The update
I wanted to give an update on whats been going on around with the three of us for the last few months.
ME: I have been to the doctor to find out if there was something wrong with my heart. After several tests they could not find anything wrong which of course is good. I am trying to have faith that they are right but still have been nervous about exercising again. What started the concern specifically was an episode I had with a "funny feeling" and a (unsubstantiated) drastic drop in heart rate while on the treadmill. There is a family history of tachycardia (which I have too), which is odd because tachycardia is not suppose to be genetic. At any rate, I checked out OK.
Work is changing again, for the better I anticipate. My lovely boss, who has made me cry more than any other boss EVER (I, by the way, do not cry easily), is leaving at the end of March. She is transferring to another location (nearby suburb) within the company, but she will be out of my hair none the less. The past six months or so have been pretty smooth with her and I, but I am still elated. She is a "control freak" and I am excited to finally have some freedom to run my department as I deem appropriate. I am excited that I will be able to implement my own ideas and take responsibility for my area-good or bad. It sad when you are just as excited about the possibility of failure simply because you haven't been allowed to try!!! Watch out, HERE I COME!!!
Patrick: He is still volunteering at the adult day care program on Mondays. The clients seem to really adore Patrick and Patrick loves visiting with him. He helps do things like cleaning up after lunch and other similar tasks. I think this has helped with his speech also since he has to work a little harder to get his point across.
He was released from OT and speech therapy at the beginning of February which was very nerve racking for me. We have been very lucky keeping his therapy going for the better part of three years. The last time Patrick was told he was being released from therapy, he didn't take it very well. When they told me in January that it was about to end, I was extremely nervous about how he would take it. I was pleasantly shocked when he was excited about it! The last time he had a feeling of "Sorry Patrick, this is as good as you can get". This time his take was, "Look how much better you are doing! You don't need us anymore!" I must say it is also nice not to have to plan things around therapy or worry about work/therapy conflicts.
He has continued with his bioness therapy, but that is mostly at home with occasional follow ups with a therapist. He is also continuing his quest to drive again. He has had four driving sessions with a therapists so far. He will have several more over the next month or so where he is both evaluated and coached on what he needs to improve. The therapist will then write a "script" for the adaptive driving equipment which will include a left foot accelerator and a steering wheel do-hicky (my technical term-like it?). After they are installed she will drive with him in our vehicle and we will go from there. It looks like it is a matter of "when" and not "if" he will drive. Patrick is, in his words, chomping at the bit.
Brandon:We have been on the upswing with our 16 year old son. He has been struggling with school and so after much deliberation and investigation, we removed him from his high school and enrolled him in an alternative high school. This seems to have been the right move. Some of the differences between this school and his old school are this school only has 4-15 students per classroom, he has the same schedule each week (his old school used block scheduling which is a challenge for most ADD kids), they call their teachers by their first name, they aren't given much homework-it's all done in class, and they don't put up with truancy. WHAT A NICE CHANGE! He will receive a regular high school diploma when he reaches enough credits, it is not a GED.
While he is still not an exemplary student, we did receive a call from one of his teachers praising him on going above and beyond his other students on a project they did. WOW, I don't know if we ever had a call from a teacher to say something good before! All in all, I think we made the right decision in moving him. He always has been a good kid who struggled with school. Now he can just be a good kid.
So thats about it. I have been on vacation this week and have a few nice stories to share, but I will do that later. This is long enough!
I missed you all and I am looking forward to finding out what I have missed the last few months while I was computer-less!!!
Take Care,
Kristen
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