Happy boy is still with us – only a few attacks here and there, none of which I’ve witnessed, at least not in quite a few days now. Maybe even a week. We took Jonah to a new pediatrician on Monday – one who specializes in developmental disabilities and behavioral problems. I loved him; he’s level-headed, kind, and intelligent. If we want Jonah to have his second chicken pox shot or the flu shot we’ll have to go back, but we might opt out of both of them this year.
We’re putting the wheels in motion to go to Boston to see a pediatric rheumatologist (there aren’t any around here and the ones for adults won’t even see children, for some reason) because of Jonah’s uveitis and iritis, and the synovitis they found some time ago in his hip and jaw. He may have pediatric arthritis, they’re thinking, so that’s our next big medical project to tackle.
Also on the Jonah horizon is a big meeting tomorrow with the school district officials – teachers from Wildwood will be there, and his caseworker from Catholic Charities, and of course Andy and me, and we’ll try to decide what’s the best course of action educationally and placement-wise for Jonah. I know we have to at least investigate our options but now that he’s so much better I want to keep him home and at Wildwood School. They say he’s participating more and yesterday he had no aggressions at school at all – granted it was a half day, but still…he came home with math sheets all completed (it still baffles me that the kid can solve math problems) and a hastily scribbled art project (he’s not the biggest fan of coloring, though he does love to carry markers and colored pencils around, & roll them on the table and floor). He still falls asleep early but he sleeps well, and peacefully, and I am grateful for every day he is himself again.
I love to see him skip around…hear him happy, even loud, again – lately he has been singing and shouting out the “hear-ar-ar-ar-ah-art” part to Guster’s “This is How it Feels to Have a Broken Heart” (which, despite its title, is actually kind of a lively song).
“We’ve colored in the lines and followed all the signs
Fought a war till the war was over;
Said you’d never be the kind with an ordinary life…”
~ Guster
(You can say that again, guys)
The Never Normal 