He’s Back.
Dylan is back. After one week on the medication, we don’t know much about its effects on his school work, but it’s like having the “old” Dylan back again.
He’s kind and fun and funny. He’s sweet and caring and wild. He’s cool and brilliant and wonderful. And for so many months, I thought the teenager was taking over. The PILLS were taking over!
Dylan has always been a happy, enthusiastic boy. He smiled – quite literally – when he was 3 weeks old, and he never stopped smiling. A few months ago – maybe even a year ago – I realized he had stopped. He wouldn’t smile for pictures. I assumed it was his self-consciousness taking over. Along with his late brain development, he’s also late in getting his adult teeth – so braces aren’t a possibility yet. I thought he was trying to hide his teeth.
I almost hope he doesn’t read this blog, because I don’t want him to go back to not smiling. But in the past week, since taking him off stimulants, he’s been happier than ever. Yesterday I yelled at him (yeah, I did) and instead of it turning into a knock-down, drag-out, hours-long battle to the death, I said my piece and shut up. He said his piece and shut up. It was awesome. I mean, the yelling wasn’t awesome. But a small thing was just that – a small thing.
So tomorrow we up the dosage of the new medication to see if he can stay awake through it. I sure hope he can. We’re going away for the weekend and I’m thrilled to be taking “old” Dylan along – the one I remember from birth and toddlerhood. The one who isn’t agonizing over life.
Thank you, GOD, for helping me to realize that the pills were the problem. If I’d left him on them for much longer, I can only imagine what would have happened.