For many years I have felt a bit obsessed because my
constant prayer has been for Parker’s healing…But I am not quite sure when that
prayer shifted to: I just want what is best for him and for him to experience
joy in his life. It was probably a little
more than a year ago. I think it shifted
when I tried to begin understanding what his precious life’s purpose may
be.
The struggles that this child has faced have been plenty
and as a mom, each struggle is incredibly difficult to witness. However, I will never give up on him; I will
forever be his biggest cheerleader; and I will always stand beside him with
pride and love. I know some feel that we
have made some wrong choices and by being public with our story, we have made
ourselves vulnerable to judgement. But
what is right for him and our family is simply that, right for us.
The decisions made are carefully weighed given all of our
circumstances and options. Ultimately,
we have to trust and have faith that we are on the right path for us at this
point in time.
So, in trying to decide what to do about school, we did
indeed consider all our options. For
goodness sake, we have already tried hospital homebound, virtual school, traditional
school, charter school, part-time school, and combinations of all these. We know our legal rights; we know his IEP
gives him the right to a least restrictive and appropriate free education; we
know that we could continue to pursue…but what we also know is that Parker is
fighting for his life and let me tell you…it is completely and utterly heart
wrenching for us and totally exhausting for him.
We took much care in explaining to Parker all of his
educational options. What is most
important to him is one, friendships and two, getting better/stronger. We met with the school and they have agreed
to allow Parker to continue to go to lunch with his friends at school, to
attend events, and to volunteer. He will
also continue with one of the clubs he has been involved with and be a part of
the community. In addition, he is going
to pursue his GED and then go to our community college. This will allow him to focus on his medical
needs and not have as much educational stress.
This decision wasn’t easy for him. In addition to thinking about his education,
he is also trying to deal with many medical decisions. He will be getting his foot fused in about
two weeks and once we over this first hurdle, then we will focus on the
rest. So, I ask that you simply pray and
continue to shower our sweet son with love and we will continue to hope.
And to all who have reached out, we are so very grateful
you are part of our lives.
