Support Josiah

Guessing Game

A brief pause in swinging.

As I type this, I am watching one of our support staff workers swing Josiah in the hammock that is hung in our living room. He has been swinging all day every day since Saturday at lunch time. The only time he has stopped swinging is when he has taken a handful of showers that lasted less than five minutes each. Many of them were "step in-step out" showers. Something is off. And I can't figure out if it is "off good" or "off bad." But there is no question that Josiah is off. 

He hasn't been to school in almost a month. There are so many factors that could be the cause or at least contributing to the difference we are seeing. But it's a guessing game. When this has happened before, rarely have we actually determined the cause. All we can do is try to help. And we wait. We ride out the wave. We see where it takes us. 

While the uncertainty is hard and the unpredictability can be scary, there are still blessings that we see. The obvious is that our van has had much less wear and tear. And we are appreciating the break in driving! Another blessing is that Josiah's appetite has improved the past two weeks, and he is even eating things that he has been unwilling to eat for quite a while. Pizza, bacon, peanut butter and even some apples have been on the list. And he took two bites of ham and one bite of chicken casserole this week. Trying new things is huge! Especially when you consider Josiah's diet had narrowed to crunchy carbs like chips and gold fish, french fries, ice cream, and occasionally pancakes. I don't know if these positive changes will be permanent. His track record says that they will come and go. But we are thankful to see less driving and better eating for now. And we pray these positives stick around. 

The hard and concerning aspects of swinging all day long revolve around quality of life and Josiah's need for silence. He has taken up residence in the front of our house and he needs the room to stay as silent as possible. This means our other kids have to stay outside or in the back of the house pretty much constantly. THIS is where the therapy room will make such a huge difference for Josiah AND the rest of the family. Having a silent therapy room right near the main portion of our home will allow us quick and consistent access to Josiah while allowing everyone else in the home to function better. Josiah can come in and out of the kitchen and living room when he is able to tolerate the noise, but he will also have his room that he can quickly retreat to whenever needed. 

Judah giving Josiah an arm and back scratch before bed. 

And the therapy pool is going to be such a huge help in improving his overall quality of life. He will be able to get the sensory input that he needs while actually moving and stretching and being active. Right now he is seeking that input via the hammock. Our arms are surely getting a work out, but he is just swinging for hours often with his head covered. We want him to be able to get the input that his body needs while still joining and enjoying the world around him. 

Thank you to everyone who has been saying some extra prayers for us this month. We still have a few kids on antibiotics, but it seems we are on the very end stages of the flu bug. We will be so grateful when everyone is past this completely. Please pray that God will give us some insight and direction in terms of what is going on with Josiah right now.

Thank you to everyone who has given to help us!

God is faithful! I am thankful that He has a plan! I am thankful that we can trust Him!

Because of His grace,

Christy