Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Updates Galore

Now that I have dragged myself up from the dregs of sickness hell, I can provide updates for the recent events around here. I know you have all been on the edge of your seats.

First off, I spoke with Jim this morning and he sounded good albeit tired and still in a lot of pain. His blood levels are doing good and his kidneys seem to be picking up again, so they have quit dialysis for now. They have started physical therapy on his upper body and leg. The past couple of days, they have had him out of bed and sitting in a chair in his room. He still can't put any weight on the damaged leg, but is hopeful that by next week they will have him out of ICU and in the rehab hospital.

He is a bit overwhelmed at the outpouring of love and help that has come his and his families way since all this started. He truly is a wonderful man and friend. I couldn't ask for a better boss. Thank you again for all your continued prayers.

Next, I finally met with the principal today at Peyton's school and I think it went really well. He listened to my concerns, read the letter Ms G wrote and agreed with a lot of my issues. We also talked about Peyton and the type of personality he has. The Principal brought up Peyton's placement for next year before I did and told me he would make note to make sure he was placed with someone with the experience to work with a child like Peyton. He told me he would speak with the teacher and let me know how it went and if there were any concerns regarding Peyton's progress.

Yesterday when I was looking through Peyton's backpack I saw his reading list and the teacher's name was now Ms. G. When I asked Peyton about it, he told me they had dropped his reading level. In the course of the year, he has gone from the third level, up to the fourth level, back to the third level and now dropped to the second level. I'm not thrilled with Ms. G being is reading teacher as well now, especially with her grammatical issues and her appearant inability to provide Peyton with the structure he needs. I'm worried that Peyton's high frustration level and impatience is starting to affect his schoolwork and learning already.

I'm wondering if I should make an appointment with his pediatrician to have him tested? I wonder if it is an attention problem, or just an impulse problem? Is that the same? Anyway, all you gals with older children and my teacher friends, let me know what you think.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

First Year Poopy Head

I'm sure I have written this before, but let's be clear, shall we? Peyton's kindergarten teacher is a brand new, straight out of school, no prior experience first year teacher. Her first ever kindergarten class is not so forgiving. There are several children that are a bit of a handful, Peyton included, but in the times I have helped out with parties and such, they aren't mean spirited children, just rambunctious.

That being said, Ms G has a little bitty voice to go with her small frame and does not command the respect or the attention of the kids at all. I also feel that Peyton was targeted from the beginning of the year as a "problem" child and now he doesn't catch any breaks. The parties I have helped with, he would sit on the carpet when asked and then when Ms G picked people to go to the different centers, he was often overlooked till the end.

Yesterday, Peyton tells Larry and me that his class is having a sleepover with their second grade buddies and Ms G told him he can't go. Do huh? So he hands us a letter and I wish I would have saved it to quote it verbatim, but I was so aggravated I threw it away last night.

The gist of the letter was we're having a slumber party, we (kindergarten teachers) feel that some of your children would not behave properly at a slumber party causing it to be unsafe for others and not allowing the children to sleep. If you didn't get a permission slip with this letter, then your child is one of these kids. If you speak with your child and they behave properly the rest of the week, then I may give them a permission slip.

Peyton did not get a permission slip.

You know, I am the LAST one to say that Peyton is perfect. I know he talks a lot. I know he gets frustrated easily. I know he likes to hit people on the butt to show affection, but I also know that he is not a vindictive child and if you keep him properly engaged as a kindergarten teacher should, he will do his work and be your biggest helper. Also, if they really feel he would be a problem, then ask me to chaperone. I just don't see how they can have a school event and exclude some of the kids.

You know what even bothers me the most about this whole thing? Every correspondence and newsletter, including this one, that I have received from this teacher has had at least one, if not more, grammatical errors. Larry was reading the permission slip letter out loud to me and even he stopped and said to me, "This doesn't make sense." If you are going to teach my child and have the nerve to complain about my child, then you damn well better express yourself in complete sentences.

