Normal Day

Not a lot happening today.

Michael made it to school without incident this morning. He lost his jacket yesterday, but found it today in one of his classes. He had a DLS session at 5:00 and he seems to be doing better with each one.

Tabitha is off cheering a basketball game tonight. Then she'll spend the night at Krysten's house. She's become the invisible teenager.

Charlie and I are tired as usual on Friday night... the week just wears us down.

Getting Back to Normal

Well, yesterday was just peachy! I had to force Michael to get out of the car at school. Everything was hurting at this point... head, eyes, throat, chest, stomach. But, when you have a child with a sensory disorder, how do you know if anything REALLY hurts? Send him to school and see how long he can take it? Works for me.

I wasn't at Elaine's office very long when the school nurse called that Michael was in her office. She sent him to talk to the counselor before she called me this time. The counselor brought him back to her. He convinced her he was in terrible pain. So, I called Charlie. Charlie picked Michael up, took him home and gave him a dose of Pepto, grabbed his pillow and a blanket and took him to work with him. Michael made himself a cozy little nest behind his Daddy's desk and took a nap. He awoke fresh and new as a daisy around 10:30 and was hungry. His class eats lunch at 10:45 every morning (early enough?). Charlie thought hunger was a good sign, so he took him to Sonic to get some crap to eat. Yes, I said crap. Michael ordered cheese tator tots, french fries, and cheese sticks with mozzarella sauce. Crap.

I checked in with Charlie and he told me to go ahead and work a half day and come pick him up. I agreed and disconnected. I told Sandra what Charlie said and we both looked at each other and said "What's a half day?" Why would we ask this question? Because I only work until 3:00 on a normal day, so noon would pretty much call it a day. I decided the best thing to do would be to make sure payroll was complete and then go. So I skipped lunch and left at 1:30.

Michael seemed to be doing really well when I got to Charlie's office to pick him up, so I offered to take him back to school. Yep, that went over well. So, I took him home and he immediately went to bed and took a nap.

Now, I have made an appointment for him with the Occupational Therapist to begin his remaining 8 sessions of DLS, but I don't want to tell him until it's time to go to the appointment. He gets all upset and causes himself to have all sorts of ailments like this morning dropping him off at school. So, I just waited until it was time to leave and asked him how he was feeling. He said he was hungry but that was all. I told him to get his shoes and socks on because he was going to therapy. Uh huh. That went over well. I believe he said "I don't feel good" and "I'm hungry" at least 10 times before we made it to the clinic. At one point Michael looked at me and asked, "Am I annoying you?" I responded, "No, you're not annoying me... at this point I'm completely annoyed." He didn't talk anymore. I know... I'm mean... I couldn't help it.

So, we get to the clinic and Michael is just pathetic. He can't put the headphones on because his head hurts. I told him to just lay on a crash pad and I went to get Diana. I told her what had been happening for the last few days and asked her to talk to Michael before we started listening. She stopped and got Mozart (little pug therapy puppy) out of his cage and headed to Michael's station. Michael didn't want anything to do with the puppy. He told Diana he was hungry and didn't want to do anything until he ate. Diana talked him into starting listening if I would go across the street and get him something to eat. I went across the street to Taco Bueno and got him a taco and some chips and salsa... just about his favorite meal.

After he ate, we went back to his station and started the listening again. The whole session is supposed to last an hour and 20 minutes. We were there for over 2 hours because of Michael having to stop. During the last 30 minutes, you could see the change in him. He was laughing, playing Bingo with a boy he didn't even know, and no mention of feeling bad at all. Playing a game with someone he doesn't know is a REALLY BIG DEAL!! He has never done that.

Anyway, no problems going to school today. He had a good day, came home and did his homework, ate dinner, took his shower... did everything he would normally do... and only one mention of a headache and stomach ache. After he ate dinner, no more mention of that.

Woohoo!!

Sick Again

Charlie had to go to Office Depot last night. I wanted to go with him so I could look at color printers. Our current printer is printing crud on the side of the page so we stopped using it. I called the Office Depot Service Plan people and they are going to send us a UPS label to send them the printer back. Once they receive the printer, they will send us a gift card for the amount we spent on the printer so we can go buy a new one. Sounds pretty good to me! Anyway, Tabitha was at work and Michael didn't want to go, so Charlie and I went. Well, apparently, Michael freaked out because it got dark so quickly, so he called and wanted to know when we would be home... this was about 20 minutes after we left. I told him we would be looking around for about 15 to 20 more minutes and then we would be headed home. Michael called about 10 minutes later...
"Is Tabitha home?".
"No, she's at work."
"Isn't it against the law to leave me home alone when its dark outside?"
You gotta love that one.
"It is after 7:00pm."
It was 6:00pm.
By the time we checked out... stopped by the post office to pick up our mail, and got home, Michael was a wreck. He was stressed out about his homework... he had a lot of it and he needed help. We were gone too long... (about 15 minutes more than we had originally stated)... and now he had a migraine.
Jeez.
We pushed through the science homework. The math, spelling, and Helen Keller report didn't happen. Michael took an acetaminophen and Zantac and went to sleep.

