The Beginning of it All

 B has always had odd little quirks.  We just assumed he was a quirky kid, that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.  He doesn't like loud noises.  The vacuum would send him hiding in his room.  I must admit, the vacuum makes me want to hide, too.  Although for different reasons.  He freaks out when his hair is washed or he gets a hair cut.  He would often complain about the morning sun hurting his eyes.  He began to fear swinging on his swing set.  Finger paints would send him into a panic.  As a toddler, I could not put him down.  He had an attachment to me that was more than clingy.  It was desperation.  He would often throw extreme tantrums, not necessarily anger, but frustration.  There was no consoling him.  It's strange to look back at what seems so obvious and realize we were so oblivious.  Something was wrong.

In October of last year, B's grandma noticed he was blinking often and hard.  I blamed it on fatigue.  He had spent a fun filled week with one of his most favorite people in the world.  I ignored it.  Then, around Christmas time, he exhibited a few more peculiar tendencies.  He would chew his food, then refuse to swallow it.  He would do this with tears in his eyes like he really wanted to swallow, but couldn't.  Then he would cough/sniff, cough/sniff, cough/sniff repeatedly.  So much so, it interrupted his speech.  Then, the shoulder popping began.  Shoulders back, then forward, rib cage sliding over his pelvic bone.  The tic that concerned us most was the head rolling.  He would roll his head around so often his chin became red and chafed from rubbing on his chest.  We could ignore the symptoms no longer.  It was time to seek help.  What follows is all God's doing......