Life as a Leach

Today, my girl walked back into her school with her brother, hand-in-hand.  After being diagnosed with sepsis in May that attacked her respiratory system and forced her surgeon to remove the hardware on the right side of her chest wall, causing it to collapse, Abby's lungs began to fail.  In October, she was officially diagnosed with lung failure and we were told that since she was no longer eligible for a trach due to fusion in her c-spine, there was really nothing else they could do.  We put her in a proverbial bubble and prayed that she would stay healthy.  We celebrated her birthday and Christmas, silently acknowledging that it could be her last. Once again, God performed a miracle in Abby's life.  Her lungs began to improve and she became less reliant on the ventilator to help her breathe.  We started exploring the idea of her going back to school in the spring.  Abby continued to become more active and was able to play and enjoy time out...

5 short days before Abby heads back to school!  It became real today when we said goodbye to her Home/Hospital teachers.  I’ve been shedding a few very happy tears!  So thankful!!

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook most likely already saw Abby's excited video, but I wanted to share here as well.  Abby will officially be going back to school on April 23rd!! This start date has been a long time coming with many meetings and we have jumped through about 37 revolving hoops, but we did it!  Our poor pediatrician has been so patient with the paperwork that we kept bringing to him (the school system just kept requiring MORE documentation!) that I got him a gift card for Panera.  He really went above and beyond with all of the paperwork. Abby is absolutely ecstatic to go back to school.  She seriously cries every night because she misses school and all that comes with it.  Caleb and I secretly made her a chain link countdown while she had her piano lesson yesterday so that there was a visual reminder of how many days left.  He was so sweet and painstakingly decorated each link with her favorite stickers.  It was really...

Despite having limited resources, Abby and I were able to get quite a bit of school in today!  I got creative and used what I had, including writing on paper towels!   We did some good work with fractions and discovered that the cabinets in her room can be written on with dry erase markers!  Sweet!   She also did some online work on the iPad, much to her dismay.  That's not her favorite, but she did finally do it. Abs' respiratory rate is still pretty high in general, but they have ruled a lot of things out.  Unfortunately, we still don't know what is causing it.  I was able to convince them to let me get her up and moving a bit to see how she did, which was telling.  We will see what they say tomorrow.   Matt and Caleb came up to visit tonight, which Abby loved.  They both happily played Wii with another boy in the playroom.   The visits are never long enough, but we are hoping to be able to be home soon. 

We had a meeting at Abby's school today to get her ready to go back.  She is soooooo excited and exclaimed, "I'm so happy!" when we drove in!  This girl loves school, and why wouldn't she?!  The staff has been so wonderful and all of the kids were smiling and waving to her.  It was so sweet. I went in to talk to her class and brought a little bear with its own little homemade halo to explain it.  The kids were so sweet and I emphasized that she is the same old Abby who loves purple, princesses, Calico Critters, dancing, and singing!  I think they will be just fine with everything. We are so very blessed to have such an awesome and supportive school.  They really bend over backwards to accommodate our girl.  We are so grateful!!

As we are all in the middle of PARCC testing season, here's something important to remember...

Thanks to a bunch of wonderful people, Abby's first week of school went perfectly!  She absolutely loves it and asked today if she was going to school. She was disappointed to hear that we were only in the car to go to Caleb's fencing practice. :) Our awesome new PT was there almost every second of the first three days (T, I feel like I am almost cheating on you by calling MB awesome!  But you know how much we adore you!) and examined everything closely to see how she could help Abby to be more independent.  One of the custodians heard that Abby couldn't do a particular style of paper towel dispenser, so she switched it out for one she could do! I was so surprised and grateful!  There's a stool there so that she can reach things, and we have trained the bus drivers and assistants (she will ride a different bus coming and going) in all of the safety precautions.    Abby's teachers, the wonderful Mrs. C and Mrs. Y, have put a lot of procedures in place to hel...

Abby got into prek at SLES, so now the fun begins!  Before she can start, I have to make sure she is completely safe and everyone knows what she can and can't do.  The nurse and I had a great meeting yesterday to create her medical plan, which she will share with the teachers. Nurse K has been really great and seems like she will be very protective of Abby.  She even decided to make her a lanyard with a little "please don't pick me up" sign for her to wear until everyone gets to know her.   I have a meeting later today with her teacher, and then an IEP revision meeting on Monday.  Somehow, our awesome team pulled off a meeting that fast, and I'm so grateful!  We need to change her IEP to be school-specific, rather than just as if she only receives speech services.  We also need to put in that she needs a 5 point harness in the bus, because she can't ride until it does.   Abby's start date won't actually be until Thursday, because the nurse will be...

It is sooo hard for me to find time to blog again after we get home from a hospital stay!  I have so much to do with the house, Abby needs extra care, we are going to appointments, I'm making up for lost time with Caleb, work has started up again...my mind is racing! Thank you all for checking in on us and asking about Abby.  She is doing well.  Recovery is a little slower this time, and she is still needing medicine most every day.  The VEPTR pushed one rib out really far, so Dr. C. had to break it and refit it.  That spot has been very painful for Abby and is sensitive to even the slightest touch.  Imagine the pain she had yesterday when a dog (not one we knew) suddenly jumped on her and knocked her down!  It was an Oxy night for sure last night. She's pretty much back to eat the way she was before surgery now, although we are still doing a gtube feed at night for extra calories.  I'm hoping to be able to wean that soon as she eats a little ...

