I wonder if it's lower testing rates or people doing at home tests that are going unreported. DH says there are very, very few covid cases coming through his ER, but it seems like the waves hit the NE and central part of the state first. What you are describing definitely shows up in the 21 day average, which I think is the only way I can look at the new numbers meaningfully now that they are weekly.

Does anybody have any advice on how many days my DH might want to take off of work to support DS in the hospital? His job doesn't entail typical time off, so it will be unpaid as far as I know. We are thinking of switching on and off who stays overnight. If DS doesn't sleep well due to pain or discomfort, we'd like him to have someone to offer distraction, and I really can't handle 4-5 nights of fragmented sleep in a row if I am going to the point person when DS gets home. (I was not very functional when I had infants.)

Those are a lot of red flags for autism but also for perfectionistic tendencies. I am glad you are on a list for evals, and I agree with PeterPan. If you can swing it, a good behaviorist could really help, even if it turns out later that it's not autism.

Yes, though as PeterPan said, it might be later while you work on something else. Feeding issues can also be related to hypermobility in the jaw due to a connective tissue disorder. The most common one, Ehlers-Danlos, is thought to have an overlap with autism.

I would keep autism in mind as well. My DS was not diagnosed until he was almost 9 and in many ways has a very mild presentation. Earlier help would’ve been appreciated. He kind of grew into it in some ways, though he had language issues that were missed early on because they were really narrow, and he had an excellent vocabulary. I don’t have current book recommendations.

Daily life has gotten in the way of tons of things in the last couple of years for my family, and the pandemic is only a small part of that. It’s disappointing and creates a lot of pressure to make good decisions while feeling like things are out of control or controlled but in a way that feels like a big loss of agency. We are facing the first major surgery for my son’s connective tissue disorder this summer (for scoliosis). It’s unsettling, though I am profoundly grateful that surgery is available to extend both the quality and quantity of his life if or when meds, treatments, and surveillance fall short of what needs to happen. I hope this diagnosis eventually feels like it’s opening doors to a better quality of life than if you didn’t know, and I am really sorry your cousin is dying.

That’s encouraging. I feel like that’s where I’ll be if I try to re-enter my field. OP, in my first job, I came onboard at almost the same time as someone who had just finished her degree at 40ish, and she did really well. Most people her age had gotten into the field in a roundabout way (related degrees), but people my age had tailored degrees for the same job. I hope the other students discover your value and experience!

Not offended—I just know that some people can be really negative about it in the larger culture. I don’t think people need to be pressured into being discontent with a range of features that are common. I can imagine taping for medical stuff would be a pain—I guess offering to shave or clip in the affected areas would be useful.

He’ll either have more hair or he won’t—some people get more and more as they age. Not everyone minds remarkable amounts of body hair on themselves or their spouse. I would avoid framing excess hair as a problem. ***ETA: I understand swimming involves shaving. I am talking about being negative about body hair in everyday life.

And digging in the dirt is good for mental health!

I agree. I rarely make friends with people who are my age or at my stage of life. The ones I do make friends with often have friendships with people of a variety of ages as well. Enjoy! I agree.

They just told us this is good timing, but I think I know someone who needs this information to make a good decision.

Just a heads-up...the CDC (I think) changed their early warning signs information. There is a speech practice that works with homeschoolers a lot that is very upset because they think it will cause even more delays in children getting necessary language intervention. (Rooted in Language--they have a Facebook page.)

It’s too advanced, and it may get worse. He has an underlying condition that pretty much guarantees progression. 75% of those with this condition plus scoliosis require the surgery vs. 10% for idiopathic scoliosis. Thank you for the info, though. If we’d started earlier, maybe, but we found out about Schroth too late and in a roundabout way.

