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Nina Murphy
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So interesting--thank you for responding.
You and your husband had a special cross being fashioned for you when you walked down the aisle. God bless you. 
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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KC in TX
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I've been wanting to post an intro here, but have not had a chance. It's kind of late tonight, but I think I will post one.
My oldest, LB, is high functioning autistic. Actually, I think he's more in the moderate than mild range. He also has a comorbid diagnosis of ADHD. I'm still unsure of his ADHD because some of his symptoms are really related to his sensory integration problems. He has made great strides in the two years since his diagnosis. His OT is awesome. We receive private OT, speech and PT. Our insurance pays for it all (thank you). We are not involved at all with the school system. We spend many hours at the therapy clinic, but luckily, the girls have learned to keep occupied during that time. My youngest has spent her whole life going to therapy with us twice a week. Our latest problem that we are coping with is his central auditory processing disorder. It makes learning very difficult especially when it's verbal. I often have to stop and make sure he has heard what I have said. Oftentimes he has heard the words without really comprehending the meaning--even of simple tasks.
Teaching LB has been a challenge and there are many times when I feel ill equipped to do it. I've questioned my competence and my patience. I wonder if I'm doing him more harm than good. Usually, I can convince myself that he's better off. I do have my moments.
My oldest daughter attends speech for articulation problems. She's quite tenacious so I know that she will conquer all of her sounds. Her therapist just loves her.
I've often been asked whether I worried about the genetic aspect of autism. I never worried because I didn't know my son was autistic until the very next day after I found out I was pregnant with Jordan. I know though that if I do have (God willing) more children, God knows what I can handle even if it's not what I want to handle.
Oh, and my girls are all allergic to peanuts which can be a challenge. Not everyone is very sensitive to that fact and people tend to forget. I carry the epi-pen (which I have to remember not to leave in my purse in the car during the awful summer months ).
I've probably given you all too much info, but here it is.
__________________
KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
Mama to LB ('98)
Michaela ('01)
Emma ('03)
Jordan ('05)
And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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JenniferS
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| Posted: Feb 15 2007 at 3:40pm | IP Logged
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Hi! I have six children.
My oldest dd(and only-she is nine) is, I am sure, ADD. When she was in school, I could not get anyone to help her because she is a strong reader, and she has been since a very young age. She struggles with math horribly, and she is so unorganized. In fact, the thing that convinced my dh that homeschooling would work for us(I had wanted to do it from the get go, but dh said,"no.") was that the school refused to help my dd with organizationeal skills because she was "smart," and the principal(alsoa friend) chastised me for evening thinking dd could be ADD becasue she was not a discipline problem. It's really a much longer story that I won't get into because it really does cause bad feelings to rise in me. Anyhow, homeschooling has been a big blessing for her. SHe also deals with anxiety attacks, which I also have personal experience with. And although I understnad them becasue I have anxiety attacks, I get very frustrated with dd.
My oldest son(age 8) was born with a form of strabismus in both eyes. We have seen a pediatric opthamologist since ds was 18 months. He has had four eye surgeries, and he has very little depth perception. HE manages very well, considering.
My third ds(age 5) also has a form of strabismus, and some vision difficulties, but the same dr. feels that this ds's problem can be addressed best with patching and glasses. So far it does seem to help quite a bit, but we've only been doing this for about three months. His deviation was much smaller than oldest ds, so the family doc would not refer us until this year. Luckily, the eye doctor thinks it is not too late to regain some eye strength.
My second ds, age 6, I do believe may have some attention difficulties, too. After reading some things about SID, I am starting to wonder if I should check into that.
Anyway...I am glad to have a place to go for support!
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Nina Murphy
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KC in TX wrote:
| I've probably given you all too much info, but here it is. |
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Can there be too much information amongst us women on this Forum? 
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I, for one, truly appreciate it.  
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Nina Murphy
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You reminded me, KC, of Joey's killer allergy to walnuts. He gets REALLY sick, starts sneezing immediately, turning scary shades and breaking out in huge welts and throwing up, his lips turn blue... and can stop breathing; we have an epi-pen, too. Nice drama, huh? 
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Taffy
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Hi Jennifer! It's amazing how long those angry feelings towards the school's lack of interest in helping our children fester in our hearts. I can SO relate. But, like you, I'm glad that my dh was finally convinced to give homeschooling a try - now to convince him about the other kids...
