The Journey Begins

We started noticing changes in Caleb in August 2010. It was a bunch of little things that didn't seem to go together. Everything we noticed was easily blown off as part of something else.

• Headaches? Oh, that's just his allergies acting up.
• Tired, worn down, glazed look in his eyes? He's just started kindergarten & isn't used to going all day every day.
• Slurred speech? It's late in the day and he's exhausted from school.
• Pain in his legs & bruises we didn't know where they came from? He's playing football. You get hit in football & get bruises.
• Uneven gait & overly clumsy? He's a growing 5-yr old.
• Talking back & bad attitude? He's a growing 5-yr old boy.
• Not buttoning, snapping, or zipping his clothes (saying, "I can't")? Regression / rebellion because of his little brother.

It wasn't until the 2nd meeting with his teacher on October 7th that I decided to schedule an appointment with the pediatrician. She mentioned that it seemed that Caleb was working really hard to hold his pencil & it appeared that he was struggling to get the thoughts from his head to his mouth.

Saturday, October 9th, we went to a birthday party for his friend, Jordan.  While there, the other parents noted that Caleb seemed really "off." I mentioned that I was planning to call the pediatrician on Monday & they agreed that I should.

Sunday, October 10th, we got up to get ready for church as normal. Once there, he tripped over his own two feet within 5 minutes of walking in the door. I noticed he seemed to be dragging his right leg behind him a little, but didn't really think a lot about it. I thought that maybe he hurt it a little when he fell. A friend took the boys to a classroom to play so I could have a bit of a break before service started. When I went to get them, she asked if Caleb was right-handed. I replied that he is. She said he wasn't using his right side at all & was doing everything with his left hand. When I helped him up, his right hand & arm were very cold. His left was warm. I went to Richard & told him that we needed to call the pediatrician right away. He agreed.

I called the pediatrician & told him what was going on. When I described that Caleb was experiencing slurred speech, a real "spaced-out" look, his right hand hanging limp at his side, dragging his right foot behind him, the headaches, etc., he told us to take Caleb to the ER immediately. In my mind, I was beginning to think that Caleb had had a small stroke. On the way to the ER, he would scream such mean things that were not things Caleb would normally say. "I hate you. I'm going to kill you. You're a bad mommy." I started thinking maybe Tourette's. Then I thought back to the spacing out & not looking us in the eye & wondered if maybe it was Autism. I mentioned it to Richard & said, "There's no way he could have Autism, Tourette's, a stroke & developmental delays all at the same time. Something is seriously wrong with him."

We arrived at Children's Medical Center in Plano & told them our pediatrician had sent us. We explained what was going on to them. They immediately took us back to a room. When the doctor walked in, she greeted us and got some background history. Then she began her exam of Caleb. She asked him to smile real big & he did. When the right side of his face didn't move at all, she turned to the nurse & said, "Schedule a CT immediately." My stomach sank. Then she asked him to raise both arms straight out like Superman & close his eyes. He did & his right hand went straight back down. I got a very sick feeling in my stomach. He went in for his CT and we waited.

Our journey begins...

NOTE: The posts below from October 10th until October 21st are posts I created on Facebook prior to creating this blog. They will give additional background.