Winsor is awesome!

This blog is about one of my best buddies, this is not the first blog where he has been mentioned.

This blog is about Winsor Hemingway.

Winsor as you can see is my ginger cat.

Over our life time we can choose to share our lives with many pets, and we love them all for all their quirks, but every now and again you get one that is different.

They really stand out, as they are filled with so much character.

Winsor is one of them.

Winsor has been with me from day one, born on the 1st March 2000, one day before my twenty-first birthday.

He was one of five healthy kittens born within a sanctuary, mother Tiddy was only eight months old and had already had one litter of kittens. Two of which came into the sanctuary with her. Mizanne and Snowfeet, both girls.

Winsor along with his sister Nemo, (gingers) were the biggest of the litter.
Bootlace and Shoelace (torties) and little Ted the runt of the litter (black, named after Wildcat of course!)

Over the next two weeks they were all feeding well, except when the time came to go onto solid food, Winsor just didn't ''get it''.

Mum was getting tired of hungry mouths and soon milk had all stopped. Winsor was on formula but still wouldn't accept any kind of solid food.

He watched the others, walked around it and sat in it... just he wouldn't eat it.

Winsor had become the smallest kitten of the litter, he was getting weaker.

Kerry, the vet gave him the once over and found him to have a heart murmur which she thought may be a sign that things weren't quite so well developed as we had first thought.

It was sad news, she told me not to give up, but if he wasn't eating solids within five days, then we should do the kindest thing as he was starting to waste away.

FIVE DAYS....

Getting the lovely night watchman to pop into see him and to give him some formula over night, I had to have him on solids.

It may have not been the ''offical'' way... but it was desperation and his last chance, on day five I bought the most stinky salmon patty I could find, mushed it, opened Winsors mouth and with my little finger placed a great big dollop to the back of his mouth.

It was if something hadn't been triggered in him.

Whether he was just slow on the uptake, poor scent or something else I do not know? but he demolished a whole saucer of salmon patty within minutes.

There was no stopping him once he had started, he soon gained weight and was a happy kitty once again.

It was this time where our bond grew.

Winsor; he is my cat, that's for sure... he stays with me, sits with me, and talks with me.
Ask him a question, he will answer, often with quite an indignant mew.

He was truly my number one furry baby!

But what makes Winsor so wonderful is how he has accepted the other furry friends and of course one of the biggest things, my new number one!! My son...

It didn't matter if my son was crying, shouting, or running around, Winsor takes it all within his stride and has accepted everyone and everything that has come through my door.

What has spurred me on to write this blog is the fact, I'm seeing my ginger buddy become older.
He is getting quite the grumpy old man at times.

4.30 rolls around he is there wanting his dinner.... hovering, mewing, and prowling. He scrambles up the fences and we no longer get his ''gifts''.

He doesn't like going out in the dark and spends most of the time curled up on my bed.

Shadow, one of my younger kitties has started to challenge him for superiority but so far Winsor is holding his place with dignity and laying the smack down with those six toed paws of his.

That's no laughing matter if you are on the receiving end.

So from an iffy start to life, he has grown into one of the most charismatic, handsome and stately kitties I have ever had the pleasure to share my home with.

