There's a Panda in my Bellybutton

Lymphoma Treatment - Side Effects As a result of the steroid chemotherapy that Ryan has been on for his Lymphoma treatment, he has developed Adrenal Insufficiency. This is hopefully a temporary condition that will improve once chemotherapy treatment has finished, however, only time will tell. There are two types of Adrenal Insufficiency. Primary and Secondary. Ryan’s type is secondary and can be traced to a lack of ACTH, a hormone which causes a drop in the adrenal glands production of cortisol but not aldosterone. This form of secondary adrenal insufficiency has occurred after receiving a glucocorticoid hormone, in Ryan's case, Dexamethasone steroid as part of his cancer treatment. Cortisol is normally produced by the adrenal glands, which are located just above the kidneys. Cortisol has many functions, but its most important job is to help the body respond to stress. The high dosage use of Dexamethasone to treat Ryan's lymphoma has caused a hormonal imbalance which hopefully

Those of you that follow our blog regularly may remember a similarly titled post that I wrote where I talked about  Cashing in on Autism . In that post , I discussed not wanting to put adverts into my blog as I didn't want to make money from Ryan's autism. Cancer , however, is a whole other story. Times have changed. I have had to take voluntary redundancy and stop work in order to care for Ryan as he needs 24hr a day monitoring, medication and care. Cancer is expensive, so expensive. We are now a one wage family of four, yet our heating, electricity, food bills and travelling expenses have all increased.  According to the cancer charity CLIC Sargent c ancer costs on average £600 extra a month. I would agree with this figure yet my wages have disappeared . This is why I have made the decision to look at other income sources to help our family.  As was commented on my previous post on this subject.  Just because something is advertised on your blog does not mean that mo

Peritonitis Wednesday 23 November 2016 saw Ryan's first check-up with the GP nurse since being discharged after his emergency surgery, which is a whole other story that I will tell in a separate post titled  Peritonitis .  On the way to the GP surgery in the car , Ryan begins a conversation and it goes something like this: Cancer Sucks Me: You need to write us a blog post-Ryan about your cancer, can we do that? Ry: Cancer sucks, don't get it! Me: That's it? That's your advice for anyone reading our blog. I doubt anyone reading this is actually looking for ways to get cancer. Ry: I had so many problems growing up, trying to cope with my autism and now this lymphoma thing. I haven't been a very good child , have I? Me: Don't ever say that. You are perfectly awesome. You have been dealt a poor hand of cards, I won't lie and you need to bluff your way through. Ry: I know what you mean mum. I am going all-in on a high card. How amazing is this  15-year-

I Am... I asked Ryan to complete the following sentences.  I gave him the two words in bold and he completed the rest. It gives an insight into his Autistic mind. When you ask, say the two word prompt and try to take the first thing that they reply. I am... alive. I wonder... what's in space. I hear... sounds. I see... things. I want... eternal life. I pretend... that I am happy. I feel... nothing. I worry... that people will find out. I cry... every night. I understand... that humans shouldn't exist. I say... offensive things. I dream... of a time gone by. I try... to smile. I hope... it will all be over soon. I am...

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. ~ Nelson Mandela. The aim of our blog is to educate and help just one person to support their child better. We hope to change perceptions of autism and living with an invisible challenge; but with so many myths and misconceptions out there it really is a 1 step forward, 2 steps back process, although that is half the fun of constantly challenging ourselves to find new ways of getting our message across. Contrary to popular belief many autistic children do make eye contact; it just may be less or different from a non-autistic child. Many children with autism can develop good functional language and others can develop some type of communication skills such as sign language or use of pictures.  Children do not ‘outgrow’ autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops strategies to cope. Myths One of the most devastating myths about autistic children is that they cannot show affection. While sensory sti