There seems to be a recurring theme to my blog posts. I tend to dwell on these issues: sleep (or the lack thereof), recurring illnesses, behavior challenges or bathroom blunders. I guess it’s because these are the recurring themes with Josiah. If we could just resolve even one of these concerns, life would be easier. Today is all about illness. I just checked Josiah’s online school records. He has missed 26 days of school so far this year. With approximately 50 days of school left we are almost at a 15% absence rate.
Josiah gets sick at the drop of a hat. Picture dominoes in a precise line, then cough on the first one. It doesn’t have to be a direct-in-the-face kind of cough, just an in-the-general-direction one. BAM! Down that first domino goes; Josiah in this scenario. Directly behind him all the others collapse, ie,. the rest of the family. I can not tell you have many times our entire family has been wiped out once Josiah gets sick. I really should be keeping track.
Josiah got sick in January. So did we. Josiah got sick in February. So did we. For 2 weeks in February various members of our family battled fevers, coughs, sore throats etc.Then we had Spring Break. Hallelujah! Everyone was healthy for Spring Break! We enjoyed one week of unmedicated bliss!
The very first day back to school after Spring Break, Josiah came off the bus and vomited. He’s been ill ever since. Chandler was next. Now it’s my turn. Today will be my 3rd visit to my doctor for a 3rd round of pharmaceutical relief in the last 3 months. Rick mentioned this morning he’s not feeling so great. Jesse (so far) is the only one to escape unscathed. Down the dominoes drop. In a frenzied attempt to FIX these ever recurring bouts of illness, I have come up with a few solutions: 3 to be exact.
1. Josiah needs to live in a bubble. I asked his pediatrician to prescribe one. I wasn’t joking.
2. We bathe in antibacterial scrub every few minutes, donning surgical masks, constantly keeping a safe distance from Josiah.
3. We pull the boy out of school and any/all environments involving people or germs of any kind and home school him.
If you have any other options, I’m all ears. Here’s the problem. Josiah chews on his hands. He’s done it since he was a baby. Then he touches EVERYTHING with those same hands and shoves them right back in his mouth. He’s a walking germ collector. How is it even remotely possible to keep him healthy when he won’t keep his hands out of his mouth?
When he was younger there were countless attempts to remedy hand mouthing. We slathered on onion juice, tabasco sauce and every other disgusting ingredient we could possibly think of all over Josiah’s hands. One by one, he licked them off. He found none of them aversive.
We tried distracting him. We tried covering up his hands with gloves. We tried offering healthier, more socially acceptable alternatives to satisfy his need to chew. So far, nothing has worked. Josiah continues to chew on his hands and we all continue to get sick.
It’s clear Josiah has an intense need to chew, whether it be for sensory input or stress management. After 13 year it’s going to be extremely difficult to shape this behavior into something healthier. It’s also clear we have to do something to keep him and us from getting sick all the time.
I’m open to suggestions. I really would love to hear any input or advice you have to offer. If you need me, I’ll be here…
Sandy you have such an entertaining way to bring to the table daily life and challenges with Josiah. You are an amazing writer, and even better Mom. I see where Breanne gets her talent… 🙂
Oh, thank you Stacie! I greatly appreciate your kind words and encouragement. Living in bubbled bliss, perhaps in Bora Bora might make me an even better Mom! Might have to give that a try. Thanks so much for reading!
Hi, Sandy. Will also chews on his fingers, but I’ve always thought that, in the end, his immune system actually might have been strengthened by all the exposure to germs. We have worked to boost it by giving him high doses of probiotics, zinc, and vitamin C (other stuff he takes–selenium, calcium, vitamin D, and cod liver oil w/vit. D). I really think this regimen has helped. You’ve probably already tried this; if you haven’t, I don’t think there’s any harm in it. I hope Josiah fares better with the return of warmer weather. And you, too! I love reading your blog.
Hey Jacquelyn! How long has Will been taking supplements? Do you hide them in his food or does he just swallow them? Was it after the supplementation you noticed an increase in his immune system? We have not tried supplements in probably 5 years or more with Josiah. At the time, he was on a very restrictive diet and didn’t do well with it. Then he got sick, was hospitalized for a week and lost quite a bit of weight. After that, we stopped everything. I’d definitely love to look into this more. Do you purchase the supplements on line or from a store? Thanks so much for your suggestion and for your kind words! Greatly appreciate you reading! : o )
Hi Sandy. I just made the same comment a couple of weeks ago about Garrett living in a bubble. I do have a lit if info to share…to much to type. Please call me and I’ll dump all I know, have tried, and learned recently. Praying for health & a looooong period of wellness for you all. Love, Kim
Hey Kim! I’m guessing if we rented out bubbles, we’d have a long list of moms waiting to get their kids in them! : o ) I will definitely call (after this weekend). Can’t wait to hear all you’ve learned. Thanks for the prayers! Looking forward to talking with you!!
I continue to pray for you all, Sandy. I know how tired we get when ill. I’m wondering if Josiah gets tired or if he somehow manages to sustain his active behavior? Also, what’s that bubble made out of? I hope not glass.
So very grateful for your prayers, kindness and compassion!! This last bout of illness wiped him out. He slept quite a bit. Actually, when Josiah starts sleeping well, it’s usually a sign he’s getting sick. So while we enjoy the extra rest, we sure don’t want him to be sick. The bubble tents are scratch resistant, which I’m reading to mean Josiah proof! : o )