It's Officially Summer Break

Today was Raquel's last day of school. Tomorrow, technically the last day, is a minimum day so she would only be there for a little over an hour. And since the past two days weren't the best, we felt today should be it. It was hard saying good-bye to her teacher Jeff and Nurse Janice. I thanked them for everything they've done for Raquel, and for the encouragement they have given me. I still hear them saying, "Bye, Raqi!" and not knowing whether or not she'll be back with them again next year. They always told me that she was the highlight of their day.

As I drove away, a really sick and alone feeling hit me - kind of like what happened when her in-home therapy ended. I got so used to having everyone in the house on a daily basis, and once that was gone, it was just me dealing with Raquel's needs the best I could. And sometimes alone can be a really scary place.

So on to the summer months ahead and what I need to accomplish during this time off:

• Getting Raquel re-evaluated by another school district to see where the more appropriate classes for her are located.
• Getting speech and occupational therapy started ASAP - whether in-home or in another setting.
• Researching LKS in depth. This is such a rare disorder - with only 160 cases being reported from 1957 - 1990. More posts on this to come...
• Finding a way to educate families going through the same thing - to give them encouragement and tell them not to give up and to make sure they give their child a voice. Somehow, I need to do this in order to make Raquel's voice heard loud and clear. People need to understand that they can make the system work with a lot of effort.
• Oh, yeah! And go to the beach, the mall, do picnics, play ball - and have some much needed down time!!! :-)

Happy Summer Break, everyone!