Strange things happen at”the Walmarts”. I’m sure their employees have a long list of craziness that happens on an hourly basis, much like crazy people we encounter at The Berry Patch. One of our girls got asked if we had seedless peaches, people are crazy! And never judge someone in pajamas in the Walmarts, more on that later. That’s just a hook to reel you in. Each time I write a blog, I wonder how on earth could I possibly find anything else to write on? I think I’ve told y’all all the crazier stories in my life, and I honestly didn’t know that Jack could do many more foolish things, but he has proved me wrong yet again. His resiliency is astounding, Jack absolutely amazes us on how much he can tolerate (myself included, frankly). For those that keep up with Jack, you know that he is having a severe issue of constipation. I know, not glamorous talk, but this is one of the cruces of his current state of problems. Jack is still continuing his protest on not eating nor drinking. He is irritable. I’ve given him laxative after laxative, stool softeners, tried to get him to go to the doctor, nothing has worked. This is a Dravet problem. He rarely moves, often spending his entire day in the bed, not even getting up to urinate in well over 24 hours spans. Dravet children/adults can be anorexic. Jack is the poster child for an anorexic, he truly has lost so much weight & couldn’t stand to lose any to start with. He now weighs 105lbs & is 5’9. So he doesn’t get up & walk around enough to poop, doesn’t eat or drink anything to get things moving, nor will he drink anything to help combat the issue. Enough about pooping, here’s the sorry.
Jack had over $100. Earned money at that blooming yard sale selling those Pokémon pins last week (I’m in the wrong business). He started around 7pm the other night about wanting to go to Walmart. He’s not been to any store in months. I was unsure if Jack would be able to physically endure a trip to Walmart, but as you all know, telling Jack “no” is a death sentence for me. Luckily for me, they closed at 8:30pm, this would limit our time inside the store. We got there at 8pm & the checkout lines were backed up into the clothing department & beyond. People were trying to get out of there before closing time. Near the cash registers, there is an aisle of Pokémon cards & such. This is where Jack’s first stop was. He dissected every inch of the Pokémon section, which just so happened to be right beside a busy cash register. He was all up on those people in line, sticking his butt out on people, stepping on their feet. Jack was walking like Otis the town drunk because he is actually weak as water due to not having ingested any significant amount of food or drink in weeks. We are both in masks, which is not a good thing for Jack because being a Dravet patient, he can not regulate his body temperature like most people can. That made me even more worried. He also wanted to visit the toy & movie section of the store which is a long way to walk especially if you haven’t walked any further from your bedroom to the bathroom in weeks. We made it to all the departments Jack wanted to hit with an armload of Pokémon junk & with five minutes to spare before closing time. The checkout lines were still backed well into the clothing department. I’m thinking, how is Jack going to stand here this long? Most people had carts full of groceries, we had only five items. He plops down on a table holding folded shirts. As he was resting, Jack became focused on one thing & one thing only, a tear in the cellophane wrapping on one of the Pokémon boxes he was purchasing. When he asked to exchange them, I told him no, we couldn’t get out of line, there was nothing wrong with it. It was wishful thinking me thinking he could be reasoned with. What happened next was a doozy, the inspiration if you want to call it that of this blog. Jack gets up from the shirt table he was sitting on & stands next to me in line & fully collapses on the floor! I just knew he had gotten too hot & had done too much. Thankfully, two precious strangers picked Jack up. One fella walked Jack to the service desk with his arm around him the whole time. Because of this evil, devious Corona crap, there are no seats in the Walmarts! Jack had to sit on the floor for rest. I recognized a guy behind the service desk that I went to school with & ask him for a bottle of water. He gave Jack one, Jack rested a few minutes. Two associates came up to us inquiring about Jack & wondering if we needed any help. All Jack was concerned with was exchanging that torn up Pokémon box for one that the wrap was perfect on. He tried his best to get those ladies to get him another one but neither one understood what Jack was saying. It was then that I realized Jack had faked the whole collapsing episode. He manipulated the situation to get what he wanted. After his break, he got right up & went straight to the Pokémon aisle like nothing had ever happened. What a pure pain his is. Nothing is ever easy with him nor simple. This alone goes to show just how devious, conniving, & mischievous Jack is. He collapsed while we were in line simply to exchange the Pokémon box that had the torn wrap.
Now why do I say don’t judge people wearing pajamas at “the Walmarts”? The family that was standing next to us in line, the Mama had on pajamas & bedrooms shoes, but she raised her children well. Her son was the one that picked Jack up off the floor, including another man that was not associated with the family. All were very concerned about Jack & his safety, two total strangers. I was once again reminded how wonderful the kindness of others really can be. From the strangers that picked Jack up, to the Walmart employees, everyone involved made sure we were okay, even if Jack was faking. In effort to try to get Jack to eat some food, we went to Sonic, but all he wanted was a root beer, I got a Coke. He still didn’t/doesn’t have any desire to eat. All Jack had literally eaten that day was two pancakes, that was the first bit/bite of food in days. I was hoping he was on the healing end of this cycle. I also thought we could kill some time at Somic’s dine-in area because Ava had a friend over swimming with her without Jack interrupting. Of course this would be the night he didn’t want anything but a drink at Sonic. Divine intervention at its best showed up at Sonic though. The family that assisted Jack & I at Walmart were also there, I felt like that was a sign I should buy their meals & I gladly did. It was a small gift for the help we were blessed with.
Fast forward a few days, Jack finally allowed me to take him to the doctor after weeks of me trying. The doctor said it was nothing more than constipation, he did an examination & lab work as well & all was well with that. He is still not eating much at all, nor drinking. We are working on other measures to help aid with his current issue. As I write this blog, I’m hanging out with Jack in his room watching him work on writing Japanese symbols, I am tearful. He wants to be able to do this so badly. His handiwork is that of a toddlers. Makes me so sad that Jack’s condition is the way it is. The last two weeks or more have been very challenging for us all. Jack is needier than usual, requiring more attention than Lee or myself are able to give. He is not wanting much to do with his main caregiver either. He calls me home all day & evening long, is more irritable than usual, & sleeping more. A large part of his problem is not wanting to take the time to sit on the toilet to expel. Jack thinks 100% of my time should be devoted to him. A large portion of it is, it’s just not enough for him.
As frustrating as Jack can be, I certainly don’t want to see him in this condition. We go from one extreme to the other most times, with happy-mediums rarely occurring. I am thankful for the individuals that assisted Jack at Walmart, Jack thanked them personally as well-even though what he did was purposeful. Jack is currently asleep on my lap, it’s just past midnight, I haven’t yet showered from my day spent at The Berry Patch. He looks like an angel to me as he sleeps. 
As I reflect on the worse part of that evening, it was accidentally sipping Jack’s root beer instead of my Coke. That stuff is horrendous! And remember to be kind to others in the Walmarts, you don’t know what they are going through.
Cruel & Unusual Circumstances 
Amy I don’t know what to say because there are no words to help you except I will always love you and your family.
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