When you live in my world, safety brings with it a whole new set of concerns with fire and weight loss being the biggest. You see, my six year old daughter is overweight, does not move very well and getting my whole family out of the house quickly will continue to get tougher as my daughter grows older, more mobile and learns to figure things out. WHAT??? Perhaps I should explain...
My daughter has Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) and as a result of an underdeveloped hypothalamus, along with many other medical issues, has an insatiable appetite which is complicated by a low sensitivity to pain, low muscle tone and a limited ability to burn calories. Uncontrolled, she is at risk for extreme obesity or even death. As you can see, controlling her diet is critical. There will soon come a time when control requires that we lock the doors, not only to keep intruders out, but, to keep my daughter in. Children & young adults with PWS have been known to find ways of sneaking out at night to raid neighbors refrigerators, garbage cans or head for the nearest store or restaurant.
Imagine having your home locked up tighter than Fort Knox! All the doors double locked with a key required to get in... OR OUT! Imagine having alarms & locks on everything from the upstairs windows to the refrigerator in the kitchen. Welcome to my world! At six, my daughter is not quite as aggressive as some of those with PWS who are older and just because some of these children are mentally challenged, that doesn't mean they can't learn to pick locks or figure out an access code or create resourceful ways to gain access or exit.
We have already taken necessary measures to restrict access to food, which includes closing up and controlling access to part of our house (including the kitchen). It is only a matter of time before more controls will be required, including more locks and with that, a deeper concern for fire safety. If we add more locks and barriers in our home, getting out in an emergency could be a major challenge.
All that being said... I would love to hear from you. Do you have any extreme measures, tricks or tips on controlling diet that you would like to share? What kind of security measures are you taking to keep your family safe and what are your concerns? Please post a comment below.
As long as your here:
May I ask for your support for... Any charity, cause or organization that you feel is filling a need in the world. You have a great opportunity now to support many great non-profit organizations on Facebook at the APX Alarm page (tab - APX Gives Back). Many, many great non-profit organizations have entered to be one of the final six that will share the $250,000 that APX Alarm is giving away in August, but your endorsements are needed to launch six lucky charities to the top. You can "Endorse" 5 charities everyday, 1 in each of the regions and if you choose to share this opportunity with your friends, there are links for almost all charities to Facebook, Twitter and email, so you can show your support and ask for theirs. My personal favorites are of course the Prader-Willi Syndrome organizations represented in all four of the US regions (two in the Pacific region).
When it is all said and done, with the awareness created by APX Alarm and all that support them... Everyone wins!
