Chapter 13

What NEEDS to be done HAS to be done…

In middle school, my daughter got a very warm welcome and all the educators reached out to understand her varied levels of learning. By 2007, when she became comfortable in her new environment with a new set of experienced educators, her health issues started hampering her learning. Every educator made the effort to understand her discomfort in a particular situation and tried her best to settle the problem.

Treatment for PCOD started for my 13-year-old girl with Autism. She started complaining of headaches and she began showing signs of anxiety and aggression. This was tough especially because neither she nor us could figure out the cause of her discomfort and pain… was it a side effect of medication or was it because of mood swings due to adolescent issues? We consulted the neurologist who suggested an MRI to rule out any complication in the brain.

Getting her pricked for a blood test was very challenging and the MRI seemed very scary. We had to sedate her with a lot of difficulty. Before sedation, I explained to her that this was being done to cure her ‘head pain’….but her expression told me that she still wanted to understand WHY. The whole process drained me out and after returning home, my son asked if his sister was okay now! He was probably curious to know if we had found a complete cure for her!

The MRI report was clear and the neurologist advised me to consult a psychiatrist, who prescribed some mild medication to make her calmer and more relaxed. Her endocrinologist suggested that we discontinue her treatment, instead switch to lifestyle modification. This primarily included intensive exercise, a modified diet and short walks after every meal.
I had no choice but to trust our doctors, their diagnosis, advice and to be patient. I was sure that running away or looking for a second opinion at this stage would be more confusing and stressful. So I would make a list of all my doubts and queries before every appointment with any doctor and request her/him to explain to me the role of the medicine. Reading about side effects of medicines on the internet can be traumatizing….we are not doctors, we do not know what to pick and what not!

My little son was doing reasonably well in his school and I was determined to celebrate his milestones to the fullest. To be able to do that, I practised to detach myself from my daughter while spending time with my son! So, if my daughter had a bad day in school, after wiping off my tears I learnt to wear lipstick and take my son to a birthday party.

I started experiencing “Kabhi khushi kabhi gham” on a daily basis!