Autism... Lets Not Be *quiet* About this

April is autism awareness month. Many of the people reading this will probably have heard me voice my opinions on the difficulties concerning those affected, and how it impacts upon their families. Autism is a HUGE disorder; there may be many similarities and certain behaviours which comprise the diagnoses, but just as how we are all unique, so are the difficulties that surround every person who suffers from this disorder. I am an autism mum! I have been for the best part of three years now -well, knowingly at least - and I can tell you, it has truly been a journey of endurance, breakthroughs, frustration, joys and disappointments. I have taken on doctors, psychologists, therapists, politicians, the NHS, the Courts and the BBC... I have stood before them all, being judged as an over-reactive mother as I merely tried to ensure that my son gets a chance. A chance to achieve his full potential; to make his life and the inherent difficulties a little easier - things you would expect from our services if your child was "neurotypical" (i.e. ''normal''. I hate labels; every child is unique and what is normal for one is not for another, so let us please just refer to children as children.) Just like the world around us, things are not fair, and despite our living in a well-developed Western country, the services that are provided are not sufficient, and those of us who choose to fight this system... ...well, we come out battle-damaged. This shouldn't be the case; regular daily living can be hard enough. Take, for example, cleaning your teeth. How long does this take you? It can take thirty to forty minutes, daily, within an autism-affected family. Now I've set the scene a little. My child is High-functioning autistic, with ADHD. He has problems with social understanding; he has gastro-inflammatory troubles; he has physical problems; obsessions, compulsions, sensory problems and learning disabilities - All of which comprise what we know as autism. I could write a manuscript on each of these things taken from our own perspective; but instead I'm going to concentrate on one specific point over a few blogs - the elements that I feel I haven't given enough insight into (again, from our perspective). If anyone has caught any of the Parent-Speaker events - unless directly asked this is something I have neglected to address. You may have read about this in the media, but sadly not from a view of dispensing helpful or useful information; more for the purposes of "hitting the headlines" for the sake of sensationalism - for example, the reports concerning the possibility and probability of vaccinations - especially the MMR vaccination program - causing a rise and/or regression in autism. Science knows there has to be the correct environment for the development of autism; this is an area science is still heavily researching, and there are many varied ''environments'' that make someone more susceptible to the disorder. BUT: There has to be a trigger. My son had a normal delivery after a traumatic gestation, and things didn't get much better during birth; I had a rare allergic reaction to the medication which the hospital had given me, resulting in the possibility of my child having been starved of oxygen. As you can see: There are already many ''possible'' triggers. Thinking back, my son had many autistic traits from birth: He was a hungry baby; a VERY HUNGRY BABY. He would not sleep - perhaps a maximum of just forty minutes at a time. He would cry; my God, would he CRY! He had "head lag" - Pick him up and his head would roll back. All this, before he was eight months old. As time went on, his developments as regards speech, walking, and so forth were not delayed to a point of concern, although it must be said  that the word-sounds that he produced first are generally facets of speech that usually would develop a little later, suggesting perhaps that some sounds could have been repressed. The time came to administer the MMR inoculation; I come from a veterinary background, therefore I am a firm believer in the good that can result from a vaccination program - and of course a quick look into the epidemiology of disease shows how we can eradicate some of the worst ailments to affect mankind. Still, I undertook my own research before committing to this program - to the point where my son had his jab a little later than he should have. Still, he was fine. Until two weeks later. We had a very QUIET night; that in itself wasn't normal for us. My son had become limp and unresponsive, so I hurried him to A & E. The medical staff were uncertain what was wrong with him - until a little later his face and neck appeared swollen. MUMPS! My son was experiencing the symptoms of mumps; he was put on a program of anti-inflammatories, given fluids and before long we could return home. Was this normal? You are told there could be a slight chance of ''mild'' symptoms. These symptoms were not mild in my opinion. At three years of age, the obsessions and compulsions started to kick in; we got ''quiet'' days, and lots and lots of stimming (Finger-thumb touching, arm flapping and vocal stims). Did the MMR contribute to symptoms, or even exacerbate them? Of course, this will be something I will never know the answer to; I hold firmly to the belief that my son was born autistic, but there is no doubt that he had some pretty big adverse reactions to the MMR vaccination program. As science progresses and research is adding further pieces to this complex jigsaw, we must ask: HOW is science working to cure the incurable disease? It is a avenue that you do not receive access to from the NHS! You won't hear many NHS clinical psychologists suggest these methods of treatment to you - unless of course YOU do the research yourself, and take it to them! This way is the BIO-MED way. Bio-med - meaning bio-medical - is a term to describe treatment from a medical viewpoint. Bio-med uses medical testing to detect things such as excessive amounts of bad bacteria in the stomach, parasites, yeast, viruses, food allergies and heavy metal toxicity. These tests then show there is any type of problem with the subject's immune system, as well as  metabolism abnormalities and biochemical imbalances, which can cause disruptions in the brain and lead to autistic symptoms. These imbalances are then corrected with various treatment options: supplements, medications, all-natural remedies, homeopathy, chelation, HBOT and special diets. Parents have reported that their child's health has been improved, as well as observing betterment regarding their focus, attention and moods, resulting in the child gaining a firm base to receive other behavioural therapy options. This Bio-med world can be daunting and overwhelming at first. Things  seem to be referred to via abbreviations; Parents sound like they talk in code and everything seem to fliy over your head. You may just want to curl up into a ball, cry and give up; however, we have allbeen there,  so please take a moment and consider: ...There are some very simple things that you can do yourself to see if your child may benefit from a bio-med approach to treatment. My first step was to look in to dietary problems - reducing cows milk and dairy in general - my child appeared suffer from a smaller amount of sickness, phlegm and stomach cramping. This then gave me an anchor I could take to my GP and request the tests needed. There are some good books out there too; here are a sampling: Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Development Disorder: A Mother’s Story of Research & Recovery by Karyn Seroussi The Boy Who Loved Windows by Patricia Stacy Changing The Course of Autism by Bryan Jepson, M.D. Healing The New Childhood Epidemics by Kenneth Bock, M.D. Children With Starving Brains by Jacquelyn McCandless, M.D. Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD by William Shaw, Ph.D. You shouldn't pursue this kind of treatment on your own - not even the specialist dietary requirements -as you need to have a good network of specialists at your disposal; but the way you can keep this form of treatment moving is with knowledge; informing yourself - which in turn helps you to take control of your child's treatment, as you can liaise with the specialists and say what is working and what is not - and talking out about it to other parents in similar situations; when you receive the blow of the diagnosis, the autism world can be a very big, lonely and scary place, which it needn't be; but sadly you cannot sit back and expect the treatment to come to you when your child needs it most. Act early!