Warrior Mom by JJ Virgin

Author:JJ Virgin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2017-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

9

You Can’t Course-Correct Standing Still

Only a few weeks after he came home full-time, Grant decided that he wanted to go back to school. I knew he was lonely and bored at home, but for once I was the one saying, “He’s not ready.” Grant was doing great physically, but cognitively he still had a long way to go. He still got overstimulated just hanging out with Bryce and his friends. How would he make it through the day at the busy, hectic high school?

I had my doubts, but once again it was clear that whatever would make Grant happy was the best thing for him. It made sense that he wanted to go to school—that’s where sixteen-year-old boys were during the day. Without being there, Grant was completely isolated. Marcey had told John and me many times that Grant would benefit from a regular structure and routine, but with no school to go to, this was difficult to accomplish. Maybe having a reason to get up in the morning and get out the door would be good for him even if it was challenging. Maybe a new challenge would help make him stronger.

John and I set up a meeting at Grant’s old high school. Grant wanted to go back to his original classes and continue his junior year, but we all knew this was impossible. There was no way he’d be able to keep up. When the principal suggested that Grant join the special education class, I initially bristled at the idea. Most of the kids in that class were on the autism spectrum. Some others were physically disabled. Grant was neither, but there was no other option. He didn’t fit in anywhere.

On Grant’s first day back at school, I braced myself for what I assumed was the inevitable—an outburst that would get Grant kicked out of school. This was a familiar feeling. When Grant was younger, I spent many school days nervously staring at my phone, waiting for a call from his teacher saying that Grant had an outburst and needed to be taken home. This time I spent most of the day on the phone doing question-and-answer sessions with followers of the Virgin Diet, and I was shocked when my personal line didn’t ring all day. Grant came home right on time, smiling proudly, and I was amazed.

Grant continued to do well for his first few weeks back at school. Marcey had been right about the structure. Grant got himself up and out the door to school more enthusiastically than he ever had before the accident. He quickly became the unofficial teacher’s helper in his class. By then he was functioning at a higher level than most of the other kids in the class, and playing the role of helper gave him a huge boost in confidence.

After school one day, I took Grant to see Dr. Daniel Amen to get a SPECT scan of his brain. A SPECT scan is a nuclear imaging test that shows how certain organs are functioning.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.