What a week!

This week started out slow with me trying to adjust being back to work after a nice and much needed break. That quickly changed, without warning!

On Wednesday, I found out that one of my team teacher's students was not doing well in the hospital. She had been in the hospital since the beginning of March battling cancer that she developed when she was 20 months old (she is 3 1/2 years old now). The teacher (Sus) and the school nurse (Cathy) was going to go and visit her. On Thursday morning, I talked with Sus and she told me she was on so much medicine that she was asleep the whole time they were there and they did not think she would live much longer. Then in the afternoon after all the children went home at 2 pm, we found out that MyaRose had passed away at 12:10 pm. It was something that should not have happened to a 3 year old. It was not easy for the building to find out and I was glad to leave PSD. I dreaded coming back to work on Friday (this) morning.

The day went by really quickly and when I got home, I did not even remember what happened! My aide had a medical procedure done so she was absent today and the person who assigns subs (who is really a bitch for lack of a better word) told me that I did not have a sub. I told her I had 8 kids and needed a sub. Later in the morning, she found a sub for me and told me that the sub would be with me until noon. That was better than nothing, I guess. At noon, the aide from Sus' class came to help me drop one of my students off at her bus since she goes home at noon everyday. While she was in the lobby, she informed the woman that I needed a sub. She said "Suzy has 7 kids and she can handle them on her own". I was pissed off when I found out she said that. Sus suggested that I email the acting director and explain what happened. The aide helped me out as much as she could and one of my students has a medical one on one aide and that aide was very helpful. I couldn't have made it through the day without the support of my great team!

The director wanted us to tell the children in all classes about the death of one of our students. I had a hard time figuring out how to explain this to my students, most of whom do not have much language to begin with. I asked Melvia and Abby for some ideas since they are teachers, and Melvia worked with young children at one point while Abby also worked with young children and older Deaf students. Their feedback was very helpful. I decided to explain to the children that flowers grow then die, grass grow then die, caterpillars grow then die, people born, grow and then die. I showed them the picture of the student and explained that she born, grew and now died. She does not breath any more, eat anymore, pee anymore, sleep anymore, and play anymore. One of my students then thought that moment was perfect to tell us that his ear hurt. LOL! Since my aide was out, I asked the nurse to come and explain this with me to the children since they knew who the nurse was.

If anyone wants to read about her, her mom made a website at caringbridge: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/myaroseharris

What a week, indeed! Hoping that the weeks to come will be better! I already need a vacation although I just came back from one!

Sorry this post is so negative... That is what has been happening to me!