25th June - A mindless ramble about my day

Its been a long day.  I started it feeling very ill having got a sore throat yesterday.  I took paracetamol at 5am and thought, I wonder if I can throw a sicky today?  Can Mums call in sick?  Dave is away in France on work, so I thought, maybe I can clear my day and just sit on the sofa rocking gently, drink strong coffee and finally read the next chapter of my book.....best laid plans.....After 2 hours of sorting out dog, cat and kids, it was then time to walk Lucie.  She doesn't have time for me to be off sick, so an hour out with her and I thought - time to collapse.  As if.  The next hour was spent trying to sort out Barnardos activities for summer, then I get a phone call from the Consultant Audiologist saying they have a cancellation today, and could I bring Alex.  Ah well, the book will have to wait....can't even remember how it started now anyway.

I realised I had not prepared the audiology department that we were coming with an an assistance dog, but hey ho, it would be fairly obvious soon (unless they thought Thomas had got very hairy since he last saw them).  We have been to these hearing test appointments before, they take about an hour, and Alex is a handful.  Twice we have had to drag him in screaming refusing to enter the room, let alone getting tests done.  And don't even mention being able to look in his ears.  He doesn't have a hearing problem, but he does have 'Hyperacusis' - I can't even be bothered to Google that to see if I have spelt it right, you will never need that word again in your life!   It means Alex has sensory processing problems with his hearing, not so much loud/quiet noises, more some noises, like people talking together, or particularly crying send him insane to the point he is extremely distressed.  We need to train his brain to manage sounds, and cope.  I have a great Audiologist who really understands Autism. Net result is we have been given strategies to work on, like recording sounds he struggles with and playing them back quietly, and also hearing aids - well not hearing aids but they look exactly the same.  They play a very quiet white noise into his ear and it is supposed to help with redirecting his hearing processing.  Anyway I digress, I just find all that fascinating as never even knew about it before....so we have an appointment to see how he is doing (confession time - we are not perfect parents, and I was dreading having to crawl back saying we hadn't got it all sorted out, and for the last three months had not used the white noise thingy as Alex kept pulling them out - but that's life).....

Anyway - Alex arrived all calm, and any worries about the reception we may receive was obliterated as Lucie got smothered in cuddles.  Alex was calm, and one way or another a hugely successful appointment.   The audiologist was cool and checked Lucie's ears first, then it was Alex's turn.  Not relaxed, but we did get it done.  Is it me or is everything we do with Lucie getting easier, and I am leaving with a smile.  If there was a manual, Lucie has read it.  If I'm not careful I'm going to start looking forward to going out places ;)

Now the kids are asleep, and finally I can crash.   Happy days.  There's no moral to the story today, I just felt like a natter - I am in danger of turning into Bridget Jones  - soon I will be starting my posts with my summary -  Day 42, no cigarettes, 2 beers, too many marshmallows and 2 of my 5 a day.