Whoa Nellie! – Musings on the Bus of Hope
Dear BOH passengers,
While driving this Bus of Hope, I have
confronted every conceivable emotion, frustration, or element of surprise. Yet, as a faithful driver, steering this vehicle towards vistas of hope, sometimes I have to pause and say, “Whoa, Nellie!”
When I wrote last, it was all about BOH Day Camp and a little girl named Evelyn, hanging out with Rachel. Do you remember how I said that she is very bright, and that she knows every word to a Broadway show called Hamilton?
Well that very show was in town for two months. I heard about a lottery for tickets to the show, so I downloaded the app on my phone, and I dutifully entered the contest on a daily basis.
I tipped her mother, Emily, onto the contest too.
On October 5, just as the show is about to end its run here in town, I received the following text from Emily:
“I won the Hamilton ticket lottery!!!!!!! I’m going to take Ev tomorrow afternoon! She’s going to lose her mind when I tell her!”
Whoa, Nellie! I was so overjoyed for Evelyn! No one deserved seeing this show more than Ev. And if winning the lottery weren’t enough, getting front row tickets was the topper of them all! Congrats, Evelyn and Emily!
*** ***
Did you realize that Rachel is a 6th grader? She is back at Grandview Middle School, with Ali LaLonde in the driver’s seat, making sure Rachel walks in her gait trainer for 30 minutes every day, hops into her stander each day, and does everything possible to keep her potty training schedule running smoothly. Rachel is mainstreamed for Social Studies and other subjects. But for language arts, she is with some of her closest peers in the special needs department.
Ali makes sure that we get the invitation for India’s birthday party, held at a local pool, and somehow, (whoa Nellie!) it’s all three of us, (Rachel, me, AND Jim) going to the party, meeting India’s parents, comparing field notes on raising our daughters.
Among this group of girls is Bella, who has been in this picture for some time. Bella came into this world with Down syndrome, fierce independence, and humor. Apparently, Rachel and Bella are very close, and Bella takes to helping Rachel navigate, park, and carefully brake Rachel’s wheelchair.
One para, Gwen, has inspired Rachel and Bella to work hard in Social Studies, devising projects that promote learning and fun just for them.
At Rachel’s parent-teacher conference, her morning meeting teacher, Katie Rutledge, pointed out Rachel’s marked improvements in terms of concentration, attention span, focus, and efforts in the physical work she must do. She also mentioned the multitude of friends who gravitate towards Rachel.
Case in point: while Rachel does her walking up and down the hallways, a few boys come to Rachel and offer advice and cheering, reminding her to pick up her knees, “just like this.”
Uh, were you reading this? I said “BOYS!”
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nellie!
Do you remember how Rachel had been training on a power wheelchair all last summer? Her Gillette team was really excited with her progress by the end of the summer. Whoa N— No, wait, there’s more.
Just before Rachel started school, her own power wheelchair arrived, thanks to the diligent work of therapists and doctors at Gillette. As we put away all the wrapping and boxes for the wheelchair, I thought, hey, maybe she can go back and forth to school in this chair, and then I won’t have to push her up the awful, steep hill of a driveway to get her on the bus.
Not so fast, Melissa.
I did a very short bit of research about power wheelchairs and school bus transportation. I learned that the power chairs have to load onto the bus….going backwards. And, to get the chair onto the bus itself and strapped in, you must PUSH it, and it weighs 500 lbs.
On a Friday morning in September, I arranged a meeting with the school district’s physical therapist, (named Jim Reed, oddly enough), Kathy, the head of transportation, the two bus paras, Kari and Amanda (who totes a pint-sized son named Lincoln,) Marty, the actual bus driver, Ali LaLonde, the special ed teacher, and Sarah Kubal, the representative from NuMotion, the company who furbished the power wheelchair.
Our own Jim Reid was there too, and he led the meeting, offering clear instructions on how the chair works. Everyone listened intently. We even rehearsed how to get it onto the bus, which was right outside, on the street near our house. Jim suggested that Rachel has some proficiency with the chair, she is not ready for it 24/7, hence taking it to and from school. He figured that we MIGHT try next spring, toward April, MAYBE.
We also discovered that it’s NOT EASY to go backwards onto the lift system. Whoa…
After an exasperated 10 minutes, Daddy Jim finally got it onto the lift. Right about then, I had an idea, and I have to confess, a good one.
