Raising an Autistic Child and Taking Care of Yourself

It can be difficult to take care of yourself when raising an autistic child. I spend most of my time and energy on both of my kids. With my son, I am also taking him to appointments several times a week. I am homeschooling him, too.

For the last couple of years, I have been putting off going to the doctor to have a skin abnormality checked out. I would tell myself that it isn’t important. My mother and sister would insist that I needed to get it checked out, and I would dismiss their concerns.

The bottom line was that I didn’t have the money or time to have it checked. Actually, that’s not quite true. I didn’t want to spend the money or take the time to have it checked. If I did, then I would be doing something for myself, instead of taking care of my kids. I feel guilty whenever I spend money on myself or do something just for me.

I know. My logic was a little screwed. If I don’t take care of myself, who will? If I don’t visit the doctor for regular checkups, something that is minor could turn into something serious. Then what? What happens to my kids?

I finally went to the doctor. At the appointment, four spots on the side of my nose were biopsied. The doctor is also having an appointment made for surgery to remove a basil cell carcinoma. The results of the biopsy results won’t be back until next week.

Bottom line, I should have gone to the doctor when I first noticed the skin abnormality. I still feel bad about what this is going to cost my family. I am going to feel guilty when my husband has to take a day off of work to take care of the kids, while my father drives up and takes me to have the surgery. I know that I shouldn’t it, but it is who I am. I am glad that this is being taken care of, and I pray that the biopsy results will be fine.

Given all of what I have just written, I urge all parents to take care of yourself. Take the time to visit your doctor for routine exams. Don’t put it off due to time or money. In the end, you could be hurting your family a lot more if you don’t take care for yourself.