It's Been A While Since I Updated

[Catherine]

Hello everyone! I hope this holiday season is a peaceful one for all.

I don’t pop in here as much as I used to. My adult sz son has remained relatively as stable as previously reported in times past.

Is it strange that I feel guilty to report that he is doing well with all the suffering that still prevails?

I am always grateful for where we are today (my son and I) but my heart breaks when I don’t have much to offer others to help them reach a better place.

I can’t tell others what to do or how to do it. I also can’t assume that what ultimately worked for my son and I, would work for anyone else. Everyone and every family are so unique and different.

I am still working on my own health, which is relatively stable for now.

My son was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss, and he and I are at a stalemate about hearing aids at the moment, but if you have followed my posts over the years, you know we will be choosing hearing aids at some point in the future.

I also had him take an extensive neuro/psych evaluation which was a bit stressful for him and took 4 hours but it showed a lot to me that his cognitive abilities have always been a bit lacking which can be because he is on the spectrum and has suffered a couple of extremely serious seizures over the years (luckily none for quite a while now) and he left school at 14 when his illness was emerging. I had the test done because I was fearful of signs of early onset dementia. In the past couple of years, he seems so much more forgetful, way more than a 41-year-old should be.

After the hearing results and the neuro psych results I don’t feel as fearful of dementia anymore. I was told that it can be from his schizophrenia itself, in addition to his processing issues with speech and ideas. It’s never going to be ‘normal’, whatever normal is.

He will always be a little confused, lacking in self-direction and forgetful and not hear things the way they are said, (I suspect even with the help of hearing aids) Time will tell. Thankfully his physical health seems good by all accounts.

He is as he has always been since his basic sanity returned (years ago) a sweet and endearing son who tries his best every day to help out however he can and he is without a doubt the best company and roommate I could ask for.

My heart is full of warmest wishes for everyone from this site. In addition to the hope that everybody sees some positive progress and any source for joy in the coming year. Take care of yourself first so you can be well enough to care for those you love when they need you.

Always sending my best,

Catherine

[777nick777]

It’s good to hear your son is doing well, a good success story here seems to be very helpful. That reminds me, I used to feel guilty about having a good recovery, or at least making much progress. Kind of like survivors guilt. I outgrew it though, now I welcome any progress and I’m just grateful for the progress I’ve made so far; and I want to recover even more. You or your family can do some things for someones recovery but luck also plays a part in it, some people might respond to medication and treatment and others have heartbreakingly bad luck and just keep on suffering no matter what they do.

It’s good to hear to hear your sons physical health is good, it’s a good time to make sure it remains good because when you get to my age, 64, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure are just a few of the problems I have to deal with. If I knew about these things when I was your son’s age I could have taken steps that probably would have prevented them. I wouldn’t have stressed my back so much at my job unloading trucks for one thing and I would have watched my diet more, a good diet can add years to your life.

It’s also good to hear you say those good things about your son and that he is good company, I hope he is aware of those things about himself, it’s good to hear good things about ourselves since often our self esteem suffers and we can use what we can to bolster it up.

Like I said, I’m 64 and now my older sisters are far away in Mexico and in another state but I remember how good it made me feel several years ago when my sisters told me they always looked forward to seeing me and enjoyed all our weekly visits. It felt good to hear that people still enjoy my company even after knowing me 64 years. Your post is a good, positive post, it’s nice to see.

[Catherine]

Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I let my son know every day how much I love him and I am glad you are as okay as you can be. I have some of the same health issues you do, and I often feel the same about wishing I had cared more for my health when I was younger. I try to think “better late than never” I do try much more now than ever before. Stay well. Sending my best wishes to you always…Catherine