“Say, why don’t you just take that chair right into school now? She needs to learn how to use it at school anyway, right?”
(If we had kept the power chair, I would have had to hurry up and buy a ramp for my van to get it into my car….)
So, that day, the power chair became part of Rachel’s world at GMS.
In fact at the conference we just had, Ali mentioned how Rachel’s increasing her speed and accuracy in the chair, and if that’s not enough, the staff has already extended her daily time in it.
Jim and I are pleased with the conference, the power wheelchair meeting, and the daily reports from staff, teachers, and paras. It’s clear: Rachel is loved left and right. And Rachel is improving day and night.
And when we are “home at last,” together as a family, we try to keep it calm, cool, and collected. Chill too.
One of latest ways we knit ourselves closer together is through playing music, vinyl records to be exact. Over the last year, Jim has furnished our household with a stellar sound system, complete with the record player. We have hunted for good selections at Mill City Sound in downtown Hopkins.
Now get this: one particular band that Jim likes is Steely Dan. I’m sure you’ve heard some of their greatest hits, and if I said Aja, many of you might nod your head, saying, Oh yeah, that sounds familiar. Well, our Fighter has decided that Steely Dan is her favorite band. I’m not kidding.
We have played the music so much, she is starting to learn the lyrics, recognize the “sax-phone” as it rings out, and make requests for specific songs! Can you believe it? Who knew that vinyl records and a 70s band would rock Rachel’s world?
Over the last year, on music nights, Jim has told stories of a man named Gordon Hookailo, a friend he’s known since grade school. The two men grew close through the love of good music, recording bands, shooting video, all while living on the east coast.
It has been several years since the men connected, and one night, way back in April, after hearing yet another yarn of a tale, I decided I had to find this “dude.” Somehow, someway, for Jim’s 60th birthday, I had hoped that they could catch up.
Well, I found good ol’ Gordon, and he secretly sent me a DVD filled with pictures and video of a special time in 1980 in a place called Jaffrey, New Hampshire. We arranged a FaceTime call on September 16, the day before Jim’s birthday.
I hid in the dining room, hovering over my laptop. Gordon and I did a quick, quiet rehearsal with Face Time, establishing a connection. I carried out my laptop, walking very slowly toward Jim, who had NO CLUE what I was up to. Just before the big reveal, Jim winced a little and said, “What are you up to?”
I placed my computer on the table before him, and I said, “Say hello to your friend, Gordon!” Jim’s face lit up with surprise and joy, and the two men talked for nearly three hours. I heard such rich stories! They compared notes on moments, people, and times gone by. (Whoa Nellie, indeed!)
You see, Jim didn’t want a party for his 60th, or any birthday for that matter. (I did, but this is not about me, is it?) So this phone call that I delivered was just the ticket. Happy Birthday, Jim! I love you.
I have begun my 18th year of teaching. It doesn’t get more “Whoa Nellie!” than that! I’m having a good, solid semester, and the students are almost all pretty delightful. Recently, I wrote a blog post about holding a little boy in my arms in a college classroom. The words are few, but the pictures are something I’m very honored to share. I’m so incredibly lucky to be a teacher; I simply love what I do.
Rachel is still improving. I want to share a moment that happened this week. I was standing in my kitchen, clad in my apron, ready to tackle the dishes. Rachel was keeping me company, all while I emptied and filled the dishwasher. Such a mundane task is almost always better with a pal like Rachel, but the best thing that I’ve added is a bird feeder right outside my window. And thanks to the suggestion from some stellar ladies, Teresa and Paula, self-subscribed “bird nerds,” I filled my feeder with plain shelled sunflower seeds. So on that night, I motioned to Rachel and pointed out the window: “What do you see?”
“I see the birds!”
“Very good! What are they doing?”
“They are eating food!”
Just like that, Rachel effortlessly created responses that were complete sentences, not just a jumble of words. And she did it here at home, not just for Big Rachel, the speech therapist at school.
I was Whoa-Nellie-happy, man.
Aren’t you?
This is long enough. I’ll likely reach out close to Christmas. In the meantime, may your vinyl spin peace and joy, radiating light, warmth, and joy.
Steady at the wheel,
Melissa
A special welcome to Bella, her dad, Ian, and Gordon Hookailo!
Welcome to the BOH!