Preschool...Yes? No?

For 2 1/2 years I have been getting someone in all of Molly's therapies to understand and agree with me and today I finally found someone.

Molly had her first of three preschool assessments today. I tried not to think about it or talk about it because it would just make me nervous. We have so much going on so I didn't want to stress out about this too. We just never know how she is going to react. She can be the sweetest thing or a nightmare. Today she decided to spare me the torture and was very good. She went right over to one of the therapists and was playing with her while I filled them in on her background since they knew very little. After I told them how long she had been in the hospital and a brief description (if there is such thing) of what she had been through we discussed her developmental delays, my concerns about her delays and my concerns about her starting preschool. I'm sure every parent is nervous about their kid starting preschool but even more so I think as a parent of a child that has been through so much. Maybe I'm wrong. I only have one kid that has been to hell and back to get to where she is now and I want to protect her with all that I have.

We started with my concerns about her developmental delays which are obvious. I told them that my biggest concern is her speech/communication delay since I know that is where we struggle the most. I also told them that I'm also concerned with her walking but not as concerned since she has made great gains in the past few months. Still a concern but not as much. Then they asked me about my concerns with her starting preschool. I told them that our biggest concer with her starting preschool is the germ factor. We have spent the last 2 1/2 years protecting her from getting sick and we have been pretty successful. I know we can't spend our entire lives protecting her and she's going to get sick but I'm never going to stop trying. I also know that when she does start school that they won't freak out when she gets too close to the bathroom (like she did today at the assessment), or if she puts her blankie on the floor then picks it up and puts it in her mouth but I just want them to be aware of how we are and to take some kind of precautions with her. She's not like every other kid going into preschool. So after they did their evaluation they went over some of our options. Going into today I was told that because she doesn't walk independently she would have to go into the therapeutic classroom for safety reasons. I was torn about her going into this classroom and I stated it before. I liked the fact that they are so cautious of germs in this classroom because most of the kids were trached and in wheelchairs but I also felt that Molly wouldn't benefit from this classroom because those kids are trached and in wheelchairs and she wouldn't be motivated to walk, talk and run around and FINALLY SOMEONE AGREED WITH ME! They said before they met Molly and going off of just reading her history they would've agreed that she needed to be in the therapeutic classroom. But since meeting her and seeing what she can do, how she acts, etc that they thing she needs to be in the integrated classroom which is typical three year olds as well as kids that need a little help. They also agreed that there is no doubt she will catch up. I told them that the thing that drives me nuts more than anything was that I could never get Early Intervention to forget about her age. They always looked at her like a 2 year old that didn't walk or talk and you can't do that. They also agreed. They said that you have to subtract at least a year from her life because she was in the hospital, adjusting to home life and never did the typical baby things that she should've done. She said if you subtract a year from her life, she's really not that delayed. They were happy that she is taking the appropriate steps forward and not skipping any milestones and without a doubt, with the right therapy and socializing with other kids she will catch up in no time. I could've hugged them! It's so great to finally get someone to understand what I've been trying to say all along and to agree with me and to give us hope in her developmental progress. We don't have a plan yet. She still has to be evaluated by speech and the teacher then we have to have an IEP meeting to come up with a plan and what we would like for Molly. She can go to school up to 4 times a week for 2 1/2 hours a day. I can't do that and I told them that. I told them how I haven't had her for that long and I wasn't ready to let her go into the world without me 4 days a week...until I get a taste of what it's like to have 2 1/2 hours a day to myself : ) If we decide to move forward with preschool she would start in the fall. They gave us the option to do therapy for four weeks in the summer but I think we are just going to enjoy the summer months without Early Intervention, appointments, demands of having to be some place at a certain time, and forget about the medical piece of the puzzle. She will still going to an outpatient therapy over the summer but that's OK. She needs some type of therapy and it will only be one day a week.

Last week we met with the Make A Wish volunteers that are going to be working with us. They were also very nice. Molly warmed right up to the lady...probably because she brought gifts for her. We told them that we wanted to go to Disney World. Our first choice to go would be October which after the kids go back to school and right before cold & flu season. We are going to make sure that Molly is seen by cardiology before we go. We don't want any surprises and want to make sure everything is OK before we leave the state. He is also going to have to answer all 5,000 questions we have before we leave. He must hate us!

Last bit of business. There is only a month & a half left until the NStar Walk for Boston Children's Hospital. We recently met our team goal of $4,000 and are well only our way to $5,000. If you would like to help us reach our goal and thank them for giving us the most amazing gift please click the link here...

NStar Walk for Boston Children's Hospital

I think that's it and probably enough! Until next time...