Sometimes, They Just Get Sick

I am an idiot. On two counts.

The first is this: for two weeks now, I've been freaking out that Colin has developed a "stim". For those who are blissfully not in-the-know, "stimming" stands for stimulating or self-stimulating and involves various motions, sensory or other actions, usually on a repetitive basis. This is generally reserved for autistic people.

When you see the sterotypical rocking-back-and-forth or hitting of the head and yelling of autistic people in movies (God bless Hollywood), that's stimming.

Well, about two weeks ago, Colin started hitting his ears with both hands. I got quietly upset. It was getting worse. He was stimming now...and tantruming. Every little thing seemed to set him off.

Then tonight I noticed that my ears were hurting a little. How odd. And the next thing I knew...Colin, who usually sleeps right through the night, awoke crying and begging, in his own way, for a drink (he calls it "mee-mee"). And something hit me.

Doy.

Maybe the boy is SICK.

I put some Benadryl into his bottle and let him suck away, and now he's back asleep again.

Lesson learned. Even when you have an ongoing diagnosis of one type or another, NEVER OVERLOOK THE OBVIOUS.

Reason number two why I'm an idiot (are there only two?): I was crying to hubby Dave tonight about brother-in-law Bob. I could hear Bob's voice in my head, saying normal things, laughing, and I just couldn't believe the man could now be so sick. Dave was trying to get me to see a more positive spin. I accused him of not caring. He told me that he does care--but he doesn't want to go on this downward depression spiral about it when Bobby needs the people around him to offer hope.

So I snapped at Dave (my husband, remember): "That's easy for you to say. What if it were YOUR brother-in-law?")

(tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock)

(crickets chirping)

"It is," Dave clarified.

Oh yeah. Double-doy.