Chapter XVI: Elephant Thigh

It is rare that I will talk about my children on here not pertaining to education; but this one is a special issue. First, I want to thank my teachers and my classmates for their understanding and their support. I know with papers and presentations due, there will be a slight delay in my academic studies for now. I will catch up, and I promise you (my group), I will definitely keep contributing through emails/phone calls. :)

My son got into a serious arm injury on the 13th, day before Valentine's Day. He fell off a chair, at his cousins, not more than 1.5 feet high, and fractured his right (dominant) arm. It has been a long week and the pain is much worse at night when he's sleeping next to me. I feel like I've been walking through a nightmare with him going from one doctor after another.

............................................................

His dad took him to the emergency and I met them there. We all know how that is -- it takes FOREVER to see someone. X-ray was taken; dad saw it, I didn't. TJ was on my lap. So all I had was a verbal explanation. To me, it didn't sound too bad. But when they cut off his long sleeve shirt and I looked at his arm it was almost as thick as an elephant's thigh! His dad, Ray, made sure that I didn't react in front him (I shoulda known better as I used to work with preschoolers). They put a splint on TJ and doubled it, called (let me see if I can get this right) "sugar tone" to lessen mobilization while he waits to see an orthopedic.

The dr. at the ER recommended that we take TJ to the orthopedic as soon as we can get him in, which is in our neighborhood at one of the clinics that we usually go to whenever any of us have a fracture (we all had fractures at one time or another). Good, I thought, maybe they can actually do something about it. The bad thing was we had to wait until Tuesday. I mean, okay, I understand that the swelling needed to go down, but to wait that long? TJ was prescribed oxycodone for the pain. It's small, about 5 mg, but I hate giving drugs to children that young.

So, the next couple nights seemed like forever. Poor TJ whimpered with pain everytime he moved his arm. It hurt me more than it hurt him, so I gave him the (stupid) drug. He was fine after that -- just more talkative than usual. I also gave him acetominophen when the pain is less severe. At night when he's asleep, I'm being mother bear. Everytime he moved, I made sure he doesn't move in a way that he might hurt himself. This is an active 7 year old, even when he's asleep, which means that I'm up pretty much most of the night preventing himself from more harm.

On the 16th, we finally get to see an orthopedic, but a PA, not a doctor. They looked at the xray that was taken at the emergency and suggested he goes to see a pediatric ortho at Children's Hospital. They called and wrote down that he's to be seen by the pediatric orthopedic surgeon on the 17th. Just great. I thought he was going to have surgery TODAY, but on the other hand, a pediatric surgeon is better. The PA suggested that TJ not eat or drink after midnight as he is more than likely going to receive surgery right there.

Another night of tossing and turning and whimpering because of the pain; another night of oxycodone.

We get to Children's on the 17th. Right when we checked in at the reception, they noticed that there was a discrepancy -- TJ's appointment was YESTERDAY! He was marked as a "no show". His dad and I were absolutely, undoubtedly LIVID! The ortho PA wrote down the wrong date! I was about to be in tears at this point. My son suffered for four days! I'm pretty sure readers at this point are saying to themselves, "Now, why can't he take it like a little man?" Put ANY 7 year old kid -- whether it's a boy or a girl -- and given the extent* of his injury, it would hurt like a huge boulder's been smashing his over and over again. (I had not idea how bad his injury was until later...read on...)

Because of our reaction -- and it was very loud and clear (we made the other orthopedics -- NOT Children's -- look very, very bad) -- the receptionist was able to squeeze TJ in later on in the afternoon to see the pediatric ortho surgeon. When asked if he can have lunch, the receptionist thought that because the previous ortho suggested he doesn't eat, TJ was allowed to eat a handful amount of food....just in case he needs to go into surgery. We hung around Children's for four hours.

We FINALLY got to see Dr. Song. And I finally saw the x-ray. My heart just about dropped. There was a 7mm size bone that chipped off his humerus bone (right elbow). I know the feeling because I fractured my elbow a couple years back while roller skating; although it was only a hairline fracture, it was gawd-awful painful! I could only imagine what TJ was going through. No wonder he was absolutely frightened and adamant about even touching his elbow. The darn thing hurt! And because of the extent of his injury, he was in pain!! My poor baby was in pain for four days.


