Ben's school ended the beginning of June and he was definitely ready for summer break to start. The last week of school, Ben was getting very upset when we turned down the street school was on. Although he got over it pretty quickly, he refused to do much actual "work" while in school. Sounds just like a typical kiddo, huh? Both Mike and I went to school with Ben on his last day for the end of the year party. And all I can say is Ben went out with a bang... and not in a good way. He decided to pull a stunt that hasn't been done in a while, let alone EVER done outside of the house! He pulled his trash out at school! In Ben's defense, his intention was to only pull off his artificial nose that sits on his trach but it was stuck on pretty tight and Ben got more than he bargained for when he gave it a strong tug. He really scared us and getting the trach back in wasn't easy because Ben was panicking himself. We all learned a lot from that incident and god was definitely looking out for him that day by having it happen on the only day both Mike and I were there in addition to his nurse.
On a more positive note, we learned that Ben will be getting an Interpreter in addition to his nurse and one-on-one aid next year. His speech therapist really thought his sign language was taking off so much that he would benefit greatly from an Interpreter. The therapist and teacher didn't want to say anything to us about getting one until they got approval from the Special Ed Director and actually hired one. They were worried it wouldn't be approved because no child in Preschool in our school district has ever had an Interpreter. Well it was approved and someone was hired. I'm so excited and can't wait to see how much Ben learns next year.
We are also still waiting on complete insurance approval on Ben's wheelchair. The chair itself was approved, but they need more documentation for the accessories... and those are just as important as the chair (like getting a shelf for his medical equipment, an IV pole for his tube feeds, etc). I'm hoping the fact that they approved the chair is a good sign for the rest of the stuff. Just ready for the chair now and tired of waiting.
Ben is in week 5 of his 6 week Hippo Therapy (which is 30 minutes once a week) and he is having his best session ever. Not crying at all, even the first session and actually riding the whole 30 minutes - with the help of dad holding on one side and the therapist on the other, of course. And he gets so excited when we pull into the parking lot. He is just totally loving it and it warms my heart to see it. He really has come so far.
And last but not least, Ben is supporting a new summer do... a MOHAWK! And the mohawk has given Ben a new feisty attitude. Guess I have no one to blame but myself. Picture to follow in the next few days.
Well that about sums everything up. Sorry it has been so long since I've posted. Life just gets in the way :)
3 comments:
I love the new 'do that Ben is sporting! Good summer style and gotta love the feisty attitude that might come with it...although the trach pull sounded quite scary. Let's not do that again Ben! That is great that his signing is coming along so well too!
So happy that Ben is doing so well in hippotherapy now! That has to put a HUGE smile on your face! :-)
So happy too about the interpreter! If she's as good as Katie's, which I'm sure she will be, you will be absolutely amazed at the progress Ben will make with her!
Have a good summer, Ben! Love your mohawk!
Glad everything is ok after the trach problem. Also so happy about the hippotherapy going so well. I LOVE when they get excited about something or even upset about going somewhere, it really shows they know whats going on and in their own way telling us that.
Have a great summer!!
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