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Zay'leighs Journey with Autism, Durban (2026)

08/01/2023

02/10/22

Zay'leigh's Rash was now slightly on her face but spread to her arms, back, lower tummy and legs.
She had a runny tummy and only ate one helping of cereal for the day.

Skipping forward to the 7th of October

The allergy was back! :(
I took Zay to the hospital immediately, they took bloods and increased the dose of Topiramite that she was on.
The doctor went on to tell us to be very careful of medication because Zay reacts badly and quickly.

Between the 9th to the 11th Zay was having behaviour issues and she was very emotional
( Behaviour issues like - grinding her teeth, head banging and just throwing herself and mind you these were not tantrums )

12-10-22
Her visit at KZN children's hospital

She did well according to her 2 therapists.
The doctor started the Risperdal again, ( it was stopped because of the allergy )
She also decreased the topiramate.
That day I took Zay to Jet, just to get one item and she had a massive meltdown in and out the store, it was so bad that it didn't even stop when we were in the car on our way home!
It came to a point where her feet was in my face and her head at the floor of the car because she just wouldn't calm down, so what I did what's I wrapped her rather tightly in her blanket and just held her tight so she couldn't move, That's how it eventually stopped.

The next day she had the same meltdown but this time nothing worked and I remember being at my mums house and she even cried because it was so stressful not knowing how to help her.
We did deep pressure massages, I laid on top of her with a little weight, I offered her a sweet, I did everything I could but I had to wait it out.
Most stressful hour of my life !

07/01/2023

30-09-22

The allergy subsided which was a good thing but after some time it came back but worse than before.
I Rushed Zay'leigh to RK Khans hospital and they immediately injected her with finigin and Citrizine.
We were than admitted :(

Her temperature went away and her pressure was normal.
She was given citrizine quite often that night.
The nurses kept telling me to put her in the cot when she sleeps but every time I did that she woke up
So I held her in my hand and made her sleep on a thin materess on the floor next to me.
Even then I had the nurses coming to shout at me because she needs to be in the cot.
Its not like I didn't understand but she just would sleep there.
It was one horrible night !

01-10-22

Early parts of the morning Zay was given finigin again because the allergy kept coming back.

I waited right till lunch to see the doctor in charge and when they came I asked if they were going to give her medication orally or through the drip, since it was orally I asked that they send me home where she would be more comfortable and would recover better.
With that being said I received strict instructions that if her lip swelled, any prolonged seizure or the rash gets worse, I need to bring her back immediately so I said I will.

The doctor said if her behaviour is uncontrollable to give her Risperdal, citrizine at night & ointment to be applied twice a day.

Review date - 03-10-22

As soon as we got home she had a bath, ate her KFC and was a happy chappy :)

06/01/2023

Part 2

24-09-22

Zay'leigh started getting a mild fever but I gave her ponado and thought it was nothing to worry about.
The next day was the same

26-09-22

Zay now had a runny tummy, high temperature and a slight cough

27-09-22

On this day I noticed she rolled her eyes a few times in her sleep, she had a temperature, Heavy Chest, Nose Bleed and she only ate her cereal in the morning.
Which is really not like her.

28-09-22

She couldn't eat her cereal, the temperature was mild, she had loss of appetite and a heavy chest.
So far there was an improvement in her.

At lunch time I noticed an allergy was starting up and by supper time it worsened

I called a Doctor that helped me in RK Khans and she advised me to give her allergex and apply aqueous cream on her body as well as to stop all medication.

That night she didn't sleep that well but we made it!

If you are a sensitive view please don't watch the clip as it shows the mild reaction.
The video is us on our way to the hospital.

06/01/2023

Date : 23-09-2022

This visit was at KZN children's hospital.
Speech therapy went rather well, Justin and I were advised to get more joint interaction from Zay'leigh as a first step.

occupational therapy told us that Zay'leigh cannot sense her body
Meaning she can't feel where her body is unless you touch her or something touches her and this can make her frustrated.
They also said it would be a great idea to get her a ball pit so when she sits in she will feel where she is, and not forgetting to get her a hammok as that will help with the head banging.

