November 6, 2002
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Day 6 of Give Thanks
Wow…I had 5 new subscribers yesterday!!! I don’t think that I’ve EVER had that many in one day before!!
For Day 6 of Give Thanks I’d like to say how thankful I am that God continues to help my son Caleb with his struggle with Autism.
Some of you know that my youngest twin, Caleb, was born 12 weeks premature and had many complications thereafter. He was extremely small at birth only weighing 4lbs…and then dropping below 3lbs by the day after.
Caleb & Jonah (left to right)
2 months old
For about the first month of his life he had problems keeping his heart-rate regulated and was having something commonly referred to in the medical field as “cardial decents”. This is when the baby’s heart-rate drops below the minimal rate or even stops for a few moments. This usually occurs when the baby just stops breathing…most often because of a distraction (i.e. eating, etc.). Most of the time the baby has to be stimulated somehow, usually by having someone touch them, to get them to breathe and to get their heart going again.
In Caleb’s case however, we were lucky in that he was able to stimulate himself, which was a good sign. The unfortunate part of it all was that it is required that when a baby has an episode involving “cardial decents” that the baby remain hospitalized for 5 more days for EACH occurance. This was very difficult for me to deal with.
Jonah was able to come home only one week after birth…but Caleb remained in the hospital for about a months time.
He was later diagnosed with Autism before the age of 3. For those of you who do not know what Autism is, I have linked the definition for you.
Most autistic children are not affectionate towards other people and if they are, it’s very mildly displayed. Caleb is an exception to this rule (thank God) for he is VERY affectionate and LOVES to be kissed and held and loved. In fact, he has even grown more affectionate towards others since Jason has come into our lives.
Anyway…Caleb is in his second year in pre-school and has several therapists that work with him throughout each day that he is there. These wonderful people have helped him in ways that I never dreamed possible. He is now talking more and communicating more (in English…he was only jabbering in a language all of his own that we had dubbed “Calebese” for quite a while), and he is even eating with utensils and sitting at the table in a booster chair!! These are HUGE accomplishments for a child who didn’t say a word until he was 3 years old. Fortunately for me…his first words were “I love you” spoken to me on New Years Eve last year. Talk about a way to start off the new year!!!
To top all of that off…he has even started eating meat again (you must understand, this is a child that would eat nothing but potatoes, cheese, bread, cookies, and peanut butter for the past 3 years)…THIS is a very BIG deal!!!
So yes…I’m VERY thankful for God’s help in my son’s life!!
Comments (12)
The baby pic is adorable!! Little babies are sooo cute.
Good list of things to be thankful for!
I am very thankful indeed for little Caleb… he is so adorable folks, you have to meet him to believe it.
They’re both beautiful..you’re very blessed
I didn’t know you had twins.. and thanks for filling me in. You are so lucky and so is Caleb… to have you…
Wonderful news that he is coming along so well. Certainly hope he continues his progress, souns like he has a wonderful family to help support him.
I’ll have to remember to give thanks tonight for sure now
your babies are adorable… God Bless you always and your family..
Awwww they look so cute. I’m glad he’s doing good and wow “I love you” to be the 1st words spoken. Must have been the most precious thing you heard all year!
I was a twin, and back in those days ( I’m old..lol 35 ) twins usually didn’t make it or at least not both and for that matter make full term, I did tho’. My mom and dad found out like 2 weeks before we were born that they were havin indeed TWINS…ack…I think anyone who can raise twins has a special gift! There isn’t any way I think I could handle them. Being one, I know I gave my mom and dad hell…such is the joys we call childhood I guess.
Loved this blog. You got beautiful little boys!!! Angels!
I feel for you…and know that God has blessed you with a special child. I truly believe that God shows Himself through the innocent.***I’ve got a very dear friend who has a child born at 26 weeks…the little girl, age 7 now, is making steady progress with the help of a team of therapists and now attends first grade with children in a normal school. Her sister, about 3 right now, was just diagnosed with autism. They recently moved to Chicago (the mom’s hometown) from Istanbul, primarily for the assistance that they’d receive for the children and their health and learning disabilities. Anyway, I’ve been rambling here… ~Spot~
Although my son’s story didn’t start out at all like yours (I wrote a blog last April 30th about him, he was developing “normally” until about 2 1/2 and was Rx’d at 3 years) I can certainly relate to ALL of the progress your son has made. It makes my heart smile!!!