Miraculous Big Gains-Child #1

Age 17

Weight 152

Symptom gain-OCD

Symptom gain-Leaving the house

Symptom gain-miraculous seemingly overnight increase in life skills

Gain-Acting NT!!!

Friday-Child #1 left the house for a social event, one of the few in years. He went to his first LAN party. I chaperoned. He wore regular jeans instead of pajama pants. He showered and rinsed his mouth. He asked to have the things to clean his nails out, which was a skill that wasn't on the calendar to learn until June 5th. He cleaned his nails out himself.

His friend and him, win 1st place in Halo at the tournament. They each won $60. They don't open doors or help me to the car with all of the heavy t.v.'s and equipment though, completely "lost" on that. His friend has add.

LAN party lasts from Fri at 5 pm to Sat am at 6 am. We get home, rest, and on Sunday he wants to go to his best friends graduation, where before he thought he would be too sick to do both (he never goes out back to back, usually at least 2 mo in between outings).

We can't believe it. The whole family gets ready.

He washes his hair again, and wears normal clothes. He decides he wants to also go to his friends first gig after the graduation (same friend graduating and having his first gig). We are astounded. I pack him a bag, and his Dad and I put his computer in the car because at the spur of the moment, they decide that after the gig they all want to go to another friends house and hang out after the gig(hasn't ever done before-hanging out is ALWAYS at our house). We are speechless and overcome with joy.

He goes through the graduation. His friends are amazed and appreciative that #1 he is there and #2 he washed his hair and #3 he is in normal clothes.

I take pics!! Later that afternoon I take him to the gig, where it is noisy, a loud rock band at a club. He does fine with the noise! I take pics!!

After the gig, he wants to be taken to his friends to spend a few days (he's never done). I leave his pills. He stays for two days.

On Sun, his other friend, the neighbor boy across the street, Father passes away. His friend comes over to tell us that he passed away, but just hangs out and doesn't tell us until Monday because he doesn't know how to tell us. Monday afternoon, he tells me after I ask how his Dad is doing, so I take this friend over to where child #1 is (40 min drive across town), because this is the first chance he has to go somewhere since taking care of his Dad around the clock for years. I make arrangements to pick them up the next day afternoon to take them to the viewing & funeral. Sad, but it was a very long illness, and the family is mostly relieved that the suffering is over. I am sad, and I grieve the loss of his father who was a friend. I am also really excited and happy about the gains happening with child #1.

Child #1 says a day before "why would I go to the funeral when I didn't know his Dad very well?" I say "to support your friend". He says "oh". He goes to the viewing, in clean clothes again.the next day..in clean clothes again he goes to the funeral and on the way he cleans out his fingernails unprompted in the car.

I start a round of chelation. He wants to go back over to his friends house way across town during chelation. Child #1 bathes again. I take him over and explain his pills. I already have it organized in the pill minder and the instructions written out. He and his friends promise to give him his pills on time (they are all 18 and 19). Another one of his friends is going to go to college to become a EMT, he is the one I explain all of the pills to. He is very confident that he can do it, and I feel safe leaving him. All of the guys (4 to six) are hanging out at the friends house across town and I call them every 3 hours to make sure, and so far, they are doing really well.

Child #1 wants to stay at his friends house and hang out for a week or two. While they were there he went to Applebees (I have his enzymes for meals in little ziplock snack bags). He doesn't go to restaurants usually. Totally new everything.

Two of the things motivating him to go to a friends at home. Child #1's siblings have really upped the annoying factor towards him. The 13 year old sister is being unbearable. She is really acting out, touching his stuff, going in his room and stealing his things while he sleeps, or when he goes to the bathroom...pestering and annoying. I can't prove it, but I think she took his wallet with his spending money for food, and for a while he wouldn't have been able to go back to his friends, but I went and got some money off of my credit card so he could go and have money to eat. She is undermining everything! I don't know if this is typical.

A wallmart is being built closeby our house, and they are asphalting the parking lot. The whole town stinks. This is a big motivation to go to his friends, because our town stinks and he has chemical sensitivity also.

So I get to his friends with the both of them for the second time and He is opening doors for people, and helping in with the stuff (this isn't even on my list for the year of life skills!!!!).

His friends are providing peer pressure, by goading him to set up his own computer, asking him if he has ever done it, giving him crap about only ever knowing anything other about computers but how to press "on" and "off". He is responding to their support/joking with gains, gains, gains.

He is over there with his friends going through chelation. One of the boys moms is a nurse, and she is next door. I told them what to watch for.

I feel so happy. Is this unbelieveable for round 15????? I am like what did I do?? Last week I upped zinc from 54mg twice a day to 4x a day. This week I upped the zinc from 4x to 5x. I know it's high on the zinc.I just decided to try it after reading some study posted on mothering.com. I think the GSE from Enzymatic therapy bound with phospydytlycholine has really helped too.he has taken it all month.

Is this a normal gain for one week? I keep telling myself this might not last, he could regress again before this is over, so kind of prepare for it.

[My thanks to Shelly for allowing me to use her child's story on my site.]