The other orthopedc put a splint on him, but it was obviously tight -- his fingers were swelling and had a deep red color to it. Even after returning to the clinic to get it re-done, his fingers were still swollen. He elevated his arm up for four days before seeing Dr. Song, but it did not help to no avail. His pain was added on due to the splint's constriction. He had a splint on and it was too tight for four days. :(

Anyway...back to Dr. Song. He wasn't too happy that this went on for a long time. He seemed very sympathetic and was super gentle with TJ -- something that the OTHER ortho and xray technicians at the emergency didn't consider. I couldn't stop staring at the x-ray. Underneath the splint and bandage is my little boy's arm that's probably thicker than an elephant's thigh by now. His fingers were very swollen.

There was even more bad news that Dr. Song gave us -- he couldn't see TJ that day, the 17th. Because we were at Children's Hospital, they prioritize their patients. There's a little girl that he has to do spinal surgery on. Completely understandable; at this point, I felt very fortunate for TJ's injury.

I saw the little girl, and boy, was she a trooper. I'm very sensitive to children and practically get teary-eyed when something moves me whether it's heartbreaking or if it makes me feel angry. She's paraplegic and bi-lingual. Her parents can't speak a word of English, but this little girl can. She was in the next room and I heard a bit of their conversation. At this age -- she seemed to be about 11 years old --it's really hard to fathom the idea that she has to translate her own prognosis to her parents. I can only imagine what the parents are going through. This little girl, though, talks like she's talking with a smile. As if to say and comfort her parents, "It's okay, I'll be alright."

He really wants to take TJ in asap -- and sounded rather sincere about it --, but he will more than likely be in surgery for nine hours on the little girl.

Let's see.....he broke his arm on the 13th, saw an ortho on the 16th, visited Children's on the 17th, and will be seen on the 18th. Five days of painful suffering.

We got a call the next morning (the 18th) and it was actually good-bad news. There's a possibility that TJ can be seen earlier, but there's also a possibility that he may be the last to be seen or not at all until the next day. So, we starved him yet again. We were able to take anything at this point. He needs to have surgery. Last night was very painful for him.

So we went in, and his dad and I practically did cartwheels....the receptionist said that he'll be taken in at 3:30pm.

The surgery went well, and was put in a half-cast to allow for swelling for a couple days. It was painful, but to us, it was good pain. Dr. Song moved the bone back in place and had pins put into his chipped bone to prevent further damage. Because of his age, bones will naturally and quickly weld together as it heals.

I will stop writing about this chapter, because it is now, realistically March 1 and I have tons of catching up to do with homework and my practicum.

TJ is doing really well and is now in a full cast. The cast will be removed on the 17th and his bones will have healed by then. :)

Chapter XV: Rush

It's been a hard week. Let's see if I can sum up each day without writing a novel in one chapter:

February 8, 2010, Monday
Monday: Volunteer @ Oaks Elementary (my son's school)

I tutored two children who enjoy playing reading learning games with me. That was fun and I can't be more proud of these kids. They're coming along.

Did the final touches for two papers due tonight. Although my papers are relatively easy to do, organizing my ideas and putting them into thoughts that I want to convey to my readers is another story. I got that done...finally!

Prepared for my practicum supervisor's visit by putting together a notebook. It's only a few pages, but I think I have it down pat.

Monday night: Essentials of Teaching Class
My EOT class seems to be getting progressively difficult. I love this class because of the group discussions we get into. It is definitely more in-depth and more about the technicalities of teaching, hence the difficulty. I do find it most enjoyable and satisfying learning more and more about what goes on inside a (insert any word: fabulous, great, winning)teacher's head. This is what we're being trained for. It has a lot to do with making sure our children do not fall behind.