Glad for the intro, Jennifer, KC, Nina, etc. Nina, I had no idea that you were dealing with so much - well, I had some from the prayer requests but knowing the nature of the difficulties you deal with in your children simply makes me admire you more.
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Susan
Mom to 5 on earth and 1 in heaven
Susan's Soliloquy
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Nina Murphy
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Oh, you're such a sweetie pie.
Same back at you!!!
---------------------------------
We need to love one another---hey: we *should* be each other's biggest fans. No one hurts from too much love!
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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amyable
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KC in TX wrote:
Oh, and my girls are all allergic to peanuts which can be a challenge. Not everyone is very sensitive to that fact and people tend to forget. I carry the epi-pen (which I have to remember not to leave in my purse in the car during the awful summer months ).
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KC and Nina (and anyone else) definitely DON'T underestimate how stressful this is. Did you know that there is research out there that says being a parent of a food allergic child is *more* stressful than getting a cancer diagnosis (as an adult)? I try to remind myself of this, and go easy on myself, when I am doing the (oh too frequent) "I'm-tired-of-being-a-parent-of-3-multiple-food-allergic-chi ldren-freakout" 
__________________
Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Nina Murphy
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Oh, thank you, Amy! Yes....
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God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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KC in TX
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Yes, thank you, Amy. We were in the waiting area during a ballet class and one of the little boys had peanut butter crackers. I asked the mother if he would just take her son away from my girls because of the allergy. Well, she was quite offended. She came back with cheese crackers and asked not so nicely if they were also allergic to cheese. I was floored. I had never encountered that before. 
__________________
KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
Mama to LB ('98)
Michaela ('01)
Emma ('03)
Jordan ('05)
And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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4 lads mom
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HI Girls,
I didn't know if I should laugh or cry when I read some of your posts, so I am doing both.
I have 4 boys, given my signature, I know that was tough to figure out....My oldes, 13, is in great shape, allergic to motrin, about it. He is such a big helper...very dependable, good natured....my next 3 have a lot going on. My 12 yr old is allergic to pork, chicken, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. He has pretty intense asthma, in the hospital a lot as a baby and toddler. He is really the reason we homeschooled (many more reasons now!!) because when everyone else was putting their kiddos in preschool and moms day outs in my group of friends...we were tethered to an aerosol machine, and the docs said no way can he go to preschool...which was a good thing in the end. Funny how things that seeem so hard lead you where you need to be...I would never had considered homeschooling if it wasn't for the fact that ds ended up in the hospital with every cold!
My next little guy, 8 yr old...has an intense anaphylaxsis to milk. Like,we can't go out to eat because he will react immediately to a speck of milk residue on the chairs, tables..etc...not any vegan restaurants where we live...so, mama cooks A LOT!! Did I say he has asthma too? Lots of pneumonia in the last few years. I think part of his anxiety is from having so many reactions and being rushed to the ER many, many times. He reacted one time to just sitting in the shopping cart chair at Home Depot!!
On to my next sweetie. My five year old, as I have mentioned previously elsewhere, has a syndrome that necessitated a trach and g-tube his first few weeks of life. After 11 surgeries, including a jaw reconstruction and palate surgeries and neurosurgery on the back of his skull and vertebra....he is no longer on a trach and g-tube, doing absolutely wonderful!!! He does have residual speech issues, will have speech therapy for a long time, and maybe some further surgery to reconstruct his palate. He had a mighty big cleft palate at birth. This ds also has a milk allergy and asthma. He is a very brave boy, tough as nails, and just a tad spoiled now that things have settled down.
I feel like I am leaving something out....you all know I am pregnant too... We are very excited!! We will be having a high level ultrasound in a few months to see if this little guy has the same syndrome...just for being prepared at delivery if need be with NICU etc...
School is a challenge...that is one big "DUH" statement. I love Theresa's (lapaz farm) term, "us-schooling" That is us too...some days we do a ton, some days, we read a bunch, some days are chess tourneys, some days are camping in front of the TV to the hum of aerosol machines and wheezing....some days are glorious field trips... I wouldn't do it any differently. Not many kids know how to change a trach or g-tube, run a suction machine...my big guys do..there is so much "real" life stuff they have been exposed to. I pray it is forming them into the saints God wants them to be.
