As I was surfing across the interwebs, I came across the story of the Kirton family - John and Robin and their six autistic children. As the parent of one autistic child, I know how difficult and challenging everyday life can be, and so I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to raise six autistic children. I’ve read through the Kirton family’s blog, and I’m amazed at how well mom and dad Kirton have handled their unique situation. After all, one autistic kid can be like a tornado of activity and energy - six must be like a constant hurricane.

Patti and I are blessed that Nick’s high-functioning, and though some might think having a child with autism is less of a blessing and more of a burden, not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for giving us Nick. He’s an amazing little boy, and each day he makes me smile.

As a sidenote, I’ve updated the media section with a few more pictures of the kids.

Nick got his cast off on the 15th, and the doctor said his arm looks “beautiful.” Despite how beautiful Nick’s arm might look, I get nervous any time I hear Nick running down the hallway towards his room, because I can’t get the image of his broken arm out of my head. I’m sure my apprehension will pass, but for now I’m nervous.

In related news, Nick’s in-home therapy is going amazingly well. Now I know it’s been just over two months since he started, but the changes we’ve all seen in Nick are amazing. Besides the increased amounts of eye contact and affection, he’s learned to love to play games with others, and he’s also using his words a lot more. His verbal communication - or lack thereof - had always been the biggest source of concern for me, because I know a lot of the problems we’ve had with Nick had to do with him not being able to tell us what he wanted, or when he was hurting, etc. Everyone who sees Nick now and remembers him from before the therapy started has noticed drastic changes in him, and while I know the therapy’s not always going to be this great, these two months have given me hope that Nick’s going to be alright when everything’s all said and done.

Nick broke both the bones in his left forearm this morning, producing much angst and stress on the part of everyone here, but especially me. Dealing with your own catastrophic (or at least really gross) injuries is one thing, but seeing them on your child is another matter entirely. What’s most disconcerting to me about Nick’s situation is the fact that when the ER doctor came in with Nick’s x-rays, he asked if Nick had a previous fracture or break in the arm, and when we answered, “not that we know of,” the doctor showed us x-rays that very clearly showed a previous break in Nick’s arm.

Just take a moment to imagine how that felt to find out our son had broken his arm but couldn’t tell us…I can tell you how it felt to me…it felt remarkably similar to a punch in the gut. It’s a scary thing to realize your child can’t tell you when they’ve hurt themselves or are sick, and I can only hope we’ll reach a point where Nick will be able to tell us when he’s having a problem.

For now Nick’s got a temporary splint and a sling, and hopefully we’ll have him in to see a Pediatric Orthopedist on Tuesday or Wednesday so his arm can be fully set and cast.