marathon

I was talking to another mom today at therapy. She was telling me that during the first 3 months of her son's chelation, she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing. She said he had some behaviors he wasn't having prior to chelation, and that other behaviors that he previously had, actually got worse. Now that she's 6 months into chelation, she's glad she stuck with it as he's making great progress and she's excited about the possibility of his "recovery".

Another mom on a message board I belong to made a comment about how this isn't a sprint, but a marathon. That some kids will have to undergo chelation for years before they are well enough to be considered toxic-free.

We've been doing chelation for not even 2 full months yet and I'm already telling myself that I can't expect too much at this point. Holden's making progress, whether it's directly related to the chelation, or the therapy, or the multiple supplements, or the anti-fungals, who knows. I do know that 6 months ago, getting him to imitate anything was nearly impossible. Now, he will watch the Wiggles, or Sesame Street, or another video - and attempt to do what they're doing. Most of the time, it involved music and dancing. He loves music. He will also "do" most anything you ask him to do, if you show him first. We haven't graduated to actual one-step commands on much yet though. He will clap if you tell him to clap, and he'll put his arms up if you say "arms up". But, most of what he does, you need to do first. It's progress, nonetheless.

For the past 24 hours, he's been extremely stimmy. Wanting paper. He will shred it into long strips and then drop it...pick it up, later, rinse, repeat. He'll do this until we step in and redirect him. The redirection only lasts for a few minutes though, and then he's wanting his paper back. I gave him the EDTA suppository last night around 11:30pm. So, this morning, I've given him some charcoal to see if that will help with his focus. We'll see if it helps.

It's so hard to watch him go through this battle and know that you can't do anything (very much of anything, anyway) to help him feel better. I hope and pray that one day he will be thankful and not resentful that we've put him through all of this.