The Story of Brian.....Read from bottom to top

Over the course of the next month, Brian slowly got better. After the first week, we started to see signs that the cough was becoming less frequent. Into the second month, he was completely normal. I can't help but think of how the story would have ended had we not gone to the Mayo Clinic.

I think the Moral of the Story is to follow your motherly instincts when it comes to the health of your children. Make sure to get a second or even a third opinion when you feel it is necessary. Don't just take the word of a doctor as being 100 percent correct. We owe it to ourselves to do our own research.

The Story of Brian.....

After the allergy test, we met with the doctor again. He told us to immediately stop all medication. The pills, the 7 different inhalers that he was currently on, and the breathing machine. In his opinion, Brian did not have asthma.

We could remain at the clinic and go to the scheduled appointments the balance of the week....but he did not feel it necessary. With everything that we had been thru and everything that Brian had been thru...we packed our bags and headed for home.

We could not have been more thankful for this doctor and for The Mayo Clinic. We were very hopeful and very scared. He concluded that over the past couple of years, the many doctors and specialists, that Brian was being over-medicated. He never did want to see any of Brian's medical records. He did not want to be influenced by the past couple of years and the fact that Brian slowly got worse, not better.

So we started our journey home....

The cough...........The Story of Brian....

We arrived in Rochester Sunday. We had appointments with a doctor on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The Clinic was incredible. First was signing a ton of paperwork. Most of the tests that they would run would not be covered by our health insurance. The insurance company would not ok duplicate testing to be done. Whatever the cost, this had to be done.

There were lines 20 to 50 people long for bloodwork, x-rays, etc. Everything ran with complete efficiency. First was Brian's bloodwork, which we got done pretty fast. Next we went to our first appointment with the doctor.

I had a huge bag which we carried all Brian's medical records, x-rays, and cat scan. The doctor was very nice. We were very overwelmed, but he made us feel very comfortable. As we started to talk about the problems with Brian, I reached for my bag of information and the doctor said "no". I don't want to see anything yet......tell me about your son.

For the first time ever, Jack and I talked to this doctor for hours about Brian. When all the problems started and what had taken place in the last year or so.

Next would be an alergy test on Tuesday and another appointment with the doctor.

The cough...........The Story of Brian....

After a couple of weeks on the added medication, we went back to the doctor because Brian's cough did not change. He suggested that we see an ear, nose, and throat specialist. We made the appointment that day.

The ear, nose, and throat specialist could add nothing. He had no answers for us. After a couple more weeks, we were back to the doctor again.

The Story of Brian

The Pediatrician suggest that we see an allergist. We made an appointment for Brian that day. The allergist had him blow into machine twice. Brian also went thru 70 pricks on the back, the usual test to see what you are allergic to.

The time with the allergist was very short. He also concluded that Brian had asthma. He perscribed 3 different inhalers to be added to the medication he was already taking.

The Story of Brian.......

After the medication ran out, the cough persisted. So once again we were off to the doctor.

Since the medication did not work, the doctor suggested that we have Brian see a Pediatrician. So the appointment was made. During this time Brian was being teased at school for the cough that would not go away.

We went to the appointment at the Pediatrician and after looking at Brian's medical history, family history, and doing a check up on him, he concluded that Brian had Asthma. A condition that Jack, his father had when he was a child. Now what?????

The cough...........The Story of Brian....

It was one of the times that the kids were sick. When one got sick the other got sick. It was funny.....when I was young and had a very used car, it only ran good when I went to school or to work. It always broke down on Friday night. That was the way it was when my kids were babies. Every Friday or Saturday night was spent in the Emergency room.....and I always worked Saturday and Sunday mornings....very early......

After a visit to the doctor, we started Brian on the usual. A perscription for the cough and a antibiotic.

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

Brian was moved to Shield's Elementary for first grade. His special education was down to speech therapy two hours a week. He continued with speech therapy until his fourth grade year. He was now emerging as one of the top students in his class.........

The came the cough.........

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

Brian was equally determined to learn everything he could. Once he saw how much he was advancing, he amazed us all. By the end of kindergarten, he read an entire book to the first grade class at Shields Elementary School.

We continued to have meetings with the Principle, Teachers, and Child Psychologist each semester to determine how much special education vs. general education was needed. There seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

Over the next 2 years we were determined to get Brian caught up with the rest of the kids. This was not easy. As any parent knows that raising children is a difficult task, but raising a child with a learning problem is much more challenging.

Weekends were filled with homework. Even on vacations and summer break, a stack of homework came home with him. He never complained. He just did what he had to do.

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

We now began a series of meetings with teachers from Swan Valley and Hemlock Schools along with a child psychologist. It was determined that Brian would be placed in the special education program along side the general education program in the Hemlock School District for a period of 2 years to start.

Instead of waiting at a bus stop.....a little yellow bus that was 1/3 the size of a normal bus, drove in our driveway twice a day for 2 years.....

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

After getting the routine baby shot, Brian got very sick. We spent a week in the hospital with him. The doctor's were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. The scariest part was when they took us into a conference room. Just Jack and myself, a hugh conference table, 2 residents and the doctor... They wanted to do a spinal tap on Brian. They thought he has spinal meningitis......

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

After a medical examination and a look at Brian's medical history a couple of idea's surfaced. First, we needed to go to a hearing specialist and have Brian's hearing tested. There was also another possibility from Brian's medical past. The baby shot drama.......

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

....make sure that you do everything possible. The problem came to our attention one day when we were all watching home video's. The video was of the day Brian was born. Jack and Chelsea came to the hospital to visit. Chelsea was 20 months old. We realized that Chelsea was speaking perfect english and Brian was now around 3 years old and was not......

Our first journey took us to our family doctor to get his input. Jack and I were young and unsure of what to do......

The Story of Brian-for any parent that has a child with a learning problem....

Brian was born on 11-13-1986....An amazing baby boy...we had our girl and boy.....both kids had their fingers, toes...and all was well.....until....

(I will tell this story a few lines at a time)...and I hope it will help any parent that has a child with any problem in this world.......That no matter what you are told...you never, ever give up or think that what the doctors tell you is a fact...it is your life, your children, and only you will take the time....to......