Thanks for starting this thread. It can seem a little isolating to us with kids with mulitiple needs...I get so much from reading your posts, you all are so REAL!!!
(whew, thank goodness!)
God Bless,
4 Lads' Mom with baby due in Sept.
__________________
Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
Scenes From This and That
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Willa
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4 lads mom wrote:
| That is us too...some days we do a ton, some days, we read a bunch, some days are chess tourneys, some days are camping in front of the TV to the hum of aerosol machines and wheezing....some days are glorious field trips...some are just getting by until Daddy gets home!! I wouldn't do it any differently. Not many kids know how to change a trach or g-tube, run a suction machine...my big guys do..there is so much "real" life stuff they have been exposed to. I pray it is forming them into the saints God wants them to be. |
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That's beautiful.
So glad you chimed in. I remember reading about your little guy with the trach in your other posts.
All my kids are pros at checking oxygen sats and running various oxygen machines. And up till recently, knew everything there was to know about feeding bags and enteral pumps too.
LIke you and others have said, I have been very touched and amazed by the variety of stories here.
__________________
AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Nina Murphy
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4 lads' mom I get so much from reading your posts, you all are so REAL!!!
(whew, thank goodness [/QUOTE wrote:
I thank God for the REAL women here, too.
You are an awesome mom and the 4 lads (+ one more: hubby) + |
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I thank God for the REAL women here, too.
You are an awesome mom and the 4 lads (+ one more: hubby) + baby are very blessed to have you. 
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Nina Murphy
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I just don't know what I did up there---Sorry. 
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Nina Murphy
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I'm not even going to TRY to do quotes.
Willa, same here. When I was pregnant with Andrew and Joey needed to be on TOBI twice a day (a very strong aerosol antibiotic that kills dangerous rare bacteria and takes the full 30+ minutes to nebulize)--- my older kids took turns holding the mask on a not-too-happy Joey for me (as the TOBI is contraindicated for pregnant women and even smelling some of the fumes made me feel like I was going to pass out).
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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ALmom
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I do not deal with anything like most of you. We have 6 children, very healthy and resilient - but all but one had vision problems. Most of these have been corrected - but it has been a bit of a challenge to know just what to do to challenge them without being over challenging. I'm always doubting myself - am I making excuses for the child, should I be doing something differently. I pray, consult dh and we do the best we can at figuring out what is best. The conceptual level was high with my dc - but they couldn't cut with scissors, wouldn't use a fork, etc. and very, very frustrated with academics. Turns out it was binocular insufficiency, convergence problems, fusion problems, focusing problems, tracking issues, and a bunch of visual processing stuff to go with it. We were in therapy a lot - and insurance doesn't cover so that part was stressful.
One child doesn't seem to have been helped like the others by the vision therapy - and was informally assessed as having auditory processing problems - maybe whole vestibular system involvement with some sensory integration (are vestibular and sensory integration the same). I'm not sure where to go from here as any therapies are very expensive - and at what point do you stop chasing after things and just know that somehow God has some plan for this child and will help him find a niche somehow. I know we'd make the money or find it if we knew the therapies would help - but everything we've seen is so darn expensive and none of it is proven.
The hardest thing for me is that no one around here even acknowledges the vision problems so whatever we have done with adjusting schooling has been hit or miss and experimentation. I feel that this is sort of our path - we accomodate for delayed eye-hand while still trying to develop it in what we do and hope and pray that at the end we will have done the right thing.
I am also now helping my sisters son - starting Monday or Tuesday - thankfully all the legalities have been worked out. He is still in the process of being diagnosed (the schools gave him a diagnosis but with no sense of what it means or how to help him and not sure they really assessed him completely) - but definitely needs speech therapy and vision therapy. There may be some autism, and sensory integration issues.
Watching my sis try to fight the schools to get her son what he needs, I would never recommend putting your child in school. (Different than making use of some therapy services provided by the school). But that is a whole nother story and no one wants my angry rant right now!
Janet
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momtomany
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All I can say is how inspired I am by all of you women!
God truly has planted the special blessings in the right homes.
Out of my ten, we've had one dyslexic ds, who went to a special school for dyslexia. That was before we discovered homeschooling. He graduated hs, and is now working part time and attending a local junior college.
