So!
A visit to the doctor was had. I feel better about things. We discussed the situation at length. The chance of it being behavioral has been proven to be slim. His occupational therapist tried to recreate a couple of scenarios where he was thought to force vomitting and it never happened. There is also no consistency to the whens, wheres and whys of it beyond the fact that he does gag a lot and gag easily. It’s never been done to avoid anything or as anything worse than an accidental side effect of crying too hard and triggering the gag reflex.
The ENT feels it is his huge ol’ tonsils, but a sleep study (which is now scheduled!) has to be done to rule out a few other things pertaining to his snoring and his being monitored for seizure disorder. Based on his, and that we discovered that a dose of zofran was the only commonality between days he did NOT vomit in the past two weeks, his doc decided to stick with zofran once a day until we see what happens with his potential tonsillectomy. If he has the tonsils out and we’re still all puke-faced around here, I might lose my last marble.
But today did bring good news!
I spoke with 4 Paws for Ability and after discussing J’s needs and what he needs the most assistance with it was decided that an autism service dog would be a great fit for him! We’ll be receiving a contract and further details in the coming weeks and have a lot of fundraising ahead of us but the fact that this is now all getting started and there’s hope he can receive such assistance left me sitting down and crying when I got off the phone.
People see my son and see wow, a little kid. Little kids tantrum, little kids run off, etc. They do not understand the severity of what goes on with him without living in my shoes day to day. They can’t, and I do not expect them to. The blessings this dog can bring to my family… That’s what left me crying. I could have help calming my son, help finding him should he wander, help keeping him close so he doesn’t get lost from me in a busy place… I could give him the care level he absolutely needs, deserves and requires at all times. The dog can be there for him in so many ways that it is hard for me to be there for him without literally ceasing to live life. I am just blown away right now. I am not one who knows what to do with good news, after all.
What a day, what a day.