I'm going to the school today to read with my fifth grader and I am going to find out who I need to speak with in order to ensure that Peyton has a teacher next year that properly handles their classroom and has a grasp on the English language.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Update -Part 2

I was going to head up to the hospital this afternoon, but Peyton was sick this weekend and Shey is snotty now, as well as I don't feel that great either, so it's probably best I don't go. I feel really bad about it though.

Jim is progressing well. They took him off the ventilator earlier this week. With that, they quit sedating him so he is awake more, but then he gets tired easier as well. They have been doing dialysis to help his kidneys out, but the doctors have said that this doesn't mean it will be a permanent thing, but rather there is so many toxins and fluid in his body that the kidneys just can't process it all.

I spoke with his girlfriend a little bit ago and they had brought a walked in for him to stand for a minute, so that is really good news. I even got to talk to him. He sounded really slow, but was appreciative of all the prayers. After we hung up, I cried.

I am so quick to distance myself from situations and people that are hurting so I stay neutral. I remember one time when I was still in Alabama and Larry had come into town to see me. We went with my parents to the lake and I was almost ignoring him. Mom made a comment about me doing the distancing thing then and I didn't even realize it. I'm there but I'm not at the same time.

It's hard though with this. Someone brought in a big (huge) teddy bear and it is sitting in Jim's office. Every time I see it, it hurts.

Please continue to pray for him. Pray that he continues to improve and pray that his attitude remains good. Pray for his daughter and son too. They lost their mom four years ago to cancer in the same hospital Jim's at now. I can't even imagine.

Friday, April 11, 2008

An Update

I've spent the last three days in the ICU waiting room and now Peyton is home sick, so I haven't been in the office at all.

Monday, my boss, Jim, went in to have his hip replaced. This was being done because in January, when he went in to have the right hip done, the doctor didn't account for the difference in the new hip and the hip he had replaced about 3 years ago, so his legs were about 3/4 of an inch off. (He's only 52)

So anyway, Jim decided that he would rather have the old hip redone because the technology has improved so much in the past few years. During the initial surgery on Monday, the doctor told his girlfriend, Linda, that they had to give him some extra blood, but the surgery went well and he was in recovery. A little while later, Jim started complaining that his stomach was bothering him and his blood pressure started fluctuating greatly.

They knew he was bleeding somewhere, but they didn't know where. They took him for a CAT scan, but it didn't show anything. Finally about 2:30 in the morning, they took him back in to surgery. They went in through his stomach and when they opened him up, his stomach cavity was full of blood. They also found that the artery in his leg, the one that brings the blood up from the leg back to the heart had about a four inch section missing out of it. The artery was so mangled that they couldn't repair it and instead tied it off to stop the bleeding.

They had to give him 20 units of blood, apparently, the body only contains 8-10 pints, so he was losing it rapidly. Later the vascular surgeon said that he shouldn't have survived and they had to bring him back a couple of times.

Due to that amount of blood they had to give him, his organs shut down and his body had to accept and process the extreme amount of fluids they were giving him. Thankfully, it appears most of his organs are fully functioning, with his kidneys lagging behind, but they are hopeful they will recoup as well.

The blood doctor is happy so far that his body is acclimating to the new blood and is starting to coagulate and act as it should. He is still heavily sedated, with a ventilator, but he knows we are there and is aware enough to look around at us and squeeze our hands or gesture with his.

For now, he is stable, and they are watching his leg very closely. The hope is that the other capillaries and veins will take over the circulation in his leg. Right now, they have two slits cut into his leg along the sides to aid in getting all the fluid out. His poor hands and feet are so swollen. Wednesday, his stomach was also really swollen, but it had gone down a lot yesterday.

We are thankful to God that he is still alive and I know it is because of all the hundreds of people praying for him, even those who don't know him. I thank you.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

My Boss

Yesterday, my boss, Jim went in to have his hip replaced and the doctor nicked a large vein. He lost a lot of blood and is in ICU fighting for his life. Larry and I are about to leave to go to the hospital. He is my FLorida dad. Please, please add him to your prayer list.