This is Caleb's first day of school picture.  :( The poor guy came down with a nasty bug and spent the better part of the morning getting sick.  He perked up in the afternoon and I thought he would be fine to go back the next day...then the fever set in.  He is home for a second day today, and he's currently resting after completing his make-up work.  I am seriously hoping he can go back to school tomorrow!!! The teacher in me knows how important the first few days are; that is when the kids are taught routines, when they get to know their classmates and their teacher, and when they are assessed on their current levels.  But, under the circumstances, we really didn't have a choice but to keep him home.  Thankfully, he has a fabulous teacher who has assured me that she will make sure he is all caught up on everything! Here's hoping that tomorrow he will ride the bus!!!

Caleb had "Beach Day" on Tuesday for school.  We all headed to a local beach for some shark teeth hunting, sand castle building, and freezing cold water splashing!  Although it wasn't all that warm, I dressed Caleb in swim trunks and a swim shirt because I knew he'd get soaked. I was right! I didn't take too many pictures because I was too busy playing with my boy, but I did snap a few when two horseshoe crabs washed up on the shore. Yep, there are two...connected... The kids thought it was the coolest (and grossest) thing in the world.  They didn't even realize there were two. There were also three copperheads right near the little footbridge.  Someone called animal control, who proceeded to prod the snakes and make them mad.  Smooth. When we were leaving, the "professionals" were watching the snakes.  I asked what they were going to do with them, and they said they didn't know, but they didn't want to kill them.  I a...

Caleb has been working on his writing, but not with old fashioned pencil and paper!  We've been using Cool Whip and chocolate pudding, which double as great textures and tastes for Abby to try.   I think it's safe to say that it was a hit! And Caleb even did some great spelling practice, spelling and writing words like cat, bat, and bed.   He has officially declared himself The Master of Words. I pray for his future kindergarten teacher! :)

I know that happy and sad are waaaaaay overused.  After all, I teach 5th grade!  Those are like their two favorite words.  However, I am having very mixed emotions right now and I really am feeling both happy and sad. I'm happy that I was able to get a part-time position that will both allow me to be home with Caleb and Abby some and keep my insurance. I'm sad that I had to say goodbye to a wonderful staff today.  My school is special.  Seriously special. I'm happy that I will get to make my own schedule and that I will have the flexibility to take Abby to her many appointments. I'm sad that I will not be working directly with kids very often.  I'm definitely miss that. I'm happy that I don't have to do lesson plans when I have to be out. I'm sad that I won't be teaching 5th grade with some wonderful ladies next year.  I really loved 5th grade and all its craziness! I'm happy that I'll get to be Mom some of the time and go...

As you may already know, I was offered a part-time position on Thursday.  I accepted it, so next year I will be between 4 schools doing staff development with teachers on strategies they can use with their ELL* students. *English Language Learners Let me back up a bit though.  Back in February, I put in for a transfer to a part-time middle school position.  I took my reading/language arts Praxis (the BIG test I mentioned) and then had to wait.  In May, I found out that there just really weren't any positions in the middle school.  My chances were pretty slim.  I decided that I would be full-time next year, and felt good about it because I love my school, love my team, and love my job!  Somehow, we'd make it work. Then, I randomly found out about this ELL position two weeks ago and it was suggested that I email the person overseeing the program.  I did, but after not hearing back, I figured it was a dead end.  Again, I figured I'd b...

I have been super busy on the computer recently, but not blogging!  I've been working on Animoto slideshows for the 5th grade recognition.  Sadly, I can't show them here because of confidentiality...but they are really fun!  I love that I was able to add a few video clips of our adventures this year.  Yay!  Soooooo, that's what I've doing.  Recognition is next Tuesday, and everything is all set to go.  I will really miss this group--and I'm not just saying that!  I have had them for 2 years and we've been through a lot together.  They're a pretty special bunch.  I'm pretty sure I'll shed a few tears on Tuesday!

...for the lack of "real" blogging recently.  I came back to school full time on May 31st and it's been crazy.  Teaching full-time with all I've got going on is insane enough, but I teach 5th grade...which means 5th grade field trip, practices, recognition...crazy!  Don't get me wrong--I love this group and I have really enjoyed teaching (a little bit of) 5th grade this year!  It's just a little bit chaotic.  Thus, I have been totally relying on my time-delay posts and not giving any real updates.  School ends in a week, so look for more posts after that!  :)

I'm learning a new program called Animoto.  It's a subscription, but they have a free version as well.  I'm trying to decide if I like it enough to purchase it.  I'll be doing the slide show for our 5th grade recognition, and a fellow teacher recommended this to me as an easy way to put show the pictures. This is only a 30 second video because that's the limit without paying, but I think the concept is pretty cool!  It took me about 5 minutes to do the entire thing.  It is SO easy!  There is music, so be sure to pause the music player at the bottom of the blog before playing the video. Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.