A Woman's Work – Brooke Basically Blogging

“Mom, is this a paternity test?” “So dad is not our dad?” Then Sydney chimes in with, “do we need a step dad?” Is it five o’clock yet?

Let me back up for a minute. Yesterday at our family meeting I was going to tell the children about the genetic testing that we are doing as a family. Before I could even begin to explain the test. Harrison’s imagination took off. He thought I needed to swab his mouth for a paternity test. Seriously, Harrison have you looked in the mirror lately? Rob Copher is your daddy. And Sydney’s daddy too. I guess they really pay attention to my Law & Order episodes.

I really needed a little humor in my day. After a morning at an IEP for Sydney that didn’t go as planned. I needed to be surrounded by my family.

Sydney’s neurologist ordered genetic testing for Sydney. He is testing the epilepsy panels. Thank God for Dr. Chugani being back in our lives. I have been requesting this test for over a year. This test will show the exact strand of epilepsy that Syd has and if we are treating her with the best medication.

She will also need to have an EKG to rule out some concerns, and another EEG. This time the EEG will be a one hour test and not the video monitoring test overnight. The medical side of autism is exhausting. Her medical binders are growing as large as the IEP binders.

The nurse at her school talked with Sydney about being aware of the medicine that she takes. She made sure to talk with her about the colors of her pills that she takes at school. And never take a pill that wasn’t the right color or that she had seen before. I thank God for Mrs. Newsome for explaining that to Sydney.

I learned a valuable lesson a few days ago. I was in such a rush. That when I went to give Sydney her morning medicine. I almost gave her the evening medicine. Sydney quickly stopped me. It wouldn’t have been tragic. But it was a wakeup call for me to slow down.

Being an autism mom means doing your research. Asking questions, advocating, and talking with other mother warriors. Our autism adventure has been a 13 year journey. Through tears, trial and error, tests, and lab work we are making progress. One day at a time.