The past couple of weeks my daughter and I have had our own Olympic training to do. See.... for the past 3 years she has had the aid of a very powerful drug called Risperdal (Risperidone)
Risperidone
is used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia (a mental illness that
causes disturbed or unusual thinking, loss of interest in life, and
strong or inappropriate emotions) in adults and teenagers 13 years of
age and older. It is also used to treat episodes of mania.
Risperidone helps her deal with the little annoyances of this world that overwhelm her. Our hope has always been that she could manage one day without a class D medication, by use coping skills to live life. The same world we all have to learn to live in, navigating in and out of challenges, using a variety of coping skills, some destructive and others that are constructive. I am learning along the way, how I have habits that have become my coping skills since I was her age.
The journey began with vigor and tenacity on my part and little perceptive on what this would entail. Sounds like many Olympian hopefuls!
So let's take a short trip inside the brain where your sensory system takes input from touch, sound, taste and hearing to send a message to the brain and the brain tells the body to react to the stimulus. The reaction from this input can be positive or negative based on the brains perception. SO! She has had trouble since around 3 dealing with certain stimulus and reacting appropriately. The medication gave us time and has allowed us to teach her coping skills using speech and other forms of therapy to reinforce positive habits that are constructive. With the aid of medication she was able to adhere to such programs and continue to make progress and mature. Fast forward the clock now to current day and time. She is about to be 8 years old and has had a significant amount of time to learn and grow. She has had a long smooth patch of good behavior, good decision making and appropriate responses to stimulus. The time has come to stop aiding her with a class D medication and rely on coping skills and a class A drug (example: anti-anxiety).
It is now one month before school starts so the time is right to begin training for the GOLD! To date it has been three weeks without Risperdal and each day has been a progressive downhill slide of anxiety, deconstructive reactions and negative responses to stimulus. I have had bread, crackers and ice thrown at me, constant NO for a response, loud screaming responses to simple questions, clinging to my leg when asked to go camp, more affection toward animals then people and the latest was an attempt to run away. It grieves my heart to watch her go from glowing with independence and maturing in character to slipping back into isolation and constant irritation.
I have been thinking about what makes a champion! What gets us from where we are right now to where we want to be without losing our mind along the way. Is a champion made by a GOLD medal or do we associate the arrival of perfection the end of the competition. After we have the initial to add to our name then what?
What makes a champion is one that wins the GOLD and realizes that it is NOT the medal but what they do with it that makes them the winner.
Where do you go after you win, how do you love others after you have been the best, how does living the mundane affect you after the exciting wears off and how do you let the thrill of the competition go for the skill of handling everyday tasks.
My answer: God already knows where I am going, the plan has been set before me. He is the true Champion, he is my protector and provider and I need to seek first his will not mine then the path will be right, whether it is paved or not.
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| Her new best friend Toady! |