If they are good about cleaning, probably 48 hours. My husband recently had what was probably Noro (probably picked up at work even though he's super careful), and none of us got sick. He had his own bathroom, and he cleaned it with bleach. I don't trust everyone equally. 😉

This. Also, it can sometimes be dosage, a different generic, a different mechanism of action, etc. My son will get some anxiety if he has enough dosage to make him feel different but not enough to make him able to effectively organize himself--there can sometimes be a sweet spot. Or if he gets a generic that doesn't work for him (he takes a generic normally).

Oh, for those also facing this surgery, they told us that hamstrings suddenly become super important after surgery, and the PT is giving exercises in advance to help loosen but strengthen hamstrings. In case that helps, @hshibley.

I am certifiably weird. I have to take larger than RDA doses of some things. Once in a while, food fixes something. I am either hyper aware of my body or have a body that refuses to be ignored, which means I usually test as sub clinical for things that send me over the edge. If they are treated, I tend to have really good results that people would expect only in someone with outright deficiencies/abnormalities. My leg issue/potassium cravings might very well have started with low vs. deficient potassium levels. I just knew I had symptoms, I knew potassium helped some people, and food wasn’t working.

Her x-ray looks like my son's--a balanced but severe S in about the same place. It's incredibly similar. I keep hearing good stories like this--kids who do pretty serious dance and even gymnastics afterwards! They said he won't have a lot of restrictions after recovery. This is really helpful. I am sorry recovery was so difficult! They are trying to be really frank about pain, and DH and I have different take-aways from what they said, so I am going to be asking more questions about that. The bolded is my biggest concern, and I am hoping we can come up with enough activities and distractions. I remember having inadequate pain control after having my wisdom teeth out, and it's really difficult to concentrate or sleep (I thought the pain meds were making me sick, and no one told us you could alternate ibuprofen and tylenol.) I can't imagine extending that several days and with more severity. He seems to be more pain tolerant than most folks, and I hope that works out (DH is a redhead, and it's hard to get adequate pain control when he has a procedure). One good thing is that he is getting specialized scoliosis PT (Schroth method) beforehand that will actually help with recovery and with building his flexibility, etc. It's amazing how much less pain he's in with 3 sessions. He'll get PT afterward too, though it may or may not be Schroth, depending on how straight his curves are afterwards. They also told him to take a decent walk every single day, if possible, leading up to surgery. (Well, the PT told us, but she deals with tons of surgical patients because of her specialty.) We have reclining couches that adjust at the head and the feet. I am glad to hear it's helpful! We have a bed we can move downstairs, and if we think it won't be the right height or stable enough, my parents will bring a frame for us, or we'll borrow something. They told us that 6 weeks is what often allows for homebound instruction. 4-5 weeks is typical. 3 weeks is remarkable--best case scenario. They said that the kids who recover the fastest follow all the directions vs. thinking they know what is best, lol! I am sure that there are kids that still have a slower recovery while following directions, but it makes sense. Please update when your DS has his surgery!

I know we have local people that prefer to not be a statistic, but I think some areas allow home reports of positive rapid tests. At one point, the larger libraries here had the Binax tests, and they were "proctored" over the internet. Those definitely got reported in our state. I am sorry your son is allergic to the vaccine!

That's terrifying! So many diseases have to be reported...that's nuts!

Along those lines, I would be cautious, but if I thought I might already be exposed, I would probably run our Corsi-Rosenthal box, open windows, etc., and make sure people are masked in public areas. I wouldn't sit all together without ventilation, cuddle on the couch, or share a bed with DH breathing on me, but I probably would put on a movie together while wearing masks and airing out the house. It's miserable to be sick and alone. We had a brief scare here when DH came down with body aches, etc., but it ended up likely being norovirus (no fever, negative for flu, negative rapid and PCR covid tests, and he had moderately bad GI issues). He'd kissed me goodbye before starting to feel crummy at work, so once the kids were in bed, we both put on masks and did what I described above. When the kids were up, he stayed in a bedroom with the cold air return covered, had his own bath, and masked when he had to traverse the hall. I had my own bedroom as well.