This week has been one for the toilets. It started out with an urgent care trip that turned into an all-day ER visit, then a follow-up with my PCP, only to be given a bunch of meds and sent on my merry way. Long story short- I am fine. I had some blood in my urine and ended up with a bad kidney stone and a really bad bout of gastritis and a nasty stomach ulcer. I am hopefully on the mend and am hoping I’ll be feeling better asap.

Tuesday we were FINALLY able to begin with our In Home and Community Service (ICHS) for Greyson. It’s similar to respite, but we have a Direct Support Person (DSP) that we chose, who went through a bunch of training and is paid through the state waiver, which helps us access the service, since going through an agency has such a long waitlist. Our current DSP is someone who worked with Greyson and our family for 4 years and no longer works with him in a clinical setting, but she knows him VERY well. She is absolutely wonderful and Greyson has had SO much fun this week. He went to several places such as the park, round one, McDonalds AND even got a haircut at a barbershop! He has had less behaviors today and is loving exploring these new places with his DSP and behavioral team. He’s got more of a social life than Derek and I combined, for sure.

Roslynn and I took a trip down to Philadelphia on Tuesday for her follow-up with the pulmonologist at CHOP. It was good that we went because she has had a really nasty cough over the past week and I wanted her to be checked out. With her history of pneumonia every time she gets a cold, the doctor sent us for a chest x-ray and some breathing tests, which Roslynn tried her best, but had a hard time. By the end of the tests, she was wheezing quite badly, so she was given a breathing treatment and she was given a vaccine to give her extra protection against pneumococcal pneumonia (which is why we had the appointment to begin with). Once we got home and settled, the doctor called with her x-ray results. They were okay for the most part, but showed some signs of pneumonia developing. She was given a steroid and a new inhaler, and I had to schedule a chest CT for her for a more thorough look at her lungs to see if there is anything else we are missing that could help her breathing.

Wednesday morning we got the kiddos on the bus and almost as soon as the door was shut, we got the phone call that Derek’s father, Miles, had passed away. Miles was 93 years old and was a wonderful man. He was a local policeman for many years and in his later years, was a ballroom dance instructor. He often came to our family functions with a smile on his face and a big hug and kiss to greet us. I loved his gentle heart and great stories and loved his tales about Derek as a child. I will miss his quiet support he always provided and will especially miss making him the annual personalized Christmas gifts each year. Sadly, his funeral this week will be the third grandparent’s funeral in 4 years that Roslynn will be attending. My heart genuinely hurts for her and Greyson, though he may not understand much of anything surrounding death.

Luckily the rest of this week has been relatively anti-climatic, with exception of some small home projects and the release of the latest project I’ve been working on! Sip & Stim is a podcast that I co-host with Toni, a BCBA who works in a clinic based ABA company in Maryland. Toni brings the perspective of a clinician and a parent of neurotypical children to the podcast, whereas I bring the perspective of a parent of two children with Autism and other comorbid conditions. With my previous background in ABA and providing services in home, school and the community for children on the spectrum, I can relate to many things that Toni says and explains, but she teaches me something new each time we meet. She is SO informative and passionate about the Autism population and is such a pleasure to work with. She makes our conversations flow so easily and is truly the best person to host this podcast with.

The name “Sip & Stim” plays off of the idea that the word “stim” is not taboo and is a regular word in the daily life of someone with Autism. Stimming is a normal behavior that shows us that a person is happy or regulating themself, so I think it’s a great word to normalize. The “sip” pokes fun at the idea that people, especially parents and caregivers, have to “sip” some coffee to make it through many of the sleepless nights that we encounter with our kiddos. Sip & Stim went live TODAY and can be listened to on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please take a listen and like, subscribe and comment!