Then there is my special guy, John, who is 12. He is the reason that we started this wonderful homeschooling journey. He had a massive seizure at 13 mos, at least 70 minutes long, which has left him with cognitive issues and delays. Also continuing seizures even though he is on 3 different kinds of meds. He is a very delayed reader and math is also difficult for him. Yet he is rock solid on his faith. He is the sweetest, most loving child, and truly has been a blessing to our family. I agree with someone else who posted, that helping to care for their special blessing sibling, may just be a road to sanctification for the the other children.
Our youngest, who would have been 7, or as my sweet dd says, is 7 in heaven, is our family intercessor. He died at nine days old, after complications from a cord accident during labor.
Willa, this was a great idea to start this thread. I had no idea how many special blessing children we had here.
__________________
Mary Ann in PA
wife to MIchael, mom to Elizabeth, Becca, Tim, Peter, Andrew, Sarah, Matthew, John, Leah and Joseph
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4 lads mom
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Thanks for sharing, Mary Ann....Wow!! I have gotten more from reading the posts on this thread than most everything else....it has been so helpful!!
God Bless everyone!
4 Lads' Mom with baby due in Sept...
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julia s.
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Well, I actually have a few minutes to introduce my kids and both my husband and myself. My oldest child would probably be diagnosed with high functioning autism and sensory integration problems (he gets physically over-stimulated easily with melt-downs). We've avoided the formal diagnosis since I think just working within the family and taking cues from him seems to help him the best. I try to avoid getting obligated to well-intentioned help if I feel it can be handled more naturally. And my son is mathematically talented and is becoming very good at coming up with stories.
My second son has/had (he's actually come a long way) speach apraxia which is sort of a motor planning problem with speach (reversing sounds when he talks) and severe articulation problems. He's come so far in the past four years since we started speach therapy for him (this did require outside expertise and reinforcement). Oddly enough his greatest fascination (aside from Curious George) are languages. I'm not sure entirely how to satisfy this since he really can't articulate well enough for foreign language, but that's another thread all together.
My third son has yet to display anything special (ok he's wonderful, but not needing anything out of the ordinary) -- although at times he takes after my oldest son a little too much for comfort so it's a wait and see sort of deal. He smiles the most and is the happiest one in the family.
My husband self-describes himself as Monkish from the tv show Monk. He's a details guy and change has to come slow. But he's brilliant at engineering (can do highly complicated multidimension blueprints in his head and translate them on paper in a matter of minutes -- things that take other people days or months to do). And a wonderful husband and father.
Me I'm a little intense and can't remember a name with a face most of the time (as in highschool was a nightmare for me). I think name tags should be mandatory . I'm abscent minded (if I were a scientist saving the universe this would be charming -- I think I'm boardering on ADD in reality).
I figure it was only fair to share mine and my husband's eccentricities too if I was going to lay out my kids' unique charms.
My oldest son has probably taught me the most about the value of prayer and following God's plan. It amazes me how naive I was before I was given this gift of mothering such an emotionally challenging child. He is so amazing to me. My second child you can hear how hard he works to get his sounds right. His determination is just mind-blowing. But I know everytime my oldest is able to defuse from an emotional buildup on his own or think about what emotion someone is displaying and react to it accurately that his has come from that same determined source. God's grace and been abundant in our lives. And really I am awed at the gifts I've been given.
My largest difficulty in raising them is doubting God's wisdom in giving them to me since I think I'm one of the most spacey people I know. I tend to get caught up in my head and forget to plan things out and the details can completely escape me. Often I feel so inadquate for the job of mom and my oldest son was a real trial by fire when he was a baby (crying hours all day and would only nap for 20-30 mins. twice a day and needed to be carried all day -- I didn't know about carriers either). But my husband and I have come a long way since then and I know now to just sort of go with the flow even if I'm not sure what it is I'm supposed to be doing. Oh, and keep praying .
Thanks for taking back the special blessings forum and really opening it up to those of us who would like to share the journey with those who understand.
__________________
julia
married to love of her life
with ds12 ds8 ds3 and ds1
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julia s.
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I also wanted to say that I am honored to get to know and pray for you ladies and your families. Thank you for sharing such personal details of your family.
__________________
julia
married to love of her life
with ds12 ds8 ds3 and ds1
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4Real Forums : Special Blessings
Topic: Can we introduce ourselves?
