School

Wyatt started half day school this year. He attends school at a local center for students with special needs through the public school system, in an Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) classroom. When he turned three this was an option for him, but at the time it wasn’t right for us or for him. It was the height of cold and flu season and we knew that came with a lot of risks. His medical team suggested we do what we could to give him one more winter to fight, to keep his lungs strong. So we opted for continued in home services to do that. 

So when the school year was approaching, we could have either continued on those services or start him in the ECI program. We chose to start the school year so we could get him in a routine and start the year strong. 

To say we were anxious would be a gross understatement. We were sending our heart and soul to school, with near strangers. Our son with significant medical needs, who began having weird “episodes” that were medical emergencies when they occurred. The pain of saying bye to him that first day was indescribable. We were all on edge, unsure of the unknown. Would he be okay? Would he learn? Was he safe? Would he be happy?

{photo of Wyatt, in a yellow plaid shirt, grinning with the happiest eyes}

You tell me. 

{photo collage of Wyatt in school. In each picture he is smiling and clearly enjoying school}

The boy we see at home, after only a few months in school, is not the boy we sent them. He’s happy. He’s thriving. He’s safe. He’s learning. And perhaps most importantly? He’s loved. He has a lot of cards stacked against him with seizures happening with increased frequency and intensity, ambulance rides and absences, schedule changes and sleep issues. But this boy is making great progress. He’s sitting independently (briefly) in a chair at school. He’s crawling into the laps of the adults there to let them know he wants their attention. He’s walking in his gait trainer. He’s using a switch (communication device) to communicate. This boy is really killing it at school. 

{black and white photo of Wyatt with his back to the camera, standing using a bar on the glass door, one arm for balance and one arm grabbing a toy}

We couldn’t be more proud of this guy and we are so thankful he’s in a surrounded by people that celebrate his successes with us, believe in him, and love him. 

Thankful...

It’s that time of year where we reflect on all that we are thankful for. Although I like to think we do a good job of that no matter the season. 

{photo of a wooden ornament hanging from a branch. On it is written the word health.}

This year we started a thankful tree, where we hang a statement of what we are thankful for each day. Yesterday as we were talking about what we might write, both Brian and I paused a moment and agreed that health would be our chosen word (our tree is small and our space to write is smaller... I am not known for brevity, so we are attempting to limit to one word). 

I’d like to explain a bit about why we paused, because of course we are thankful for health. But in the past three plus years, there have been days we thought we wouldn’t be bringing Wyatt home from the hospital. There were times where we couldn’t go more than two weeks without ending up back in the hospital. There were times where we didn’t know what illness we were attacking. Times where we questioned, times where we cried, and times we were fearful. 

But today? We are thankful for his health. 

We don’t know what tomorrow (or even this afternoon!) will bring for his health, so today we are thankful.