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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The great school fight, part 2

Yesterday we went to Jax school and met with the principal and RN.
I was prepared for a fight, since the teacher had already told me that trach kids don't need nurses. She also made it sound like if I wanted a nurse for Jax, that I would have to do home school.

The principal was very nice. The only bad thing is this is her first year. The previous principal had been there for 35 years! Kind of a bummer, just because you can tell she is new to special needs schooling.
First we went over his history, which took an hour by itself. When the RN started telling me how the school works, that's when I brought up that I wanted a nurse for him. Surprisingly, she agreed! She said she was leaning that way too. Such a huge sigh of relief, as that was our biggest worry.
The principal said that they didn't like nurses with kids just because they don't want the kids to get used to always having a nurse. I told her I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. Medically, he needs a nurse with him at all times. If ever there was a time that he didn't medically need one, then we wouldn't use one! If she means that Jax would get used to a nurse, she is mistaken. Jax could care less who he's with! He knows who momma and daddy and his siblings are, but other than that,  all people are the same! Oh except Auntie Boo and his girlfriend Kayla, he definitely knows who they are! Point is, he's not going to cry if someone new comes around him. He cognitively can't comprehend that.

It will take a while to get him started. Because of his medical needs, there is a LOT of paperwork that doctors have to sign. The RN was going to gather it all together and give it to me to work on. Our other issue was the length of the school day. Its basically the same as normal school. 9-3, 5 days a week. I really worry that it will be way to long of a day for him. Heck, if he has a bad gagging episode, he'll sleep for an hour afterwards. So the plan is for now to send him in the afternoon, for about 3 hours, and see how he does.
After all the talking she gave me a tour of the school. Its not very big, and its an extremely old building. Its kind of a bummer that I toured the school in Utah before we left. Its a brand new school, with state of the art equipment inside. This school pales in comparison. Man if only I could win the lottery, I'd build a brand new building for the kids, with a great sensory room and a nice pool like the Utah school has! But seeing all the kids, none of them looked like they had the medical needs Jax does. Most of them eat by mouth, and I didn't see a single trach. Although they did tell me two kids in the school have trachs. It was mostly CP kids that had very high tone.
The point is, Jax will go to school, and he will get a nurse! I guess I can't title this post the great school fight anymore, because they have been more than helpful in getting Jax what he needs. I guess I'm so used to having to fight for what he needs, that its unusual to have it go smoothly! I can't wait to see how he does!!


5 comments:

  1. that's awesome!!

    YEAH!!

    and you might be surprised at how quickly jaxon adjusts to the full day routine. he can always take a nap as needed :)

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  2. 1. Love that pic
    2. We are pulling out of school bc of health issues...course we have winter weather right now and it is bad here. She has been sick constantly.
    3. I think he will thoroughly enjoy school. :)
    4. I'm glad you are not having to fight! Yay!
    5. Not sure why I'm numbering...LOL.
    6. Did I say I LOVE that pic?

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  3. Oh yay! I am so happy he is going to get to go to school! I am also glad he is going to get a nurse!

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  4. YAY for Jax going to school and the school working well with you. Sorry it's an old bldg but hopefully the staff is spry and motivated to help your sweet boy meet his goals.
    Love this pic.

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  5. That's SO awesome that Jaxson was granted a nurse for school! What a peace of mind for his mama! I was wondering if Jaxson will be going to school just for the social interaction experience, or will he actually be able to learn things too? Forgive my ignorance, but I have no clue as to his level or ability to learn things. I truly hope all goes well with this new chapter of Jaxson's life!

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