I Can't Believe It's Almost Been a Year!

I can't believe that it has almost been a year since I have posted to Riley's blog,  So much has happened this year that I don't know that I remember it all.

We celebrated Riley's seventh birthday in January with family and friends.  The Star Wars: The Clone Wars theme party was a hit as well as the LEGO models that I bought as party favors!  Toward the end of January we got the results from Riley's Autism Testing, and they found him to be ADHD with a reading disorder.  We pondered awhile and then decided in March to put Riley on medication because his reading level was not improving in school.  I felt that he may be paying so much attention to behaving that he was not concentrating on learning.  I am happy to say that medication has worked for him.  His reading level has gone from D/struggling E to instructional level K, which is practically on grade level.  Through the use of medication he is now able to sound out words or break them up in to hunks and chunks.  He has always enjoyed reading and listening to stories being read, but now finds new pleasure in reading by himself.

Riley participated in the first grade music program at school and although he was nervous; he stood in the front row and did what he was suppose to do, sing!  We also went to see Jack and the Beanstalk at the children's theater, and Riley went with his class to see Charlotte's Web at the high school.

Riley graduated as a Tiger Scout in the spring, but decided not to go back to scouting this school year.  He is in his second year of Parish School of Religion classes and is preparing for his First Communion in the spring.  Over the summer Riley passed level 1 swimming classes and looks forward to taking level 2 next summer.  This fall, Riley started wrestling kid's club and seems to enjoy it, but looks forward to taking tai kwon do in the future.

First grade was the first year for play dates.  He started going to other children's houses on his own and inviting children to come and play at our house also.  At the end of first grade Riley went to his friend's house for his first sleepover!  He asked me to chaperone his first grade field trip to the zoo and wanted me to bring his sister so that his classmates could meet her.  We went and really enjoyed ourselves.

We started our summer by going on vacation to Las Vegas.  We went to Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon as well as the pirate show at Caesars and swimming in the pool!  Although our trip was delayed by a day, we all ended up having a great time.  In July we went with the grandparents to Chicago.  It was a short trip, but we got the chance to see the Legoland Discovery Center, and it was worth it!  Riley was especially interested in the Titanic Exhibit at COSI and we went to see that together.  We finished up our summer attending library programs, going to swimming lessons and swimming afterward, completing the summer reading program at the public library, and hanging out with friends.

The start of fall brought second grade and the ability to help Mommy out more and take care of himself.  He was able to help me pass out postcards on windshields in a parking lot, build his own LEGO mini models, and learned how to tie his shoes!  Riley also started to earn an allowance of $3.00 a week to put away his laundry and toys as well as help out with other chores.  Most of the time, Riley uses his allowance every two weeks to buy a Star Wars graphic novel (comic book).  He enjoys his collection and likes to take them to school to read during self-selected reading.  A limit had to be put on how many Star Wars books he could take to school so that he can expose himself to other topics and genres of reading.  Second grade also brought some difficulty in making friends.  I think it has passed somewhat, but he has not found his niche with friends who are interested in the same things in which he is interested, namely, Star Wars.

In mid-September Riley completed his first 5K.  He walked the COMAPC 5K Race for a Pro-State of Mind with me as I pulled his sister along in the wagon.  We completed it in about an hour and were the last ones to finish.  We also celebrated his sister's 4th birthday this week, and Riley was able to help her put her new sheets on her bed.

For Halloween Riley was Jango Fett.  This is the third year that Riley has picked out a Star Wars related costume, and although this was by far the most I have spent on a costume, I bought it for him because he plays in them all year, which makes it worth my money!  This was the first year that Riley chose to go trick or treating with friends rather than with Mommy.

Riley started November with a cold or so I thought.  By the first Saturday in November, when he was breathing heavy, it was no ordinary cold.  After a trip to the doctor's office and to the emergency room Riley was admitted for two days, and we came home with an asthma action plan.  So far, since the episode in November, we have not had any other problems.



We stayed at home this Christmas, and our extended family came to us.  Santa was very good to Riley and brought him the spinning double-headed light saber that he wanted.  He also got the Bobo Fett helmet and gun.  His grandparents got him more games and accessories for the Wii.  Although Riley got mostly toys, he did get a pair of tennis shoes and a sweatshirt!

We look forward to Riley's eighth birthday in a few days to end our year.  My, oh my, where does the time go!

Influenza

Riley was diagnosed with influenza on Tuesday. It has been a very up and down week as we have battled bad tasting medicine that causes stomach ache, headache, muscle aches and pains, etc. Hopefully, by next week, he will be on the up and up and can enjoy some of his spring break.

The Aftermath of Going to Kids Hospibal

When Riley tells the story of going to the hospital, he tell people he went to the kids hospibal. He seens to be doing okay. The stomach virus is gone, and he still complains about having a headache, but not as often. I think that it might have something to do with his allergies or possibly he may have a sinus infection. I came down with a dull headache which became a throbbing one on Saturday and continues today. Maybe he really had a sinus infection which is what I think I may have. But, if his head hurt as much as mine does, I can see why it was debilitating to him.

The ER

After the test for the blood work came back, the doctor was not happy with the results and the fact that Riley's condition had not improved over the course of the day. He wanted us to take Riley to the ER. My husband took him there and when given some medicine promptly threw up for the nurse to see. By the time that I got there, they had concluded that it was not a bacterial infection, but wanted to do a CAT scan to see if he had a head injury. His dad remembered that Riley had gotten hit over the head with a metal pole by his sister sometime late last week. I went with Riley to do the CAT scan and by the time that we got back, he seemed a lot better. He was talking, playing, and walking around. He even became interested in coloring pictures and was sitting up. The CAT scan did not reveal anything, and they think that he may have had a stomach infection. We got sent home, yea!

Riley came home and ate some of his roll and the icing from his doughnut. When I asked him if he needed to puke, he said, "I already did that, I'm empty".

Over night he woke up twice, for thirst and a headache, but after an ice pack and some medicine, he slept through the rest of the night. He has not thrown up since he did with the nurse at the hospital.

Hopefully, today he will continue to get better....

Sudden Illness

Riley complains about having a headache often because it is a line that he learned from Arthur. Last night, when he started complaining of a headache, we were not too concerned at first. He asked to take some medicine and I gave him some. He said that he couldn't stop heaving so I settled down with him on the couch, and he threw up his whole dinner. I changed his clothes, calmed him down, and laid down with him. We gave him an ice pack for his headache and he slept in fits and starts. I gave him more medicine at 2am, but it did not seem to help the pain. He got up this morning and threw up again. I called the doctor.

We went to see the doctor, and he did the strep test and checked his ears and did not see anything wrong, but, like me, the doctor was concerned that he had this headache that woke him up in the night and that he was throwing up. The doctor ordered blood work done and off we went to the lab. Riley was a real trooper and did not cry or even really flinch when they drew the blood. We can only pray that the results of the blood test will reveal something that is conclusive.