I started trying to wake him up at 6:00am this morning. He wasn't having it. I reminded him he had to get his homework done. He wasn't having it. He finally got up a little after 7:00am. He got his math and spelling done, but not the Helen Keller report. I wrote the teacher a note about his migraine and could he have more time to complete the paper. I thought that would be good enough for Michael, but no... he didn't want to go to school. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen. So, I made my son walk to school crying to me on the walkie-talkie the whole way... his head hurt, his stomach hurt, he felt hot, etc, etc, etc. I stood firm. He went to school.

I arrived at Therapy Solutions at 10:30am as Emily had requested. She doesn't like to get to work too early. At 11:45 Larson called and said her son Austin was in the nurse's office. His head and stomach hurt. I asked if Michael was in the nurse's office too and was told no. So, Emily went to pick up Austin and take him home. I worked on her QuickBooks while she was gone. Emily came back and we went to lunch a little after 1:00pm. Larson called me on the way back from lunch. Michael was in the nurse's office. His head and stomach hurt. I dropped Emily off and went to pick up Michael. I got him home, made him eat a piece of bread and gave him an Imitrex for the migraine. He slept until a little after 5:00pm and was ready to tackle his homework! Yay!!!

He's still going back and forth with the stomach and head ache, but he's not having any problem with light and sound anymore. Maybe we will have a normal morning... maybe?

Sick Day

Apparently Michael didn't take me seriously when I told him to put on his coat before playing outside in the snow. He decided to wear 2 sweatshirt jackets instead. Now we are home sick with a stomach ache and headache.

Charlie took off half the day so I could go into my client, though. I had to get their sales tax out.

Snow Day

With no warning from the news channels at all about bad weather coming our way, I got up this morning and got in the shower to start my day. Charlie came in the bathroom about 5 minutes later and said that AISD was closed due to snow and ice. His employees had started calling him to find out if they had to try to get to work today. Charlie turned the TV on and lo and behold, AISD, along with most of the other major school districts were closed. I finished my shower and got out only to find out that Tabitha was completely ready for school. Boy, was she ticked! I can't help but smile, though. It was pretty funny to see her all ready for school on a snow day.

Austin came over and he and Michael played out in the snow and inside on the computer all day.

Tabitha hung out in her room and didn't go to work.

Charlie stayed home and watched TV.

I baked muffins and did laundry.

Sounds like fun, huh?

New Homeroom

Today was Michael's first day in Mrs. Shehorn's homeroom class. He wanted me to take him to class in case there was any confusion about where he should be, and he was a little nervous. I drove him to school and walked him to class. Mrs. Shehorn welcomed Michael to her room and she and I chatted a little. I thanked her for allowing Michael to move to her class. I asked Michael if he was okay, and he started to tear up. I hugged him and told him everything would be okay. Mrs. Shehorn asked Michael where he wanted to sit. He told her and she made the boy sitting in that seat move. He still wasn't letting go of me and his face was getting redder and he was getting more upset. Then... Theo walked in. "Hey, Michael! Are you in our homeroom now?" Michael said yes and a bunch of the kids looked around and there were comments flowing like crazy. "Really?" "Cool!" "Wow! Michael's in our class now!" "Great!" I looked at Michael and the redness was going away and a big smile was taking its place. He hugged me bye and asked Mrs. Shehorn which locker was his. I left and didn't hear a word from the school all day.

Enough is Enough

I dropped Michael off at school this morning by the temporaries. It is hard for him to carry his backpack with the use of only one shoulder, so I drove him to school yesterday and today. He didn't want to get out of the car. I told him it would be okay. I had sent an email to Mrs. Wilson and I would be getting the situation resolved and he shouldn't worry. He still wouldn't get out of the car. He was afraid she would pounce on him the moment he walked into the classroom. So, I told Michael I would stay parked between the temporaries for a full minute after he walked through the door, and if there was a problem he should come and get me. That worked. He went into the classroom. I waited the minute, and drove home.

No sooner had I opened the gate and garage when my cell phone started ringing. I pulled in the garage and parked. The caller ID on the display was "Larson Office". Hmmm... I answered and it was Michael. He was calling from the classroom. He said his head was burning up, he felt sick to his stomach, his head hurt really bad and he wanted to come home. I told him to ask Mrs. Wilson if I should come pick him up from the classroom, or should I meet him in the nurse's office. He put the phone down and went over and asked Mrs. Wilson what to do. He came back on the line and told me I should meet him in the nurses office.

I backed out of the garage and headed back to the school. I parked in the front and entered the office only to find a direct shot to Mr. Longgrear's (principal) office. He was checking his email and had his back to me. I approached and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Longgrear, may I speak with you for a moment?" He turned around and stood and said, "Of course." So I went off about how Mrs. Wilson had spoken to Michael the previous day after we thought the situation was already settled. How she had made Michael feel and how she had shown favoritism toward Liam, not only that, but when my daughter had her class 5 years ago she showed favoritism toward particular students. I asked him to move Michael to Mrs. Shehorn's homeroom class because he didn't have Mrs. Wilson for any blocks, just homeroom, and he wouldn't have to see her if he didn't have her for homeroom. He said it would be taken care of immediately and for me not to worry. I thanked him and headed for the nurses office.

