Good Bad Luck

First, the bad luck:

Saturday night I put Mr. Little Man to bed and retired to the living room with a book. Mr. Little Man has odd sleeping habits (he only sleeps 5-6 hours in a 24 hour period...this is fairly common among autistics) and he usually stays awake for an hour after I "officially" put him to bed. He'll sing or work on a puzzle or rearrange his train. Except, of course, for this night. About 15 minutes after bedtime I heard a loud thud. Whenever anything like this happens in my house I usually try to crane my ears in the general direction and listen for aftermath; you never want to freak out too early. All I heard was singing, so I leisurely walked into his room. He was happily playing with his train so I went on about my business.

About 15 minutes later he came into the living room and I noticed he had blood all over his shirt, his neck, his chin. I cleaned him up and he had a very ugly cut on his chin that did not seem to be bothering him nearly as much as it was bothering me. The cut was deep and apparently was the cause of the loud thud I'd heard earlier. Longer story short we head off to the emergency room. On a Saturday night. To sit with Who's Who in Mental Illness.

Now, the words "Emergency Room" are complete and utter bullshit because no one there is acting like anything is much of an emergency. A fever is treated with the same urgency as a missing limb. Mr. Little Man wasn't too bothered about it; he really enjoyed himself because there were other children there that he could play with (while his mother followed him around and applied pressure to his wound).

After 4 very short hours (that's sarcasm, ya'll) we were finally ushered towards a doctor. She very briefly glanced at his cut and declared that he needed some stiches. Then (THEN!) she tried to talk to him and after about 30 seconds she turned to me and asked if he was autistic. I answered in the affirmative and we talked a little bit about how he was going to react to her and the stitches. It did not take us long to realize that the stitches were not going to happen. Plus, she really felt like he would fidget with them and possibly rip them out. It took 3 adults and some restraints to hold him down long enough to apply a dermal bonder. It was really stressful for him. Strange people, strange enviorment, too many lights and smells and wayyyy too many textures for him to be able to deal with the situation adequately. But, the doctor understood, which was a huge relief. And do not misunderstand: being a physician DOES NOT mean that you understand autism. Lots of doctors are complete idiots.

The good part of the bad luck:

While Mr. Little Man was huddled in the corner trying to get over his trauma the doctor and I spoke a bit about autism. She asked if I'd ever considered putting him on the GFCF diet and I explained to her why the diet was not an option for us. I also mentioned to her that I had been considering chelation therapy but that I had not found a doctor who had experience who could guide us through the process. And at that exact moment I think I hit the motherload because she had just come back from an autism conference and she had all the latest info. She told me about a topical chelator (most chelators are oral and must be taken every 4 hours) and gave me all the latest stats and even recommended a doctor who could give me more info.

HOLY CRAP! I literally felt like I had hit the lottery. I have asked at autism support meetings, PTA meetings and countless numbers of pediatricians. Chelation is not a widely used treatment. There hasn't been alot of research done but all of the families that have tried it have had great success, especially in terms of increasing speech, which is exactly what we need to do. I've only ever been able to get information via the web and most of these families live out West. You can buy a chelator via the internet, but I am not willing to try this on my own. "Real" chelation requires a prescription and blood work and I am just not willing to go the internet route. I want to do it right. So, our appointment is made and I've taken a week off of work. Keeps your fingers crossed; I'm really excited. And also a little bit scared.

What I am reading: What else? The Economist.
What I am listening to: Standing In The Way Of Control - The Gossip. I love how outspoken Beth Ditto is. And apparently she puts on a hell of a show.