Tuesday, February 9 2010: Practicum @ Roosevelt and Practicum Supervisor Visit
Went in to Roosevelt feeling nervous about my meeting with my program supervisor. Mrs. Dearly's anxious about this week herself. On top of meeting with me and my prac. sup., the thought of Winter Break starting this Friday can be quite overwhelming. I admire how she's able to stay on top of things considering a hectic week. The vibe inside the classroom is quite eventful. The activity level seems to be a bit higher than previous visits. No, the children were not out of control. It's just that everything seems to be rushed because we need to get things done. Even for myself.

My prac. sup.'s visit was a positive one. Boy, she couldn't have come at a better time -- I'm being sarcastic here. Due to the energy level in the classroom (and in the building, too!), imagine my stress when the children lined up during transition-time AND my prac. sup. was standing in the hallway next to me. Mrs. Dearly was still inside the classroom while I was up at the front of the line. The students typically wait for her until she comes to the front. Somehow, one of the kids thought that it would be funny that he start the line by moving himself by a few inches. Next thing I knew, the line started to move WITHOUT their teacher. The boy up front saw my expression and gave me this big smile. Yeah, I wasn't too happy. I wasn't going to yell at him -- it's not in my nature to yell. I simply walked up to him, looked at him quite sternly, and told him in a low voice to stop and wait for Mrs. Dearly in a very serious tone.

Mrs. Dearly was right: nip it right in the bud or things will start to fall apart. Even though my prac. sup. is not familiar with the routine -- whether the lined-up children were allowed to move with or without their teacher -- I knew that she knew I did the right thing when she squeezed and patted my shoulder and gave me an encouraging smile. It felt good to be positively acknowledged. My meeting with my sup. went really well. She did remind me a few times that she will be up for a visit when I do an actual lesson in front Mrs. Dearly's class.

February 10, 2010 IT Class
Ew. I love this class but it's very -- what should I say -- detail-oriented. One little mistake on an assignment and you have to re-do the entire thing. There were two re-dos that I had to fix up, which puts me behind the rest of the class. We are allowed to resubmit our assignments during class. Because this is done electronically, things can go wrong. And LUCKY ME, I so happen to be one of those where things got messed up -- totally not my fault. I was pulling my hair off trying to figure out why my submissions kept saying "resubmit" after doing do-overs. It was finally solved and thank goodness, it's not my fault. My teacher gave me the okay to go ahead and continue with what I've got.

February 11, 2010 Volunteer at Oaks; Practicum at Roosevelt

My practicum supervisor wanted me to observe real closely the differences between being a parent volunteer in one school and a practicum teacher at another. Today was a perfect day. Most schools are celeberating Valentine's Day and teachers are preparing for mid-winter break. Today's the last day of school before the kids are out on a short vacation. They'll be back on the 17th.

My first stop was at Oakes. I helped the children pass out their cards and treats. They had ice cream. The children were to bring their own toppings and share it with their classmates. These are first-graders mind you, so all sorts of fun stuff were brought into the class: gummy worms, different kinds of cookies, m&ms, and much more. I couldn't stop laughing to myself because the kids will say to me, "Check out my ice cream sundae!" Yeah, more like "topping" sundae -- the ice cream was completely buried underneath all that topping (yay for mom; thanks, Mrs. Windell).

Like I said about Tuesday (2/9), the energy level was pretty high at Roosevelt. It was much higher today. Probably because the children are re-arranging their desks and cleaning them out. The classroom was a total disaster! I really have to admire Mrs. Dearly for not making a point to help them out. The mess is their responsibility. She has made the decision that the children, when they're done cleaning up, can have their Valentine treats. It was a superb deal because the children rushed to get things done. When they were -- and the room was (almost) completely spotless -- they happily had their treats while *I* read them a book (my supposed FIRST real lesson to the class!). It was a simple Valentine's Day book. It was soooo nice to have 21 children sit in front of me while I read. It was only one time that I had to call out on a kid who wasn't paying attention; and it was only once that I gave him a reminder. It felt great! For 20 minutes I read and asked the class questions. I do officially mark this day, MY FIRST LESSON TO AN ACTUAL CLASS. :D :D :D

