Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sick, Sick, and More Sick

The kids are on Spring break...finally! Everyone was healthy for the holiday, the sickness kicked in the next day. Helen didn't want to eat lunch, which is not like her. She was in the living room with the other kids, playing video games. When she started crying, the girls came and told me something was wrong. When I got to the living room, Helen was sitting on the couch with her head buried in the cushion. She wouldn't talk to me and wouldn't lift her head up so I could take a look at her face. I rubbed her back until she stopped crying and then asked her if she wanted to come by me. She told me no, she wanted to stay and play video games. I went back to cleaning and doing laundry. About a half an hour later I heard Helen crying again, I found her on her bed. I grabbed her and brought her into my room where we laid down on my bed. She finally settled down and fell asleep for three hours. When she woke up, she had a fever. I gave her Tylenol and kept an eye on her. I noticed she wasn't drinking either, so I thought maybe she had caught Robbie's strep throat. I called the doctor's office, they called in an order to the lab for Helen to get a strep test done. The lab closed in twenty minutes and Helen needed socks on and I needed to change. We got there with five minutes to spare. There were two people at the check in desk, one was on her way out. She told me the other person would be with us in a minute. Then the phone rang, and the clerk decided to answer it and then proceeded to take care of the patient on the phone while Helen and I waited....five minutes. When I finally got to check in and told the clerk Helen was there for the lab, she started to tell me we wouldn't be able to get the test done. I didn't even let her finish, I said to her, "Oh no, we were here in time, she needs this test done!" She told me the lab technician had already logged out, I again repeated that we were there in time. She left and went and spoke with the lab, came back and started checking us in. When we got back to the lab, I could see the technician wasn't happy at all. She was young, and I could tell she wanted to leave. Helen sat in the chair and the tech tried to get her to open her mouth so she could swab her throat, but Helen would have no part of it. I tried talking her into cooperating, and when I touched her mouth, she threw up...everywhere! I was trying to clean it up when she got sick again, this time it was more than the first. The tech was gagging like crazy, I could tell she was mad. Come to find out, she had plans to go to the Brewer's game that evening. I told her what a way to start her evening, I was being sarcastic. Helen finally let her get the sample, I cleaned up as best I could, I apologized, and then we left. She had to stay until the rapid test was finished and then she had to run a 24 hour, and a 48 hour test on it. I'm guessing she didn't get out of there until about 5:45pm....karma is something!

Helen's tests were all negative, so she didn't have strep. I think it must have been a touch of the flu. She was okay the following day, but then was up during the night getting sick. Last night she had a restful sleep and is doing much better today. Grace is fighting a cold, she is blowing non-stop. Her poor little nose is all red. I'm feeling a bit of what everyone has had. My stomach hurts a little bit, my throat is dry and scratchy, and my nose is stuffy...lucky me! All my plans of getting things done while the kids were home went out the window. I haven't gotten anything done this week. I'm guessing the rest of the week is going to be spent getting myself better. On Sunday, the kids are supposed to walk in the Greek parade in Chicago. I'm hoping we are all better by then.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Where's Spring?

Helen's teacher talked me into going to another concert at her school. It was with a retired music teacher that came in to help with a special project. When you walk into Helen's school, there is a long wall that has been empty. The school decided to have a mural painted on that wall. The art teacher's retired dad (who is an artist) volunteered his time and got the job done. The program was an unveiling of the artwork and also the premier of the new school song. It was like night and day, this program was so well organized. They must have gotten seats from another school, because there were plenty to go around. Helen was standing next to her classmates, they were all joking around before the concert started. She had a great time singing, and especially liked singing the new school song. After Helen's group was done singing, there was a brief intermission and then the unveiling of the wall. Helen got popcorn and the girls got Popsicles. Ted was home watching Robbie who was sick with strep throat, and Noah wanted to stay with them. I was with my girls, we had a nice time. The mural turned out very nice, the artist did a nice job. After the unveiling the next group was going sing, Helen yelled, "Let's go!" I guess she had enough! I felt bad for leaving since that was one of the things I complained about at Helen's other concert. I guess the difference was, we were standing in the hallway by the front doors, we were not in the gym with everyone else. I did send an email to the Principal and the Assistant Principal praising the evening. They both saw how much fun Helen had. I'm glad her teacher talked me into going, there was a feeling of community that night.

Holy week is upon us, and I have one home with a cold and another with pink eye. I'm hoping we are all healthy for the holiday. Last night while Helen was in the shower, she told me her eye hurt. I thought maybe she had gotten soap in her eye, it did look red. While drying her off, I noticed her eye had discharge, and she kept closing them tight. While putting her jammies on she kept grabbing at her eyes. I called the prompt care to see what time they closed, it was 7:40pm, they closed at 8:00pm. I decided to take the chance of getting there on time. I thought if she had all night to rub at her eyes, they would be worse in the morning. We got there with two minutes to spare, I don't think the staff was to pleased with us walking in at that time. The doctor prescribed eye drops for her, we were out of there in twenty minutes. We ran to the drug store to get her medicine and were home by 9:00pm. I put the eye drops in and she went to bed. When she woke up this morning, her eyes already looked better, so my decision to go out in the terrible weather was definitely worth it.

