I can't believe I am the mother of a graduate! It seems I have waited a long time for this. At the same time, however, it has come very quickly.
I still very vividly remember the days of walking her to school from our apartment building to Centennial Elementary. She had some wonderful teachers, but when she was in 4th grade, we decided to homeschool her.
There were definitely a lot of positive things about homeschooling. One was that she didn't tire so easily so she could focus more. The other is that she didn't catch everyone's germs, which meant she was sick less often.
Another benefit of homeschooling was that I could give her one-on-one attention. Faith's biggest goal was to learn how to read. It took a long time, and although she can only read simple words and very simple sentences, she exceeded expectations
One major drawback of homeschooling is that she missed being around other kids. It didn't help that she is an only child. When I found out about Inspire Collective, I thought it would be perfect for Faith! Unfortunately, at the time it started Faith had some medical stuff that we needed to resolve. But finally in October 2017, Faith was doing better and we decided to give it a go.
There were two girls, who were sisters, that she automatically clicked with. Those two girls remain her best friends. She made other really good friends as well. Many of these girls have invited Faith to their birthday parties and they have come to hers. I love that her disability was never a barrier to making new friends in this group!
Besides making great friends, she studied history, science, STEM, music, and arts, she has participated in Christmas programs, field trips, and other special courses. We are so thankful to Nicole Elliott, for founding Inspire and also to
Mandi Wilhelm for taking it over. All of the teachers made learning so much fun. Even I learned a lot from them over the
years!
Because Inspire played such a huge role in Faith's homeschooling education, it seemed appropriate to present her diploma there. I must say, that as I gave the presentation, I was overcome with emotion. I felt so grateful that God had provided everything throughout the years to help us in this endeavor.
I was so thankful for my "Inspire family" and their love and support. They truly went out of their way to make the day very special day for Faith. Some of her classmates showered her with cards, special gifts, and even the perfect balloon! I was also thankful my parents could come to the event, even though we all made each other cry! As we rolled out the door when it was all over, she yelled, "Yay!! I did it, I graduated!"
Since Faith is already 18 and has graduated, the next step will be attending a day services program for adults with disabilities. She is excited about this opportunity. However, she is also feeling a bit anxious. She knows I am going to have to leave her there.
Since she was homeschooled, this is going to be new for her. I have never really just dropped her off and left her somewhere. She has had respite care look after her while I'm gone, but that is in here home, where she feels safe and secure. Even when we go to therapy twice a week, I am there with her.
It will definitely be different for both of us. I know, though, that this is the right thing to do and that she will probably end up loving it! I'll most likely be the one having a hard time with it!
I am still going to do a graduation open house for her, but it won't be until spring. Maybe by then, we will be done with the cold, snow, and sickness that seems to be hitting everyone we know. For now, I'm going to process the reality that my daughter is all done with school and that she is taking the next big step in her journey!
Keep scrolling to see pictures each year of school!
When one thinks vacation, they probably don't think about Nebraska, especially in November! But when I heard that a friend of mine was going be having surgery in Omaha, I began thinking about how great it would be to go down that way, especially since my sister, Tesa has lived in Lincoln for 17 years, and I have never had the chance to visit. Lo and behold, my dad had also been talking about heading South to Texas in November to hunt wild pigs. My two respite care workers were available to look after Faith starting on a Friday morning through Tuesday evening. All I had to do was book a flight so I could get back home. Despite all the details falling into place, I was still anxious about it. I haven't flown since Faith was a baby, so I was especially nervous about that part. I prayed about it and believed that everything would be okay. On the morning of my departure, Faith woke up just in time and her respite care staff was able to get her dressed and take her to her da...
Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm. The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
Today we said goodbye to our Special Tomato adaptive car seat. And special it was. It helped Faith stay safe and secure in our Hyundai driving her back and forth to therapy appointments, shopping excursions, and many other activities. It also helped us through our time of not being able to afford an accessible van. Like all adaptive equipment , the special car seat was expensive and although it is the law that a child is secured in a car seat while traveling in a vehicle, neither health insurance nor Medicaid would pay for it. Thankfully, we were able to receive funds from the fundraiser, the Great American Bike Race ( GABR ) which helps families pay for services and equipment that insurance doesn't cover for kids with cerebral palsy and related disabilities. After doing research on the Internet and talking to Faith's physical and occupational therapists, we decided to go for the Special Tomato adaptive car seat. You would think something with that name would b...
Guest Post by Stephen Gallup Last week, a columnist for the local newspaper interviewed me in connection with a memoir I wrote that’s being published this year. It was a comfortable, low-key discussion in which he asked about the basic facts regarding my disabled son Joseph and what I’ve learned that might be of value to other families. It was the sort of dialog that required no special preparation in advance. I just sat down with him and talked about the subject closest to my heart. But looking back on it now, one thing bothers me. In concluding the interview, the reporter expressed heartfelt sympathy for everything I’ve endured. He was being more than polite. I mean, he laid the compassion on with a spatula. Startled, and already thinking ahead to what I had to do next that day, I just thanked him and said goodbye. But now that final note troubles me. I don’t want sympathy! First of all, from the point of view of a new author hoping to promote his book, sympathy...
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