Friday/Saturday February 12-13

We have tons of paper due in the upcoming weeks for my classes. We don't have class on 2/17 which gives us more time to work on papers, but for some reason I was stuck on one of them. I've been pounding my head against the wall trying to figure it out. With the help of my classmate -- this is a group project -- I'm starting to get it. Alas, however, I finally figured it out and I think it turned out alright. For this same class, my preliminary lesson plan is due (next week), a video response for my Social Order class, and a power point presentation for my IT class. I've never had this much homework since being at WWU. But...as someone woould've put it, "you've got what you paid for".

I have found out that many good teachers come from this school. Like Harvard is for lawyers, Western Washington University is th-e one for teachers. (Okay....I'm biased) I also have found out that WWU is more academically inclined than sports and frats (I read their opinion/review forum). It is a great feeling to know that my money isn't being wasted on anything not pertaining to my education. WWU have their own sub-college for teachers called "Woodring College" which I want to visit one day. It is a beautiful campus. I think it'll be great if my cohort could get together for a field trip to the college as a way to say "thanks" for everything they've done for us, most particularly, the teachers who must travel between Bellingham and Everett to teach us.

It IS a good idea.... ;)

Chapter XIV: Practicum and Volunteer work + EOT

On Monday, after my EOT class, I fell very ill. I had to skip practicum on Tuesday to rest, and made it up on Thursday. Wednesday, I went to my son's school to volunteer and tutor his classmates. Thursday, after practicum, I rushed with an assignment that was due. Friday was my mental-health day to which I rested and took a breather. Right now, I decided to keep up with my blog and continue with projects, homework, and homelife -- not necessarily in that order -- after I'm done here.

I am eager to share my week because it has been quite an interesting one. I do not mean that in a negative way. This is quite the opposite, in fact. Monday's class -- although I was already feeling the effects of my illness coming on -- I was excited to learn how to present a lesson in a step-by-step process to keep students interested in the subject they're learning. It doesn't have to be done in that specific way all the time, but observing what we saw on the video, I believe it works. Mrs. Dearly uses that technique the majority of the time! Mrs. Windell, uses it, too, but I sometimes wonder if she realizes that she is using it. I barely notice the "steps" because they're very subtle. This type of "model" is very effective when used appropriately.

The difference is that they each have their own unique way of presenting material -- old and new. For example, there is this one teacher in the video who uses body-motions to vote: right elbow on left knee, thumbsup, pat your head/belly, etc. It was done in a humorous way and the children loved it. Another teacher presented her material with an overhead projector and kept the class moving with their curiousities and answers by the tone of her voice and body language. She was very enthusiastic about the subject she was teaching. But, man, she talked alot! Imagine a teacher who talked alot but did not involve some kind of class interaction -- BORING!

Mrs. Dearly does what those teachers in the video do, too. She explains really well what the students need to learn, but done in an enthusiastic way. I have modeled after her when she assigned me to a couple of her small groups -- as well as in Mrs. Windell's class -- and lo and behold....it worked!! No scripts, no preparation. These "steps" felt so natural and convenient. On top of that, the children were eager to learn more!

I spend, on an average, about 20 minutes with individual or small groups of children, at a time. 20 minutes does not feel like enough time to teach them the entire material. Now I know exactly how Mrs. Dearly feels like. She's always on the move. Every 20 minutes, her lessons are changing. I can definitely feel the frustration -- as a teacher -- that Mrs. Dearly is feeling when she feels like she hasn't "caught up". I walk out of Mrs. Dearly's and Mrs. Windell's classes feeling like I haven't taught those kids enough. I feel like they need to learn more.

When I saw that video in my EOT class, those children were eager to learn because of the process that the teachers were using. Although they did not go through an entire class in the video, I'm pretty sure that those teachers walked out of their classrooms feeling like they need to teach more to those kids. That explains their motivation to teach. That explains why these teachers are GREAT teachers. Just like Mrs. Windell and Mrs. Dearly.