When Misty and I got to the school, Ricky was fine. He was hanging out outside of the classroom with his teacher. She told me about what had happened. It sounded really weird. There was no precipitating event, nothing that made him mad as happens usually. He walked around the classroom scribbling on other kids' desks and acting like he was going to stab them with his pencil. A couple of kids got very scared and one had to be picked up and taken home because he was pretty freaked out. Ricky proceeded to go into the back room (where the kids meet with the counselor) and continue to write on things, like the white board -- and even his teacher when she tried to intervene! Yes, he tried to write on his teacher! He tried to put a key into the microwave and cook it. He tried to jimmy the lock to the counselor's office door. And all the while he was apparently speaking in a high-pitched monotone to himself. Not communicating with anyone else.
I asked the teacher if it "felt" like a manic episode to her. She said yes, perhaps it was. She told me he was going to have to be suspended because he had hurt people. Ricky got really upset, because tomorrow is the day that they give out the prizes for the magazine drive. I told her that I agreed that he should be suspended. Eventually the teacher, feeling sorry for him because he had worked so hard to sell all of those magazine subscriptions, and also not wanting me to miss work, said he could come to school but for tomorrow and Friday he is on in-house suspension... He will be walked to and from his mainstream classes and he will not get any computer time or extra privileges. And he will get his prizes. I thought she was being VERY generous given the situation!
Getting into the van to leave, Ricky told me he was ashamed of what he'd done, and I told him that he should be. It was good to hear him say that though. So many times he does not take responsibility at all.
Later, while Ricky was in his group therapy, I got a call back from the psychiatrist, whom I'd had paged right after Ricky and I had left the school. He seemed alarmed and confused by the incident. He wants the teacher to write out a narrative of what happened and for me to blog/journal/whatever so we keep close track of these things. And if they keep happening then we have a record of them.
Ricky and I also saw his therapist together today and talked about it. He asked the hard questions like why he'd done those things, and Ricky had no answers. He remembered doing most of them (still claimed he hadn't tried to poke anyone with his pencil) but didn't know why.
Frustrating.
Got Ricky out of his group early, by 6. I took the three kids through the Jack in the Box drive through for dinner and then to downtown San Jose for Ricky's Social Security medical exam.
I filled out several pages of paperwork. The question that really cracked me up was the one where I was supposed to name off all of his hospitalizations. He has been in the hospital around a dozen times. I guessed at the dates. I think I got it pretty close. I do remember when he has had all of his surgeries, at least. Those I was able to list just fine.
The exam went better than I expected. The doctor was actually a pediatrician with knowledge of CF and he had good rapport with Ricky. Ricky showed him all of his scars and his port and the doctor looked in his nose and ears and mouth and listened to his lungs. He reported that Ricky's lungs sounded like those of someone with lung disease. ;) Glad he cleared that up!!
I had brought Ricky's portable compressor and neb meds with us, so he did his treatments on the way home. Got everyone to bed and now... It's time for me to do the same.
(Oh and... The picture on this entry is Ricky wearing the Disney Year of a Million Dreams ears that I apparently won in a sweepstakes. I have entered this one dozens of times and this is the first prize I have won! I took pictures of each of us wearing the ears for our Daily Mugshots. Also, day before yesterday Ricky got a $5 gift certificate for Six Flags in the mail that he won. The grand prize was a party for 100 people at Six Flags. The $5 gift certificate? I'll probably sell it on CraigsList or something. Not paying admission just to be able to use it!)
More ears...
(Andrew's not really sad, just being silly)
(And PS I still think it's cool that Ricky's psychiatrist suggested I blog something...!)
1 comment:
Love your family pictures...especially the one of Ricky's mugshots flying through the frames.
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