Leah and Nolan-August etc.

We’re going to take a side step from hospital/rehabilitation updates.  While all this was going on down here at Stanford, back home the kids had their own activities and adventures.

Knowing this year would be challenging for me to homeschool the kids on my own, Scott and I signed them up for a homeschool co-op that is held at our church every Tuesday.  Several of our homeschool friends attend this co-op, so we felt the kids would be more comfortable with people they knew.  The caveat was that a parent had to teach one class & help in one class.  My friends came up with a perfect class for Scott to teach and help in.  We attended the parent orientation on July 25 and met some of the parents of the co-op.

I got the phone call the next day that I was officially on the heart transplant waiting list at Stanford.  Several of the co-op friends stepped up an offered to teach the class for Scott whenever the “call” came, but we still planned on Scott to begin teaching on the first day which would be August 23, as well as attend the orientation meeting for the students to meet their teachers, which would be August 16th.  None of us expected for "the call" to come so soon after the long wait to actually get on the list!

I helped get a lesson plan together for the class for Scott and he was prepared to teach the class and help in another class.  He would then spend his Tuesdays at the church with his laptop the rest of the day to get work done, until the kids were finished with school.  They each would attend 6 classes from 8:30am-3:30pm.

Well as you know by now, after the “dry” run on August 7^th, the 2^nd call was a go and my transplant took place on August 12^th.   Which meant, my friends were put into service at the beginning of the school year to help teach Scott’s class. 

Chris and my mom took the kids home the Monday after the transplant and they stayed with Chris & Rene.  Chris took them to their school orientation on August 16^th.  This is a quote from one of my homeschool Mama’s about orientation day.  She left it on my FB page even though at this point I was still out of it: 

“Jill, Leah and Nolan had so much fun today. They did great and met lots of new kids. Leah hit it off with a sweet girl Lilly and Nolan played so much Laser Tag with the boys it was crazy. He went home a sweaty, stinky mess. They are ready for class on Tuesday. You did such a great job preparing them for this. Chris was so helpful. She's taking good care of them. I can't wait until you can see them having fun with their new friends.”

When I finally read this, it made my heart so happy as I was concerned how they would handle this change in schooling. 

On August 21^st, the kids rode down with Mema and Grandpa to visit mom in the hospital. That is the day they brought the cookies to “bribe” the nurses to let them see Mom in ICU.  The kids then went back to Sacramento to spend the evening with Aunt Joanne and family.  

On Monday August 22, they stayed the night with my homeschool Mama-Brandi and she took them to their first day of homeschool co-op on Tuesday, August 23. I  was so excited when she sent me pictures that she took of them on their first day of school, just like I have every year since Leah started Kindergarten! 

The following day the kids were taken ½ way to meet up with Mema and Grandpa again and spend some time with them at their timeshare in Windsor.  On their way home from Windsor, the kids and Chris & Ren came to have dinner with Scott and I in the hospital.  I was in the Step Down unit by this time and had my own room.  It was still a bit too much stimulation for me with all the chatting etc, but it was good to see the kids and Chris and Ren.  

Unfortunately, we hadn’t learned about this great food delivery system down here called “Doordash” where over 150 restaurants will deliver to your door. Scott left to get dinner and it took him 2 hours as it was a Friday night, so it was a long late night for me and I was exhausted. 

That is what the kids were doing while I was hanging in the hospital for the month of August. When they weren’t travelling to and from Stanford, the rest of the week they have homework assignments from the classes to be completed usually by the next class, with exception of special reports or projects.  It was a good fit for this year with all the unknown possibilities.

Scott and I are so grateful for my homeschool friends that stepped up to teach the class for Scott, and even more grateful for Mema and Grandpa.  Without a thought, they’ve become surrogate parents the last 13+ weeks that we’ve been living down here in the Bay Area, either at the hospital or in the Foster City condo.  Not only that but both have taken on the task of substitute teachers which is no small feat.  I don’t know how to repay all the hard work and generosity of the family members and friends who’ve made this “adventure” an easy transition for Leah and Nolan.  All we can say is Thank You so much and we pray only blessings on you for taking on roles that you probably never thought you’d have to do.  Our family has been saturated in blessings and provisions in so many ways and that includes Leah and Nolan!