Thursday February 9, 2006

Thursday February 9, 2006 Sorry for the absence but we have had some computer problems that have finally gotten resolved. This past weekend was busy. Zack and I, along with several of his friends and Dylan went to the Winter Jam concert at the Fairgrounds on Saturday night. Zack was very excited to see Toby Mac perform again and also enjoyed the worship songs by News Boys. He is finally convinced that white boys can rap and is now one of Toby Mac’s biggest fans. We went to the Jaha’s for a Super Bowl party and Zack got lucky and won $40 in the final jackpot. This makes him very happy since he has been trying to convince me to let him get a job. He says he needs to earn money because he doesn’t always want to ask us for money to go out with his friends (fortunately bowling is cheap). I think I made him realize that between the homework he has to do and the nap he wants to take that he has no time left to go to work. We have promised to find ways for him to earn money. This week we have been preparing (emotionally) for our meeting with his therapy team and Carol Britton from Christian Academy. Zack and I talk about it on our way to Frazier each morning and when I picked him up on Monday he said he had a question to ask me. I braced myself for his usual funny comment but he was serious. He asked me if he was smart before the accident. I replied that he was a very good student and didn’t really have to try very hard.
Then he asked, “Will I be smart again?” I explained that he was still smart, intelligence doesn’t change, and he just processes information differently. I told him school would be hard but I knew he would try his best and that would be good enough. Zack had a really rough day on Tuesday. He was very tired and even took a nap during lunch. He had a really bad headache and called Scott twice to tell him how tired he was and how bad his head hurt. Then he called him to ask what our dog’s name was. Leslie (speech) had asked him and he wasn’t sure of the answer. This really alarmed Scott who called me very upset. Zack took Amantadine (brain stimulant) for the last time this past Friday and Scott is afraid that he can’t focus well without it. I assure him that I would speak with Dr Perri and we would also address the headaches and fatigue. When Dr Perri returns my call we discuss these recent changes. He feels that Zack is having withdrawal symptoms from the Amantadine and asked that we be patient. He also feels once Zack starts Excelon (ACH-E inhibitor to facilitate memory) that we will see his focused attention return. He is hoping that the fatigue is just another withdrawal symptom that will disappear in a few days. We are both concerned about the headaches. He has been having headaches for about two months but usually only once a week. Now they seem to be every day. Dr Perri suggest that maybe the Vision Therapy is contributing to his headaches and that once he gets through these series of vision exercises we will see them decrease. Once they arrive home Scott gives Zack Tylenol and he rest. Scott calls to tell me that he talked to Zack about forgetting our dog Toby’s name and Zack had a reasonable excuse. He said he thought his name was Toby but since we just went to the Toby Mac concert he was afraid that the name Toby was stuck in his head. Makes sense to me. Tuesday night I take Dylan and the girls to see the Christian Academy Varsity basketball game. Zack’s friend Brooke would be playing and we didn’t want to miss it. Scott dropped Zack off once he figured out that Zack didn’t have pageant practice. Zack enjoyed sitting with his friends at the girls game but motioned to me that he was getting a head ache. By the time the Varsity boys game started I could tell Zack felt bad because he was no longer laughing. He told me he was ready to leave after the first quarter. Once home he goes straight to bed and sleeps 10 hours.
Our meeting Wednesday afternoon went very well. We discussed his return to school, the classes he would take and what would be expected. He starts school on February 28th and will go on Tuesdays and Thursdays (he will be back at Frazier for therapy on Mon, Wed, Fri). He will take Honors Algebra I (which he got an A in last year), World Civilization, Computer and Bible. He will spend 4 periods with Carol who will help him review and organize his notes, develop cues to determine what information is important, Rhythmic Writing and Instrumental Enrichment. His therapist feels he will do well in computer because he has a natural affinity for it. Zack said he would do good in Bible (he knows about God). Since his early days at Frazier Rehab, scripture verses have come back to him much the same way as the words to songs. Since he has already had these classes before and passed them, test scores aren’t going to be important. The purpose of the rest of this school year is to teach him new ways to take notes, study and learn. We will look for techniques to form new nuero pathways to the information his brain has stored that his injury has severed. Leslie (speech therapist) asked him what his motivation was to do well in school. They are concerned that since he knows his test will not count that he may not take it seriously and won’t try his best. Zack leans back and smiles at Dr Perri (psych). Dr Perri grins and shakes his head because he knows what Zack will say. His motivation is the “girls”! He and Zack have discussed many times how much Zack is looking forward to being back “in school” with people his own age, especially the girls. I decide to explain to Zack that his motivation is to do his very best so that when he returns in the Fall it will be as a junior. Not as a sophomore. He looks around surprised and asks if that is possible. They all nod in agreement that he has to prove himself, work hard, so that he can move into his junior year. We discuss the need for Zack to have a laptop (notebook) to take notes on during class. He will not be able to keep up if he takes notes by hand but they feel that he could take notes and organize them later if he could do it on a laptop. I will come up with a way to get him one (any ideas…I know they are expensive). Suzanne (O.T.) informs us that we will be losing Jose (O.T. student) next week. He has been working with Zack for the last three months and Zack really likes him. They play baseball and Jose has helped Zack study for his drivers permit test. Jose was the one concerned whether Zack would be participating in extracurricular activities at school. He says he knows that Zack gets energized by that and it will keep him motivated. I explain that Zack will be pretty busy practicing for the Easter Pageant but we see to it that he gets to have fun too. He really loves to bowl so Scott takes him frequently and he goes with his friends. As we leave Jose asked me if it would be OK if he stays in touch with Zack and gets together with him sometimes. He explained that they exchanged mobile numbers and he showed Zack how to store appointments on the calendar in his phone. I am delighted that Jose is concerned and fond enough of Zack to continue to see him once he leaves. I tell him he can come see him any time and hang out with Zack at the pool this summer. On our drive home Zack tells me he thought the meeting went very good and he can’t wait to get back to school. He says he is usually scared around people of authority from school but he is not scared around Carol at all. That is really good since he will be spending a lot of time with her at school and she is excited about working with him. Zack can’t believe that Jose will be leaving and wants to get him a ticket to the Easter Pageant. He reminded me that he was going to church tonight and although he was tired he didn’t need to take a nap. Scott and I talk about what to expect once Zack returns to school. We are anxious to get his medication stabilized and resolve these headaches. We encourage one another to stay focused on today and the immediate future. It is hard as parents not to fret over your children and their future. To wonder how Zack will manage in school next year, what kind of job he will get, how he will fend for himself when we are not there. And then we are reminded to trust in the God that cares so much for us. He has promised to be a light onto our path. Our path is the area or time right in front of us. Not next year, but today. We look back at all the times he rescued us and are comforted that He is in control. We ask for prayers that Zack’s headaches will go away. We ask for patience to wait for God’s leading once Zack returns to school. We ask for your confident prayers in Gods power to heal Zack completely. For the glory of God we pray for complete recovery.

Note: come cheer Zack on at Rose Bowl on Goldsmith Lane Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00
in the Brain Injury Association of Ky. Bowling Tournament