No one knows Joshua's fight...

For the past 2+ years....It is daily....it is every moment, every breath, every thought, every movement...

by Angel Thompson on Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 11:18pm

The past 3 days have been hard for Joshua. His PANDAS has caused swelling and intense pain in his "thinking part" of his brain, he calls it. He knows it causes him to have thoughts that are not true and it takes him awhile to sift through it, not to mention the pain that accompanies it. Today he paced in the kitchen screaming to God to take the pain.

A moment outside the lodge at camp. He tries to sift through his thoughts and regroup. Later as we sat in a parking lot while Matt was inside a store he began to pray and ask God to make his PANDAS good so it could FIGHT the bad PANDAS. When he was finished he told me that the good PANDAS was God's knight to protect his brain, his house from the war inside.

As he talked more he began to talk about the wall of Jericho that Joshua defeated as God was with him in the battle. He then said, "the wall of Jericho is like my PANDAS and God's knight is like Joshua."

He is fighting this battle with God…side by side and he is RELYING on HIM.

I am so humbled & challenged as I watch my son's outlook towards this battle with PANDAS, and his dedicated step with Jesus by his side.

So, what's your wall...how will you be a Joshua?

A PANDAS GLIMPSE

In 2004 our son was dx with Autism. In January of 2010 he was dx with PANDAS D/O after he contracted Scarlet Fever earlier in 2009. You can find out more by clicking the pages regarding PANDAS on this blog or go to http://www.oasisautism.org/

This short clip is from Joshua. It is a 2 minute glimpse into his life with PANDAS. You are only seeing 2 minutes of what he lives daily. The body tics you see are only an outward part of what has attacked his brain. When he comes in contact with anyone with strep it increases swelling in his brain that increases his symptoms....tics are only one symptom. Last Summer God opened a door and I was able to share with Joshua what PANDAS has been doing and why things were changing in his body. He get's it now....there are days of tears for him, yet he continues to press on. Our way of getting through it is saying "PANDAS ALERT!"

The son you hear in this clip is one that he chose to share with you as it is one of his favorites. The movements you see Joshua doing are not to the music as it was placed in later...these are the body tics he lives with. What you are seeing is mild today. He is on another round of antibiotics aside from the preventative he takes weekly.

He is amazing....he finds joy each day....and we love walking with him in the midst...there is always hope.

grip...freedom...hope

grip 1 : to seize or hold firmly (What PANDAS D/O has on our son)

free·dom b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another (What we petition to Christ for daily regarding the grip of PANDAS D/O on our son)

hope Isaiah 40:31 "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (What we cling to.)

www.4jart.blogspot.com

From the THOMPSON'S to our Family @ GCC

There truly are no words to describe our love for you. You amaze us as a family, how you have accepted our son with his Autism and now with his additional diagnosis of PANDAS D/O. To put it simply, Joshua had Scarlet Fever last year and then he ended up getting strep throat at the beginning of the school year. The “strep” never left his body and ended up going to his brain which has caused him to have difficulty functioning. He has been fearful, anxious and sad. He has had an increase in impulsive behaviors and irrational thinking. He has not wanted to leave my side. He has had thoughts that people are wanting to hurt him and kill him, which happened a few weeks ago at church. He has had hours of crying, screaming and asking me, “Mommy, what is happening to me?” Faith has been such an incredible little sister, yet it has been hard for her to see her big brother withdrawing from her. Joshua began treatments with preventative medication and just finished a week long intense treatment of steroids to which I took a leave from work to be home with him to monitor the treatments. We have spent many nights without sleep, feeling drained and yet God has worked through your cards, letters, text messages, meals, cleaning our home….you have touched our hearts. You truly are living the scripture when we are exhorted to “lift one another up”, to “encourage one another”. Thank you all for your love and support during this PANDAS D/O journey that has gripped Joshua’s life and us as a family. You ARE our Family, and we love you.

If you would like to follow Joshua’s journey, you can at www.4jart.blogspot.com

Love,
Matt, Angel, Joshua & Faith