I asked Robin (the nurse) to take Michael's temperature just to be on the safe side. She did and he didn't have a fever. I then asked her to find out if Michael and I could talk to the school counselor, Sue Thomas before I signed him out and took him home. She went to find Mrs. Thomas.

Once inside Mrs. Thomas' office, I explained what had happened with him to her. She talked to Michael about it a little, but it just brought tears to his eyes. I told Michael that Mrs. Thomas was there at the school for him. That if he had any issues he could ask to go see her so they could take care of it during the school day, instead of waiting until after school and telling me. He should still tell me about any issues, but Mrs. Thomas was there to handle things during the school ay. I would have to wait until the next day to resolve anything. Mrs. Thomas assured Michael that she was there for him and that he could come talk to her about anything, anytime.

With that taken care of, I signed Michael out and took him home. I called Charlie and told him what had happened. He said Michael could come spend the day with him in his office and play on his laptop so I could go to work. First I gave Michael a Tylenol, then he laid down for a while so he could calm down and to let the headache go away. Once he was feeling better, I took him to Charlie's office and went to work.... whew! What a morning!!!

P.S. I didn't cry when I talked to Mr. Longgrear about Michael's situation... that's a first!!

Here We Go Again...

So... Michael goes back to school today. He is still a little shaken. Liam called him last night and apologized for hurting Michael and asked if he was okay. That was a big help in getting Michael back to school today. He was leery... but he went. (By the way, Liam's mom called and apologized profusely. She said the school gave Liam In School Suspension for the remainder of the school day, but that she didn't think that was enough and the punishment at home would be more severe.)

Sometime during the school day... Michael is coming back to his homeroom class with a sling on one arm and his gigantic binder and a book in his other arm. Liam tries to hand Michael a note (of apology). Michael tells Liam he has to put his stuff down before he can take the note and walks on by. Now, Michael doesn't speak very loud, so Mrs. Wilson didn't hear Michael. So, she took it upon herself to tell Michael how rude it was to just walk right by Liam when he was trying to hand Michael the note. Keep in mind that Michael has already had a couple of issues with Liam and Mrs. Wilson has sided with Liam. Liam let Michael know that his family is friends with her family and he can do no wrong in her eyes. This can just be boys talking, but imagine how this knowledge, coupled with Mrs. Wilson's getting onto him about not taking the note made him feel. Mrs. Wilson also told Michael to apologize to Liam. I love this next part: Michael actually looked at Mrs. Wilson and asked, "For what?". Yes!!! He stood up for himself!!! Mrs. Wilson told him he needed to apologize to Liam for calling him names in the bathroom the day before. Michael responded, "I didn't call him any names." For which Mrs. Wilson responded, "Oh", and walked away.

You can imagine how I felt upon hearing this wonderful news. I was so proud of Michael, and I was furious with Mrs. Wilson. I thought the issue was resolved and here is my son, upset and in tears yet again! The principal and vice-principal had taken care of the issue the previous day. She didn't need to bring it all up again. Especially if her point was to make Michael feel bad. As if he had done something wrong. After Charlie calmed me down, I sent Mrs. Wilson a simple little e-mail stating that Michael told me she had talked to him about the incident and could she tell me what was said.

To be continued...

Is it Monday, again?

After meeting with my client this morning, I went to Burlington Coat Factory to return a ski bib I bought for the ski trip. I hoped it would fit Tabitha, but it didn't. I did get some snow boots for me, though. After that, I went to the hospital to check on Asa. He is still in CCU after his 8 hour surgery yesterday. They had to go in and remove all the appliances they had installed in his neck several weeks ago and re-install all new hardware. It was very tedious. They said that if he doesn't stop smoking he will die very soon. The smoking is adding to the osteoporosis which is weakening his bones, which caused the first appliance to begin crushing his esophagus. After that, I went home to eat so I could go to my next client. My cell phone rang as I was completing my lunch. It was Michael's principal. Michael was involved in an incident in the boy's bathroom and Mr. Longgrear had been talking to him for about 30 minutes and Michael wanted to talk to me. Apparently, he was in the bathroom teasing a boy about farting, when another boy, twice his size, pushed him into the wall with his stomach, and then grabbed his left arm and twisted it all the way around while pulling on it until there was a "pop". So Michael wanted me to come and get him. Of course I did. We ended up at the emergency room at Cook's Children's Hospital. This is where the pediatrition's office suggested we go in case there was a break in Michael's arm. It wasn't swelling, but he was in pain and still very upset about the incident. They didn't find a fracture in the x-rays, but they gave Michael a sling and some Motrin, and told us to come back if it got worse. His muscles and tendons are sore, but that is all. If he loses motion in his hand or it starts to swell we are supposed to take him back.

That's not even everything that happened today...