Ask @Lost_and_Tired your questions…and they will be answered

@Tammy yes we did.  In fact we watched it together.  Some of her symptoms are similar and some are not.  The cyst she has is between the membrane and her skull.  They said it's full of CFS and nothing to worry about.  Having said that, it thinks it's absolutely worth asking about because anything is possible.  Thank you for caring enough to share and follow up.  I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner.  🙂 

@KathyKohlBuehler We did consult with an attorney that specializes in SSI. He said it was a long shot at best and that it probably wasn't worth it.  

If we do want to pursue it, moving her to the Cleveland Clinic was the first step in doing so.  

As far as the caregiver thing goes, I had no idea that was possible.  Thanks for sharing that.  🙂 

@KathyKohlBuehler you are correct.  The real concern is that botox hasn't been shown to help her type of migraine. Out of desperation she had it scheduled a few weeks ago.  However, she ended up sick and had to cancel.  

The other concern is that the side effects can be worse headaches. 

I'm not sure how I feel about the botox but I would support her if she decides to go through with it.  

Excellent question.  🙂 

@jimjohn Thanks for the great question. While you're absolutely correct, these can be signs of depression, these are actually diagnosed problems for Lizze. She is suffering from severe depression and is being treated for it as well. She also has fibromyalgia, chronic migraines, tremors, PTSD (actually diagnosed), aspergers (or autism now, in the advent of the DSM 5), and is going through menopause at age 32. 

She is being treated for depression and is on medication. We are also waiting for a special psychiatrist that deals with depression and women in menopause because things become more complicated during menopause. 

Thank you for your question.

@elizabethtaylor202 honestly, we haven't tried. We did try to get Lizze on disability but it was denied.  We met with an attorney who explained what her chances were and that he wouldn't even pursue it because they are really clamping done on claims.  

As far as Elliott and Emmett are concerned, we were in a much better situation then.  

@p123 the only financial support we get is Gavin's SSI and about $400 in food stamps. Both have been lifesavers at times.  

Good question.

@MeaghanGood as far as we know, he's living life without responsibility.  He father 2 children, both severely developmentally delayed and with tons of medical issues.  He lost custody of both and is enjoying live as a single guy, in southern Ohio. 

To be blunt, the guy is an asshole.  He abused Lizze and he abused Gavin.  

Good question.  I have no love for the guy, except that he did give us Gavin. 

@Chefaimee good question.  Lizze and her ex husband were only living together for 6 months. Gavin witnessed the abuse to Lizze first hand.  After she left, there was a forced visitation plan in place and Gavin spent 8 days with Lizze and 6 days with his father and paternal grandmother. 

There are documented instance of Gavin's biodad leaving him alone in his crib for over 18 hours at a time.  Gavin had screamed himself horse, been in his soiled diaper and drank spoiled formula that entire time. 

When CPS was called Lizze was told that unless he had broken bones, they wouldn't investigate.  That's one of the reasons our whole CPS thing passes me off so much.  Where were they when Gavin was being abused? 

As time went on, Gavin would hide in the car during swaps and beg us not to send him.  We had no choice.  The times that Lizze tried not send him, court orders were issued saying that if she didn't, she would be arrested and put in jail. The way the shared custody agreement read at that time was that if either parent was arrested or went to jail,  custody reverted back to the other.  

It went on like this for years and years.  

It should also be said that the judge in charge of the custody case for the first few years was her ex husband's onetime uncle.  The judge was married to her ex husband's aunt for period of time.  

It wasn't until we hired an out of town attorney that the judge stepped down.  

We don't know everything that happened while Gavin was "visiting"  but we know enough to know that it was bad. 

There is a great deal more to the story but hopefully you get the point.  🙂 

@Jenny G okay, the last time we had an actual date alone? It occurred to me that the last time we truly had time to ourselves in that fashion, was before the Elliott and Emmett.  Gavin in was much, much younger and Lizze and I got away for am overnight trip to our favorite bed and breakfast.  This was located in the tiny town of Hartville Ohio and it was really nice.  

We were in a better financial situation then and we went to a night dinner and walked around the town square.  

I remember buying some snacks at the local Giant Eagle and going back to our room and just snuggling up on the huge bed and watching some movies on DVD.  I had just recently bought a laptop that could play DVD's and I thought it was so cool to be able to watch movies on my new computer. 

When  we woke up the next morning, the owners had made us this huge breakfast.  Belgian Waffles, with fresh berries, bacon, eggs and blueberry muffins.  

It was so relaxing.  

Unfortunately, after that, they closed down and retired to spend more time with their grandkids.  I want to say it was called Ivy and Lace. 

Wow.....I hadn't thought about that in years.  It was a really long time ago but it was a really good experience.  

@Jenny G Yeah.... I honestly don't remember. On occasion, we get to sneak out but nothing ever fancy.  We were sitting here trying to remember when the last time it was and the best we could come up with was when we took Elliott to see Gnomes and Juliet. Afterwards, we took him to IHOP. 

That's probably the last time we went to dinner and a movie and that was a  long time ago and we weren't alone. 

@TJ you're absolutely right. It comes down to the fact that I write almost everything from my phone.  I also don't have a lot of time to write so I try to update as quickly as possible.  I'm not a writer that has had any formal education  and so I probably do put commas in the wrong place.  As for the typos, those honestly fall on the keyboard I use with my phone.  The autocorrect simply butchers the spelling at times.  

I am however, trying to make more of an effort to proofread prior to posting.  

The title typos really hurt because once the post is published, it goes out over an extensive network and gets tweeted out over and over.  Even when I catch it and correct the actual title, the tweets are still incorrect.  

You are totally write.  I need to be more careful.  😉 

For the record, that last sentence was on purpose.  🙂 

@Tammy that's a good question and I totally understand where you're coming from.  She's had an MRI and CT-Scans to rule out any possible physiological causes like tumors. She does have a cyst at the base of her skull but her doctors have said that it's probably been there since birth and that is just filled fluid and not a problem..  

She's seen several neurologists, all the way up to the Headache Clinic at the Cleveland Clinic. 

No one can figure out what's causing them and why she doesn't respond to the preventative. The current theory out of the Cleveland Clinic is that her pain receptors have been rewritten and that she now interrupts everything as pain.  

She was supposed to go through the Cleveland Clinics chronic pain rehabilitation program but we couldn't afford it and so that's been on hold.  

The other issue is the shear amount of stress that she experiences.  Her doctors have been saying that extreme stress can render treatments ineffective. 

Also, I don't believe she's been seen by a neurosurgeon.