Finding Faith in the Battle

The EEG went very well on Tuesday. Ethan wasn't wild about laying still and not moving a muscle (I almost reminded the technician it was an EEG for ADHD!) but he was a champ. They flashed lights in his face, made him hyperventilate, and generally tried to provoke a seizure. Ethan's only complaint was that I forgot the camera and couldn't document him looking like an alien with 23 wires coming out of his head! He insisted on leaving a glob of the sticky-paste on his forehead to show his friends back at the guesthouse! From the hospital we went to McDonald's and then putt-putt golfing, yes WITH the glob of goo still on the forehead. Only it should be called putt-putt hockey when Ethan plays it...what fun is there in waiting for the ball to stop before hitting it again? And it's much easier to push the ball in the hole than to hit it! 10 holes took all of 5 minutes. In the belief that all doctors are, deep down, good people (no offense, any of you busy docs out there!)

I had the big face-to-face review with the psychologist yesterday. It was interesting, to say the least. I have to say, I don't think she got a good read on Ethan...he had trouble understanding her, I think she didn't always understand him. For example, she asked him to tell her what an island was. His answer? "A place where animals and sometimes people live, and fish make them." She was convinced he wasn't' "all there" with an answer like that. When I asked him later, he said, "You know, mom. Fish make them by eating the coral and as it gets digested it comes out as soft sand that makes beaches and islands." Gotta love Planet Earth!!!! But what are you going to do? Say too much, and you're just the over-involved mother. You know how psychs love to go there!!! Anyway, she feels it's not straight-forward ADHD and she saw no evidence of 'hyperactivity'...proof that terror of her kept him rooted in his seat. Unless what we see-

Miriam, random updates from our life : 1. After Anya came back from Daniela’s, Alisa came over and spent the night. I feel like I am Anya’s social coordinator. Isaac misses you and says he is ready for you to come back. I said that you were in South Africa and to that he said, “Want Mom” repeatedly. I think it was his attempt at a protest for being left home. Omara has been out-eating Isaac and Anya, maybe put together. She almost finished a stake on her own. So I have either been planning Anya’s social calendar, explaining the difficulties of long distance relationship to a three-year-old, or cutting beef in to cubes small enough that a bird could swallow them since you been gone. 2. The kids have been sleeping pretty good since you left. I am only getting up about once or twice a night and they are going back to sleep well. I feel like I have had a little rest. 3. That rat that chased you showed up again. This time it was dead. The smell was coming from the dryer and I was afraid it

Ethan had his 3-hour eval today, and he came out looking pretty roughed-up. I could hear most of the visit, and this psychologist didn't say anything inappropriate, but she was more of a stern teacher than a Mrs Doubtfire! He shed a few tears, begged to go home, but he eventually did everything she asked him to. But when she explained to me that we'd have to schedule a 3rd appointment to go over his results, things got weird. I don't even know how to describe it, other than she seem over-dramatic. Like she'd just spent 3 hours with a certifiably crazy kid and he was going to need some major help. All they did was math and reading and logic-type testing, so I don't know what she could have possibly see than required such drama! But she said the person he needs to see for medication management has at least a 4-month waiting period and no one else will do and I'll "understand why when we go over the results on Thursday." Several times I tried to get a lit

Ethan and I arrived back in Johannesburg, South Africa last night. We're here for 1 week, to see the pediatric endocrinologist who manages his growth delay, and for a comprehensive multi-disciplinary assessment for ADHD. I had a "pre-assessment interview" today with the lead psychologist. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but it ended up going very well. She listened well, asked great questions, and I felt overall that she had an accurate picture of what we see at home and at school. Tomorrow Ethan has his big day of assessments. Her preliminary thoughts based on my description are a "classic case of significant ADHD" which didn't surprise me. We'll see how tomorrow goes. Meanwhile, Ethan has been bouncing off walls and not sleeping and generally wearing me out. So much to see, so much to want! But then I have to take a breath and realize how much worse it could be--to appease him, I just had to buy grapes and sweet corn and promise him 1 game of