I'm not sure if you all know this, but all the people, except myself, that are working for It'll Fit'll, work a full-time job. They are working on the clothing line in their spare time, that's another reason why we are not moving as quickly as some of you may like. Thanks for being patient, the wait will be worth it. The pattern maker is in the process of making a new pattern and has brought on board a pattern maker who has experience in children's clothing. I think this will be a huge benefit to us. I will keep you posted.

To those of you who celebrate....Happy Easter....Christos Anesti!!!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Music Concert

On March 17th the kids and I went to Helen's first music concert, Helen was extremely excited. When we got there we didn't know where to go since this was our first experience of an evening event at her school. We stood there in front of staff, none of whom I recognized, for a few very awkward minutes. One of them finally said, "Helen, are you here to sing?" The tone in her voice led me to believe she was surprised to see her, which then made me think, maybe she wasn't supposed to be here. Helen answered with a "Yes", she was then sent to a small auditorium to sit and wait for her turn. The rest of us just stood there not knowing where to go. I looked into the gym and saw the other families so we went in there, no thanks to the staff. We looked around for six seats so we could take our places, but there were none to be found. Only half the gym was filled with chairs, so I went back out into the hallway and asked if they were going to put more chairs out. I was told all the chairs were out. I was in disbelief so I asked, "These are the only chairs you have?" I was told, "They are all we have in the whole building." I then said, "You mean you don't have enough seats for all the families who came to see their child sing?" The response, "That is correct." The kids and I went and stood against the wall waiting for Helen to perform, just our luck, her group is last. I then saw a staff member come in with more chairs so I told Ted to go and grab some chairs for us. We started to file in the new row of chairs when a woman came and sat right in the middle. There were not six empty chairs on either side of her. The Assistant Principal must have seen the frustration on my face and he went and asked the woman to move down. She bit his head off, I couldn't believe it. After he said a few words to her, he walked away to get chairs from his office for us. As soon as he left the woman moved down one chair, still not enough for all of us to sit. Noah ended up on my lap, and it was very stuffy in the gym. The fifth graders are the first to perform. The music teacher explains what song they are going to sing. I don't think she even introduced herself to us, and she sounded like she would rather be anyplace else but here. While they are singing there is so much noise going on behind us we can barely hear the singers. Because the gym is only filled up halfway with chairs, the other half is being used by younger siblings to run around. The sad thing about that, the parents are doing nothing to quiet them down. In fact, the music teacher, the one with the microphone, says nothing. The first group is done singing and I am shocked to see what happened next....people left! I have never in my entire life seen that happen. I have been told by people I have shared this story with, that it does happen, and it's sad. By the time Helen's group performed, there were plenty of seats for everyone, there were even empty seats. No wonder the school doesn't need anymore chairs, they don't expect people to stay for the entire performance! Helen's fourth grade class is finally performing and I'm not happy. She is standing between two boys, and I'm not sure they are even in her class. Now I'm not trying to knock boys, but they really don't have the same compassion as girls do. Helen has always been put by the girls in her class, usually the ones who look out for her. They have heard her sing, so they are not surprised the night of the concert. I will be the first to admit that Helen can't carry a tune in a basket, and she's often off beat, but she LOVES to sing, so I LOVE to hear her sing. The girl in front of her turns to look at Helen and then turns back around giggling. She looks back every now and then at Helen and then turns with either a giggle, or a look of annoyance. One of the boys standing next to her keeps trying to scoot away from her, as if she had cooties. I am so angry by the time the concert is over that I go and complain to the Assistant Principal. He agreed with me and is also a little stunned at what he witnessed. He asked me to write a letter or send an email so it's in writing. I sent a letter to him and to the Principal last week and then a follow up email on Tuesday. I heard from them both the same day. The Assistant thanked me for the formal letter I had sent the previous week. He told me he makes it a point to stop and talk to Helen. He shot hoops with her at recess last week and was very surprised at how well she shoots. The Principal responded with a long email thanking me for the letter. He and the Assistant both agreed with me and are in the process of making changes. I thanked him for listening to me since some people would have thought it was just a parent of a special needs child complaining again. I told him most people aren't fortunate enough to have a special person in their lives and therefore don't know how important it is for us to speak up. I am Helen's voice, thanks for listening. Until next time- Take Care, Sue PS....sorry for no paragraphs, the program wouldn't put them in!!