My friend Jenny just sent me these pictures that she took of Anna at the Shedd Aquarium the week that Mary was in the Dells. I still have to develop the pictures that Mary took while she was on vacation, and I'll get those on a disk so that I can share those photos too!
Anyway, I just love the picture on the top of this post of Anna in front of the Shedd because she looks so little compared to that big city skyline in the background. Leave it up to Jenny to take some pretty cool pictures!
I wish Brandon would look at the camera when someone takes a picture because he is such a good looking boy!
Here is another cool one! You can't see Anna's face, but you can see her reflection off of the fish tank!
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Anyway, we are all feeling much better, just coughing up a little more Flem, yuck! Mary starts her first day of school tomorrow, for just a half day. Anna doesn't have her first day of school until Wednesday, and Mary will start full days on that day too!
I got a call from the school nurse one day last week as she was looking over Anna's medical forms. She wanted to know what they could do as far as making sure Anna was safe in her class room. She wanted to know if she should send out a health letter to all of the Children in Anna's classroom, and inform the staff. I told her that I already had a letter that I have handed out in Anna's past years in preschool, and if she just wanted to look it over and OK it, this would save her a step. I told her I would bring it in later that day so that she could have it ok'd by the principle and staff so that it would be ready for the first day of school. I had no idea that not only was the nurse waiting for me, but she had Anna's teacher on standby so that we could have a meeting about Anna. The nurse went ahead and read up on transplants and Anna's medication and had a few questions to ask me. I was bombarded with questions from the both of them, and to tell you the truth it was a little overwhelming just because I wasn't expecting it! I guess I didn't think that this was going to be a big deal, but neither the nurse nor the teacher have had a student with these medical issues. After much discussion I was comfortable with the nurse and teacher and it felt so good to know that they have so much care for Anna and our situation. We are going to be on the computer as a contact when any big illness is going around in any part of the school. They only usually send things out to the parents in the particular classroom of the sick child, but I will always be informed because if those germs are in the school; if anyone would catch them it would be Anna.
This is a letter that I got from a fellow liver mother that her son's school nurse typed up for the kids to take home to keep parents informed. This is what will be handed out to the parents. Here is what it reads:
Dear Parent/Guardians:
This year we have a student in your child's class who has had a liver transplant. She is healthy and active and can participate in activities along with your son or daughter. Some of the medication that he has to take to prevent her body from rejecting her liver also weakens her immune system and makes her more susceptible to infections.
You can do the following to help prevent the spread of infections.
Teach your child about frequent hand washing
-After blowing noses and catching sneezes
-After using the bathroom
-Before eating
Do not send children to school if they are actively sick with vomiting Diarrhea, cough, sore throat, or fever. Children should be fever and symptom free for 24 hours before returning to school.
Keep children home if they have had a strep test until you know that both the rapid test and the overnight test are negative or until they have been on antibiotics and are fever free for 24 hours.
If your child has a rash that you think may be contagious, please do not send him or her to school. Call your doctor for advice or an appointment. If your child or a sibling has been in school and is then diagnosed with a contagious disease such as strep, mono, chicken pox, conjunctivitis (pink eye), gastroenteritis (vomiting and/or diarrhea), please notify us as soon as possible. This is particularly important to limit the spread and sometimes re-infection of both bacterial and viral infections.
The parents of this student appreciate your assistance in making attending school a healthy experience for their child and all the children in class. We view this as an opportunity to continue to instill healthy habits in all our children. Limiting the spread of germs that cause illness is the goal of our whole school community. Thank you for your cooperation. Working together we should have a healthy school year for everyone.
So.......Yes.........I am feeling good about Anna starting Kindergarten!