We were then told the top half of her body doesn't work with the bottom half and the right brain doesn't work together with the left brain. ( there's a complicated term for this which I forgot )

Moving on the the paediatric neurologist -
Doctor increased her medication and gave her a review date for Feb 2023
And that we should try Action in Autism.
( I did go to action in autism but the fees were abit high for us even after the discount - tried another school but their prices were through the roof !! Its shocking how there's no government help for kids like this in need besides disability grant which won't even cover the school fees for a month! )

Part 2 coming up :)

05/01/2023

On the 07th of September 2022 I had to take Day back to R K Khans to see a doctors as it was her follow up appointment.

She went to see the ENT doctor and they put her on antibiotics because she had a red spot on the inside of her ear.

The POPD Dr retested her ammonia and lactate and they than accepted the diagnosis.
Review date back on the 05/10/2022.

Moving along to the 14th of September 2022
We had a visit at King Edward Hospital to do an EEG,
I was rather surprised Zay was so well behaved and sat really quietly while the EEG was being done.
The good news is that she doesn't have epilepsy but the EEG only lasts 20 minutes so its hard to pick up silent seizures in that 20 minutes.

On the next visit to RK Khans hospital I let speech therapy know that Zay will be doing Block therapy at KZN children's hospital and once were done we will be back.

The Audio specialist said that Zay only responded when the volume was normal but not softer or louder.
We will however need to retest and she must come back on the 1/11/22 but extremely tired.

PS she loves sleeping on the floor ! :)

22/11/2022

On the 6th of September was Zays first appointment at KZN Children's hospital.
We were excited and nervous at the same time
The process was so easy and the staff was amazing!
They started off doing her weight and height,
They then talked us to the process of the first visit at this hospital and being Zays first time she needed to see the
• physio therapist - who evaluated Zay and said that she's good to go but we can try therapy at 3 years if needed
• The occupational therapist - She said that Zay needs extensive therapy because she is sensory seeking and have some challenges that she will help us overcome and teach us how to deal with certain behaviors
• The Speech therapist - Says that she has a lot of work with Zay but talking takes time
• The Audiologist - she tried her utmost best to test Zays hearing but Zay did not allow her to
• The Social worker - said he will be there to help when she needs a school and basically to counsel us to make sure we cope well.
• The Paediatric Neurologist - she observed Zay and there was no eye contact, Zay was actually very irratable and moody so she did say her behaviour was very bad and need to be on medication . She then went on to diagnose Zay with level 2 autism and said she needs care all the time to prevent her from Harming herself.
That was when I realised I needed to always be with her and that I won't be able to go back to the " working life".

Zay was then put on Risperdal and Lamactrin
They did advise us to make sure we was checking her body for a rash or any type of allergy to the medication .

Part 2 coming up

30/10/2022

Mummy's little angel
I'm glad you did have fun on your birthday
Today is part 2

We took you for breakfast at spur
Walked around, played with you then brought you to see your grandparents
After that took you to have some KFC and then to funtubbles

Thank you for being such an amazing baby

28/10/2022

Today is your second birthday and mummy is so excited to be celebrating this day,
Its not just about you being born two years ago, but its also to celebrate how far we have come together and I guess we make a pretty good team!
For once I will admit I decided to have you because your brother was such a breeze, was I in for a surprise or what!
When you came along, you came with a lot of challenges and struggles but I am so grateful to God for getting us through each and every day.

I want to thank God for gifting me with you and for allowing me to be your mum, I may scream and shout or even get upset when you bite me but nothing will change how much I love you 💜

Thank you for teaching me new things everyday and teaching me a lot of patience.
You may not be speaking as yet or doing things that a typical 2 year old would but I know that you are one brilliant child.

