Our Safe School

It was 2:30 pm today when I was about to swivel off of my desk chair to run out to meet one of my 5th grade reading groups, when one of our secretaries came by to deliver to me a telephone message left by Isabela's school. The first thing she said to me was "She's ok. But your daughter's teacher said she collided with another little girl and fell on her back." I immediately called her teacher and got the same statement. She assured me that she was fine, but knew I would want to know. Coincidentally, as I was on the phone, I was emailing with Isaebela's cardiologist on a personal topic. So, I quickly responded to her last email with the story, asking for advice. I then locked my laptop, grabbed my keys and asked my colleagues to contact my classroom teachers who would be expecting me within the hour because I was leaving ASAP.



Once I got there, and headed toward the cafeteria, I must have run into 4-5 teachers, secretaries, and the Childhood Director. Everyone was well aware of what had happened and calmed my fears by telling me that she was fine. I found Isabela having her snack and laughing with her classmates. She was clearly fine. I quickly unbuttoned her long-sleeved shirt and checked out her chest, scared of her sternum being threatened. I knew better. If her sternum was in serious trouble, it would have been clear and she would have been in distress. I still freaked and wanted to feel my hand over her beating heart...for peace of mind. You see, Isabela's chest is delicate, it must not be in harm's way.
As Isabela and I left, I left with such a sense of security in her school. I have found her school to be the watchful eye that I was looking for when carefully finding just the right school for her. The entire staff is so attentive and everyone genuinely approaches her with such profound affection. I especially love the fact that they don't make me feel like the anal mom for calling on the hour on those days I think she's feeling off course.

Last Thursday, I spent two hours in Isabela's classroom. I went in there to show Isabela that I am "involved" and that her teacher and I are partners in her education. Secretly, I walked in with my teacher's hat and really wanted to scope out the classroom and to see the curriculum standards being implemented. I can't say that I was hugely impressed, but I was not disappointed in anything, if that makes sense. The activity was to make a clown ice cream sundae. It was Clowns because it stood for the letter "C" that had been studied that week. I got to witness Isabela as a learner with her two teachers and as a peer to her classmates. I was impressed to see her hold her own with the children who have been solely speaking English all their lives and who have been attending school to some extent prior to this year. I have feared that Isabela speaking and reading two languages simultaneously would hinder her greatly when in the classroom with English speaking peers, not to mention that she has not been in a school until now and spent her first few years of her life with severe developmental delays. But, she's doing just fine, with minimal confusion with some letter sounds and quickly adding on to her vocabulary. She has to do homework in English and then there's our Spanish lessons. What a trooper! More surprisingly, socially, I noticed that Isabela is quite the popular kid. Not just in her classroom, but even with the upper elementary kids! Jsut about every time we run into an older child, anywhere from 6-10 yrs. old, she will run to Bela to hug her and say hello as she twirls her finger with one or several of Bela's hair ringlets! It's quite invigorating for me. How very cool that she gets noticed. But, even better, how very cool that the school has fostered such an environment of good-fellowship among the student body. Again, what a great sense of security.

It doesn't surprise me that Bela is noticed. It must be for reasons like what I saw her do on the playground last Thursday morning. Just as she was completing a tricycle race with another child, as I was the one pushing her because she can not reach the foot peddles, Isabela thought it would be rally cool to lift her legs up to the sky and have her arms meet them up there. As we went down the slightly steep hill, she let go of the handle bars and screamed "wheeeeeee!" Of course, her friend thought it was the coolest thing and laughed right along with her. OMG! I , of course, squealed with fear. But, oh how I loved the look of it all! Isabela is at least 5 inches shorter than the rest of her classmates, but there she is, so very confident to be her own person, trying so hard to take the road less travelled.

As a further note on Isaebla's past delays: The fact that she no longer requires a feeding tube and is actually IN school is a miracle for us. Isabela has three special four year old friends she was roommates with at the hospital. They are still battling with developmental delays. One is still not comfortable taking anything by mouth, so she still needs a feeding tube. Actually, two of the girls are. Another little girl gets so very sick with any illness, that she must be home-schooled. Then, there's her little boy friend. He has a serious cognitive impairment and has to attend a special class in the public school system. These are kids born within the same week and suffered similar open-heart surgeries as Isabela did. We feel sad for them, but pray every day that they will thrive. This heart disease stuff is serious business with our kiddos. Isabela was fed with a feeding tube for a year and a half. It was two years ago last week that we had a special party and removed her "mickey" from her tummy and said farewell to it. What can I say, Anna? It was your guidance and your brilliant hands. We are so grateful to all of Bela's occupational and physical therapy. While most of her classmates were at home playing or in school learning, Bela had her own big hurdles to overcome and often pretty sick. Look at her now....she is in school having a great time and eating up a storm!

WAY TO GO Izzy B!!