Two weeks ago, my 16-year-old son Paul started attending regular school at
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
That is, he was in class for a week then last week was Spring Break.
He starts up again tomorrow. The Hospital School offers two two-hour
sessions a day, morning and afternoon. They have one room for grade school
and another for Junior High and High School. Kids who are not able to go to
the classrooms get hospital room visits by the teachers. Tuesday afternoons, Paul
goes to OT (Occupational Therapy) and PT (Physical Therapy). Paul likes the
Hospital School but misses his friends and regular High School classes.
Paul still has bad headaches and falls down from dizziness several times a day.
He feels dizzy if he walks very far.
The pain is also effecting his memory. Pain is very subjective but I can tell
Paul is in pain when he stops interacting and starts to hunch over. About an
hour after he takes Tylenol (acetaminophen), he opens up, moves more
freely – laughs and talks comfortably. Friday, we start work with the
Pain Management Clinic at LCPH. I hope they will be able to offer
some help or at least a new perspective on the problem. I hope that this is
not one of those problems that Paul just has to grow out of.
The quote on the Hospital School hallway sign offers an image of hope for the
future: “A gymnast in the air, the graceful gull swoops and glides along the
coastal waters.”
LPCH school sign
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LPCH hallway art
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LPCH garden
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LPCH garden iris
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Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson
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