Happy birthday my precious angel

17/10/2022

Zay'leigh was colic and we found that a real challenge because we were told it will stop at 3 months.
For her it stopped at 4 months and in that time she used to cry at any part of the day.
She only used to sleep at night if the hair dryer was on the entire night, we eventually learned to sleep with it on.
At 6 months we did her baby dedication and had the support of our entire family.
Baby started crawling at 7 months,
Stood up by 9 months,
And by 1 year 3 months she started walking.
Zay used say mum and mama but just stopped, one day my uncle asked me does she respond to her name and I said " no I think she just ignores me ", he then said no I think you should check that up because its not normal, bare in mind this was at about 16 months.
So I went to the clinic at her 18 month visit and advised them I was concerned and they gave me an appointment for a month later to see if things have changed, because at that time she couldn't follow simple instructions eg. If I asked for the cup she would look at me and walk away.
She used to head bang as well and tip toe but I thought it was just a phase.
I went back after a month to see if there was an improvement but there was so she got referred to our nearest hospital who then gave me an appointment that was 6 weeks ahead.

10/10/2022

It Two days after baby was born and we were getting discharged!
I was super excited till the nurse wanted to keep me until baby was 2.5kg.
Luckily for us, the doctor just checked that baby was doing well and gave us the all clear :)
It was a cold rainy day and she was dressed in the same outfit that Zach wore when he was coming home.
On our way home I remember telling Justin to drive very carefully because I was in a lot of pain.
We brought our bundle of Joy home and she was welcomed by our immediate family, well it was covid time anyways.
Bringing Zay'leigh home being 2.1kg and tiny as ever, but a real dynamite.
The next week we attended the clinic to do a normal check and she was already 2.5kg, The nurse asked what I was feeding her and I simply replied " Only Breast Milk ".
From there onwards Zay'leigh continued to just grow so lovely and it was all by the grace of God.

08/10/2022

On the 28th October 2020 I was on the list for a cesar, I was taken down to theatre and had my drip put in only for them to send me back into the ward due to another patient that needed an emergency Cesar.
I was a bit upset because I was about to see my baby girl, and I wasn't allowed to eat from the night before so yeah I was hungry.
It Was 4pm and I went to speak to the nurse about what time I will be going back to theatre and she said they only do emergencies after 4pm.
So I decided I was going to eat since I was starving!
That morning, 29 October 2020, I was first on the list to go in, they took me down to the theatre and when I got there I was asked a few questions.
I remember being nervous and feeling very cold and at 10:05am weighing 2.35kg
Zay'leigh arrived pink and plump.
I then went to recovery where I started having a bad reaction to Pethidine, so I was then given something to counteract the pethidine while my princess went to nursery.
I only got to see my baby after 6 hours of giving birth to her.

07/10/2022

Moving on to January 2020
I was one day late and the test was positive!! We were super excited and really prayed and thanked God for answered prayers.
I remember not having really bad morning sickness but brushing my teeth was a challenge!
In the first trimester I had something called hives,
Came only in the morning created such an itch and looked like and allergy.
Skipping forward to the second trimester and looking back at it now I couldn't eat vegetables at all this baby just wouldn't have it.
At 4 months we did a gender reveal and we all, including our family were so excited to know that it is a GIRL!!
Third trimester went by real quick.
I did complain about stomach pains but figured it was normal,
My due date was either the 5th of November or the 15th.
I went for my normal check up on the 27th of October and the doctor then noticing some irregularities like, less fluid and there was hardly and space for baby, they did a trace to listen to baby's heart beat and because of that being irregular the doctor chose to admit me and advised I would go in the next day for a Cesar.

Zay'leighs Journey with Autism

08/01/2023

07/01/2023

06/01/2023

06/01/2023

05/01/2023

22/11/2022

30/10/2022

28/10/2022

17/10/2022

10/10/2022

08/10/2022

07/10/2022

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