Do you every think about why you are where you are? Well I do. A lot!
Sometimes when I sit quietly and think about the path we have been chosen to walk, all of the influences and amazing people we have met on the way, I find myself profoundly humbled. I must say that at 42 with my own personal spiritual journey well underway, I now see so much meaning and purpose in each moment that we have passed.
Most of you who know me, know that one of the greatest gifts in my life is my amazing business partner Leah Gully. She is not only a gifted Dentist but one of the dearest friends that I have. Together over the last few years she and I have with a few other special people in my life, delved into the depths of our own spirituality and personal growth. There will be a few posts around these topics so I won't bore you with too much here other than to say that we just returned from an amazing retreat at Angel Valley in Sedona. I was at a pretty low point in my life in terms of energy and struggling trying to juggle my full time business and the increasing demands of a single parent family. Leah and I had done a "Find You Inner Goddess" retreat in Sedona two years ago. It was amazing girl time and we had a ton of laughs. I was sitting at my desk in my office feeling like I was drowning and she was sitting with her back to me working on her computer. Out of the blue I said " Hey, how about Sedona again this year? I could really use a break." In true Leah fashion she said yes absolutely and within minutes had the flights booked! A trip with Leah was exactly what the doctor ordered and three months later we arrived back in beautiful Angel Valley.
I did a lot of meditating there, (as it was somewhat about learning to do that, I had already found my inner goddess after all), which is essentially ( don't laugh) started by spending a lot of time paying attention to the breath hitting the small triangle under your nose! So as I was paying great attention to my breath and the underside of my nose, I had some tremendous insights about myself and how I could better be in service to those around me. I decided that sharing my experiences around how my son's diagnoses has changed our lives, might offer some light in someone else's journey.
During the confusion and frustration of starting the kids on a gluten free, casein free, pretty much everything fun free diet (the boy's own wording) I have relied a lot on family and friends. I would like to thank my wonderful sister in law Gillian who on several occasions suggested I do this to help families that might be trying to figure this all out too, not to have to reinvent the wheel. She has an nine month old, but she thought it was important enough to offer to come and even set it up for me! She knows I am a bit computer challenged! The offer was enough to make me think seriously about it, and well, messages from above in Sedona sealed the deal.
I am going to start at the beginning and let this blog take me where it may. I encourage you to forward it to friends and family as you see applicable in your heart. Autism diagnosis is now a 1 in 110 chance for children and we need to be teaching families what to watch for, as early diagnosis and intervention is our best chance. Our brains are highly plastic, and in fact we are born with all of the neurological connections we need. Growth and learning is a process of pruning back these neurons to create meaningful pathways and connections. In our Autistic and ADD children, something malfunctions with this pruning process. Like I said, early intervention is critical.
We were a very late diagnosis at 12 yrs, although we knew from age three. Luckily, my youngest son has Asperger's and both children are intellectually very gifted. Our struggles are mainly social skills and executive function issues. We got our diagnosis this past June and were told that we were too old for the interventions that were available. You can imagine that this was pretty heart breaking after trying to get a diagnosis for the past 9 years. The day that the doctors told me was my worst day and my best day. No more thinking I was crazy all this time when everyone kept telling me it was all in my head. But being right wasn't all it was cracked up to be either. I felt like I had finished one marathon and finally gotten a diagnosis only to be turned and faced in another direction and told just keep running in that direction over there. For how long? Well, for the rest of your life.
I crashed. It was like getting hit by a brick wall. I was tired. Every step was a battle and now we were in for a lifetime more? Well I did what any other parent would do and I bought every book, video, journal I could find and I set out to get my unofficial PhD in Autism and ADD. Everything I have read has been facinating and insightful ( and not a bit dry!). When we were told we were too old for the interventions available one of my wonderful patients whom I will not name for confidentiality reasons ( ie I didn't ask her if I could yet) hooked me up with one of her friends who gave me the name of a medical doctor/ homeopath/ autism dude in Calgary. His name is Dr. Bruce Hoffman. And he is an angel in a white coat. He has taken us on an oddessy of testing and diets which have changed our lives in unbelievable ways. I will never be able to say thank you enough for his tremendous skill and dedication and the difference he has made in the lives of my children.
And so the journey begins, with a single step and a little faith....... thank you for all of the love and support I have received from all of you in my life. You are all angels for me. May this simple offereing, be my gift back to the world in gratitude for all I have been given. My life is full of abundance on so very many levels.
Sherry Olson, this first one's dedicated to you.
In love and light,
Kathryn
Sometimes when I sit quietly and think about the path we have been chosen to walk, all of the influences and amazing people we have met on the way, I find myself profoundly humbled. I must say that at 42 with my own personal spiritual journey well underway, I now see so much meaning and purpose in each moment that we have passed.
