being.

Already her eosinophils have come back very high but the coeliac and stool samples have yet to be completed.

She exhibits none of the typical coeliac symptoms and her serum immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM) are normal.

Anyway last year we decided to try a gluten free diet once more. OH BOY, what did we get ourselves in for?! It made the household awful, horrible & tense all over again. All those things that has slowly slipped into oblivion. So perhaps there is something to it?

Why did we try gluten free? Well when we had been away on holiday it was noticed that Agate did not soil herself, and that when offered a range of foods from which to graze she had been choosing mainly fruits, vegetables and a little meat. Instinctively (if that is what it is) she had been avoiding breads and cereals. Which is what made me think there may really be something to this, as the first time that Onyx, Ruby and Agate did the FAILSAFE diet they all reacted to the gluten challenge too. Except Onyx didn't want to do anything about it. From memory the older two stated that their memory was clearer.

Having to only source enough alternative food for one person made this easier this time and she seemed to understand and most times appreciate that she is being singled out for this snack or treat that is different.

We now hopefully also have a pediatric referral in the pipeline - expected waiting time = 3-6 months.


Weight Loss

Well, you wouldn't believe it but after 8 years my scales went belly up! Probably a result of the children jumping on them one too many times. I tried to get replacement parts but they simply do not stock any. I was on the verge of being resigned to buying another when the agent went on to say that as they were Salter scales they have a decent warranty on them and they would replace them with the same or a like model. So they have been sent back and I tentatively await the new ones.

I really don't want to try them out as I am in flux between wondering if I am simply just fat from the Christmas season or pregnant! Of course the later is almost impossible but would be easier to live with than thinking that all my effort last year to lose weight has been undone. I am seriously looking at exercise equipment - sigh.


Well folks, I hope that fills in some of the blanks.

If you are wondering about something I haven't updated on recently just drop me an email and ask! =>