Can it last?
It's the final countdown. (Europe)
Could someone pinch me please? (Annie)
Tick, tock, tick, tock (no, not Kesha's song now.) I cannot wait for this week to pass. So much to endure...my son, 13, returned to school last week. He continues to work with tutors at home and has returned for Health class. So that he can take the bus home at the appointed time, the school changed his schedule to give him PE/Music on alternating days.
My son, the athlete, LOVES Physical Education. He LOVES seeing all his friends and making new friends (friends he would've invited to the bar Mitzvah had he been back to school before this time.) In fact, we were scheduled to see his doctor this week. A few weeks ago, when I made the appointment, his body was hurting so much that he was having difficulty running, he said. His hands were always cold and tender.
Well, this kid does not want to leave school to see his PANDAS/Lyme doctor. I postponed the appointment.
He needs IVIG but I scheduled it for June 30, right after school ends. Of course, if he's not able to sustain his attendance at school, I'll try to move that date up. But right after health comes his education and if he himself wants to be in school. Wow--not gonna interfere with that.
I read recently that when a sick kid starts to feel better, he or she might miss the extra attention he received from a parent and subconsciously not want to get better and lose that attention. So I've been trying to shower him with attention as much as I can. When he's not running out of the house to hang out with friends. When he's not silently slipping away into his bedroom to fall asleep without asking me to rub his back. Hey, I miss that crazy interaction also in a weird way. It's great to not have a needy child but he's plunging into normal teenage behaviors. It's fast.
One more stressor this week before the big day...the dreaded Core Curriculum Math tests, all 270 plus overtime minutes of them. I've told my kids that these exams are good practice for future tests...SATs, medical boards, LSATs...you know where I'm going.
If I weren't a teacher and if I weren't a parent of a child who has missed so much school due to illness, I might be an opt-outer. I don't believe in testing kids to this extreme. I don't believe in evaluating their teachers (or me!) based on the student's experiences with these tests. But given that my daughter has the privilege to come to my school district and that my son has already opted out of so many other experiences, they will both sit for these math travesties. The biggest problem with the tests at this point is that the schedule at the middle school is adjusted and he's going to miss the two classes he now attends. He's quite upset about that.
My boy likes school! I'm grinning.
I'm also praying for him to remain healthy through this week. He has antibacterial wipes to use on his desk/table at school and I just learned that he's not using them. Just too cool for school-cleaning. I attended an essential oils seminar (and I'll be writing that up as I promised) and would love to cover him in Thieve's Oil, but...no. Then, he would have a scent about him.
We PANDAS parents are germaphobes with reason. I was never like this a few years ago. I grew up not knowing about lice and ticks and autoimmune diseases. My mother told me not to share hairbrushes because I could catch dandruff from someone and I believed her (not sure if that's true or not.) Now we keep each toothbrush in the house in a different location in the bathroom (and out of sight) and every person has his/her own toothpaste, sans fluoride, with natural ingredients.
My first baby is 13. He's a mini-man. His voice is lower, he is nearly as tall as me, his foot is larger than mine, he's tech-smart and socially savvy (for a 13 year old.) He's also a royal pain-in-the-butt when he needs to clean his room or complete his bar Mitzvah speech. He tics, yes. He has symptoms still. He's immune deficient. But he's so much better and has been for a few months. Will it last? For how long will it last? Can I breathe? Sing? Rest and rejoice? How much life can we cram in while he's doing well?
I don't mind so much if he's never 100%. If he can maintain a happiness, an ability to learn, a loving personality and health, he has a life. Two years ago I didn't know if this child of mine would make it to 13. Now he's getting bar Mitzvahed.
Dressed up, somewhere to to
We'll put on a show! (Evita)
And ten, nine, eight....
Monday, April 28, 2014 at 09:31PM