Most of you who know me, know that one of the greatest gifts in my life is my amazing business partner Leah Gully. She is not only a gifted Dentist but one of the dearest friends that I have. Together over the last few years she and I have with a few other special people in my life, delved into the depths of our own spirituality and personal growth. There will be a few posts around these topics so I won't bore you with too much here other than to say that we just returned from an amazing retreat at Angel Valley in Sedona. I was at a pretty low point in my life in terms of energy and struggling trying to juggle my full time business and the increasing demands of a single parent family. Leah and I had done a "Find You Inner Goddess" retreat in Sedona two years ago. It was amazing girl time and we had a ton of laughs. I was sitting at my desk in my office feeling like I was drowning and she was sitting with her back to me working on her computer. Out of the blue I said " Hey, how about Sedona again this year? I could really use a break." In true Leah fashion she said yes absolutely and within minutes had the flights booked! A trip with Leah was exactly what the doctor ordered and three months later we arrived back in beautiful Angel Valley.
I did a lot of meditating there, (as it was somewhat about learning to do that, I had already found my inner goddess after all), which is essentially ( don't laugh) started by spending a lot of time paying attention to the breath hitting the small triangle under your nose! So as I was paying great attention to my breath and the underside of my nose, I had some tremendous insights about myself and how I could better be in service to those around me. I decided that sharing my experiences around how my son's diagnoses has changed our lives, might offer some light in someone else's journey.
During the confusion and frustration of starting the kids on a gluten free, casein free, pretty much everything fun free diet (the boy's own wording) I have relied a lot on family and friends. I would like to thank my wonderful sister in law Gillian who on several occasions suggested I do this to help families that might be trying to figure this all out too, not to have to reinvent the wheel. She has an nine month old, but she thought it was important enough to offer to come and even set it up for me! She knows I am a bit computer challenged! The offer was enough to make me think seriously about it, and well, messages from above in Sedona sealed the deal.
I am going to start at the beginning and let this blog take me where it may. I encourage you to forward it to friends and family as you see applicable in your heart. Autism diagnosis is now a 1 in 110 chance for children and we need to be teaching families what to watch for, as early diagnosis and intervention is our best chance. Our brains are highly plastic, and in fact we are born with all of the neurological connections we need. Growth and learning is a process of pruning back these neurons to create meaningful pathways and connections. In our Autistic and ADD children, something malfunctions with this pruning process. Like I said, early intervention is critical.
We were a very late diagnosis at 12 yrs, although we knew from age three. Luckily, my youngest son has Asperger's and both children are intellectually very gifted. Our struggles are mainly social skills and executive function issues. We got our diagnosis this past June and were told that we were too old for the interventions that were available. You can imagine that this was pretty heart breaking after trying to get a diagnosis for the past 9 years. The day that the doctors told me was my worst day and my best day. No more thinking I was crazy all this time when everyone kept telling me it was all in my head. But being right wasn't all it was cracked up to be either. I felt like I had finished one marathon and finally gotten a diagnosis only to be turned and faced in another direction and told just keep running in that direction over there. For how long? Well, for the rest of your life.
I crashed. It was like getting hit by a brick wall. I was tired. Every step was a battle and now we were in for a lifetime more? Well I did what any other parent would do and I bought every book, video, journal I could find and I set out to get my unofficial PhD in Autism and ADD. Everything I have read has been facinating and insightful ( and not a bit dry!). When we were told we were too old for the interventions available one of my wonderful patients whom I will not name for confidentiality reasons ( ie I didn't ask her if I could yet) hooked me up with one of her friends who gave me the name of a medical doctor/ homeopath/ autism dude in Calgary. His name is Dr. Bruce Hoffman. And he is an angel in a white coat. He has taken us on an oddessy of testing and diets which have changed our lives in unbelievable ways. I will never be able to say thank you enough for his tremendous skill and dedication and the difference he has made in the lives of my children.
And so the journey begins, with a single step and a little faith....... thank you for all of the love and support I have received from all of you in my life. You are all angels for me. May this simple offereing, be my gift back to the world in gratitude for all I have been given. My life is full of abundance on so very many levels.
Sherry Olson, this first one's dedicated to you.
In love and light,
Kathryn
Lovely, Kath! I bet you wrote that in about 10 minutes off the top of your head too right? You have everything in your life for a reason, even the challenges, and I know you are here to ease the burdens of others by using all your gifts and experiences and opening your big heart to others. Go Sister-Goddess! You rock!
ReplyDeletefantastic work Kath!! your love, kindness and sharing is what I admire most about you. I am so lucky to be able to call you my friend!!!!
ReplyDeletecarol