Water, Water Everywhere

Some of you have asked about how Aaron is doing with his water restrictions.  He’s not.  As in, he’s not really complying the way that I had foolishly hoped he would.  I mean, he’s definitely drinking less than he was before the SODIUM doctor, as Aaron calls him, imposed these horrid restrictions on him.  It’s all the doctor’s fault, at this point and to hear Aaron tell it…..unless Aaron’s also mad at me, and then it’s mom’s fault, as well. 

Can you tell that Aaron isn’t really into this water monitoring business?  I threw out the idyllic plan of completely adhering to 56 ounces of water and other fluids a day after the second day. I mean, how do you completely measure all the fluids that enter his mouth?  He’s a grown man who can go into the kitchen or even the bathroom at any time he wants and grab a drink of water.  Or a water bottle, as he loves to do.  More on that later.

Then he’s at his day group all day during the week.  Even if they try, they can’t tell exactly how much he’s drinking, everywhere he goes, all day.  But I do know that he’s drinking far less than he used to drink, and so I’m going to claim success…..to some degree. 

Oh yes, add on to all the above the fact that he has the autism issues.  If you read my last blog about this water subject, I hope you grasped a strong sense of what it’s like for Aaron.  For instance, the two cups of coffee when Aaron always has three cups.  Now we’re back to three cups of coffee.  Aaron isn’t at all adverse to monitoring that aspect of his restrictive life as he stands right beside me, like a supervisor making sure his subordinate is following all the rules.  Three cups.  Not two.

And not with just a little bit of coffee in each cup, either.  He’s not blind.  He does see and measure the amount.  I pour as little as I can to get by with it and yet still keep him content.  How low can she go?  Aaron will tell me, don’t worry.

And…..lest you get the idea that I let Aaron rule the roost around here, it’s not so.  But….Gary and I do have to live with Aaron, and a constantly frustrated and angry Aaron is impossible to live with.  It’s so easy to assume that he can just handle these changes, but he truly cannot just handle changes like this.  It is not in his make-up or his genetics or his brain function to “just handle” such important matters as his all-important coffee and water consumption. 

One more thing.  When Aaron gets angry about something, he will transfer that anger onto whatever else is irritating him at the time.  All this fluid nonsense is REALLY irritating him right now.  Yesterday he was very impatient about going to Taco Bell.  I had told him I would take him, but not until after the last elimination run of the drag race was over.  After some time had gone by, Aaron decided that this was taking forever.  His impatience flared, and before you knew it, he was talking about sodium……how it doesn’t matter to him, how he doesn’t care about it, how he doesn’t mind getting sick or going back to the hospital.

And with his last, “I don’t care!”…..after we had offered another reason why it’s SO important to keep his sodium levels up and his fluids down…..he marched upstairs and drank some orange juice.  So there!

Later, though, just before bed, he asked if he could have a peach.  We sat at the table while he noisily ate each juicy slice and happily talked.  All anger was gone, and there was no talk of fluids and sodium.  Until he asked, “Mom, is a peach bad for my sodium?”  I was relieved to be able to tell him that a peach was NOT bad for his sodium.  And I wished he could stop and be as concerned about his sodium when he’s angry as he is when he’s happy. 

If you read my last blog, you also remember that Aaron always keeps two large water bottles in the kitchen frig.  I had to throw them away after our visit with the SODIUM doctor.  I replaced them with one little squat 8 ounce water bottle.  Not two.  One.                                                                                                              

 

After Aaron ate his peach, while I rinsed his bowl at the sink, Aaron remembered something.

“Mom!” he exclaimed.  “Look at what I did!”

He grabbed my arm and was trying to pull me across the kitchen.  I protested, thinking that he wanted to take me to his room to show me some random thing he had done on his computer.  But he insisted that what he wanted to show me was right here.

He flung open the refrigerator door.  And VOILA!!  There it was!!

He pointed with great delight to the refrigerator shelf, where there now stood TWO little squat 8 ounce water bottles.  Not one.  Two.

 

“I don’t want it to just be one,” he informed me.  “I want it to be TWO!!”

There we have it.  Aaron must have two water bottles, even if they are just little squat 8 ounce bottles.  He has two.  Not one.

And there they will remain, those two little bottles.  I’m not fighting this battle.  We’ll still limit fluids as we can and see how this goes, but there are other methods to increase his sodium.

I’m thinking a salt lick right beside his desk.  He might think that’s COOL!! 

Even if it is SODIUM!!