1999 - Fourth child develops epilepsy at nine months. In and out of hospital most of the summer. She is on three meds by December. Move that month from place we hated to present home.
2000 - Begin paid work for the first time since having the kids, ten years at home ended. Daughter’s epilepsy still not controlled, she is showing signs of falling behind in her development. Oldest child enters double-digits.
2001 - Move from casual employment to permanent. Battle with health care professionals over extent of daughter’s problems. Oldest child starts secondary school.
2002 - Second child enters double-digits. First mention of autism is mooted and rejected. Epilepsy still uncontrolled. Mental and language developmental delay glaringly obvious. First of many conversations on the theme, ” we COULD have done ‘this’ ‘then’ but it’s too late now”. Grrr!!!!
2003 - Daddy dies. Nothing is ever the same again. I still miss him. Second child starts secondary school. Youngest starts Nursery Class.
2004 - Third child enters double-digits. Spend EVERY week fielding calls about how paid professionals can’t manage or cope with Youngest. Take her to Great Ormond Street to investigate some dire syndrome her specialist fears she has. This is ruled out. Autism confirmed. Pouting from previous Dr. who doesn’t appreciate being corrected.
2005 - Fly back and forth to NI with elder daughter to prepare for sister’s wedding. Great fun. Sister gets married. All cry because Daddy isn’t there. Finally get ONE day a week for Youngest in a Special Needs School. First step of progress in a long battle to get her the help she needs.
2006 - Oldest child turns 16. Sits first set of public exams. Sister has first child, a boy. How wonderful. Spend Christmas Eve in hospital as Youngest has the most amazingly awful seizure that is treated by the two most incompetent Drs on the planet who give her so much medication to stop her fitting that they nearly send her into a coma.
2007 - Decide to start Psychology degree, going to take some time as doing this part-time. Youngest has Christmas seizures. AGAIN. No hospital this time.
2008 - Oldest turns 18. Good grief. I have a child who is a legal adult. He takes his second set of public exams. Starts Uni in the Autumn. Surely it was only yesterday I did that, 22 years earlier. Second son turns 16. This could mean I’m getting old. Youngest has Christmas seizures. AGAIN, AGAIN. Once again though, no hospital. Sister has second son. Lovely.
2009 - Second son sits his first set of public exams. Youngest’s seizures flare up quite badly several times. Get temporary promotion at work. This proves both the most interesting and challenging WORK related thing I have done and also the most frustrating as several people decide to make it known I shouldn’t be doing it. Sucks when people suck, right?
2010 - ??? I have TWO courses to do this year if I want to stay on target. There will be less posting. Who knows about anything else.
Wherein now and again I post stuff.
