I feel like a bear

Since we have been told to be an advocate to get Brinley into preschool I have felt like a bear in many ways. Protective, grumpy and just plain mean. Not some of my favorite attributes for sure. I called the school district and setup an appointment to meet with the administrator. Shad and I went in together and I could tell I was rather grumpy and mad going into the meeting. They already knew I was coming in because I wasn't happy about the assessment. Sitting down in the meeting I was open to what they had to say and where they were coming from, but I wasn't going to leave until they helped Brinley. I had called many other preschools and even called Alpine school district to see if they would make an exception for her. Low and behold no one would take her because she wasn't potty trained and they didn't want the liability of her medical condition. After expressing my frustration and concerns they allowed her a six week test time to see really where she fits in. I have to say all in all I was really impressed they were really nice and willing to help once I expressed my concerns and frustrations. I think that her getting early intervention help will make a huge difference for her.

I took her in for another appointment to a new neurologist. The one we normally see was booked out for a couple weeks. Going in I thought that they might change the medication she is on. She was having some aggression and mood changes. I was losing my temper with her trying to deal with her behavior changes. I didn't expect the neurologist to say that she thinks she in on the Austism spectrum and may not even have epilepsy...what?!? This was news to me! She even decreased her dose of keppra back to 3ml a day. We have seen her have seizures, but not for a while. We have been guessing by her speech since she has absent seizures and we can't always tell when she is having them. I told the neurologist I didn't agree that she doesn't have epilepsy and demanded testing to prove she doesn't have seizures. I feel like they are milking us for money! After leaving the office I was so mad. I was even more mad when I found out that the test to prove whether or not she has epilepsy is a 3 day stay in the hospital, what?!? Didn't they already do an EEG? Shad and I have decided to first see how her six weeks at school goes and then go from there. I have done a lot of research on the pineal gland and pineal cysts. From what I can find certain types of fluoride, specifically sodium (unnatural), are harmful to the gland. We stopped giving her fluoride toothpaste and have been giving her a liquid calcium/magnesium supplement to help support the gland because of the cyst she has on it. I noticed that she stuttered more once I started giving her the calcium and magnesium supplement. Maybe the cyst is shrinking?? I guess we will see at the end of the year. I get so frustrated with doctors especially the ones we have dealt with at Primary Children's.

General Conference was much needed. I think it was Elder Rasband's (not sure if that was who it was) talk that really hit home with us and our kids. I loved how a lot of the talks were focused on family. It was so reassuring to know that our focus is where it should be. I have much room for improvement though. Especially, when it comes to forgiveness and loving those that have wronged us. There is a lot of them that live by us and in our ward. So, that makes it especially hard. I miss having close friends that are truly friends. Brinley was so cute when we explained conference to her. She asked recently if we were going to watch conference instead of going to church. I can't believe how good Brinley and Breckin were through all the sessions. Both of them loved to listen to the music. They were mesmerized by it. We are grateful for the spirit our kids bring into our lives and all they teach us. It helped me to not be such a grumpy bear :)