Isn't this kid just stinking ADORABLE?!?! OF course he is :-)
For those who don't know us, this is Monster. He has several life threatening food allergies, the most severe being dairy & red dyes.
Monster is almost 3, and eligible for preschool this fall. Sending my other children was never the internal battle for me that sending him is.
Preschool is potentially a death trap for him. I fail at keeping him safe from things & that is my priority in this season of life, how in the heck am I supposed to just let him walk away from me, into a school building where his triggers are heavily abound?! How am I supposed to trust that they will take as good of care for him as I do (especially knowing how imperfect I am at it!!)??
We live in a super small town. My husband graduated from school here....a graduating class of 16 people (I may be off 1 on that count). Small little rural town. Severe food allergies haven't been thru this school yet.
I made a surprise visit to talk to the nurse & principal earlier this school year & obviously caught the principal off guard when his only response was "there's lots of dairy in this building." I was so distraught by his reply to my concerns.
My dear husband, tho, is my rock. He had me set up a meeting with the principal after preschool screenings so he could handle the situation. We went in a couple of weeks ago and had a much much better outcome!
This school is going all out to take care of my baby. No more homemade treats for the classroom, school will provide all snacks & they will be entirely based on Monster's restrictions.
The preK room in the school is on the opposite end of the building than cafeteria/gym. (did I mention small school?! We don't even have a separate gymnasium at this building!) All snacks (Monster-safe) will be served in the classroom & rainy/winter recess days will stay in the classroom as well. The entire staff will go thru a training about his epi-pen & inhalers (asthma too) before the school year starts. Janitorial staff will be clued in on being extra cautious to clean up the preschool areas.
The nurse & teachers & administration already have M's medical plans from the allergist & are becoming familiar with what to watch for.
I feel a huge amount of relief after meeting with the principal & nurse again. I have had to make a few calls & I am always able to get directly thru to them, and when I pop into the office to drop stuff off, the principal now knows my voice & comes out to get the stuff directly so it doesn't get lost. Lol, It's a little funny at the extra attention, but I'm so grateful they are taking it so seriously.
I know that M is still reacting to random things & I know that this will be a learning experience for the school. I don't expect perfection, quite honestly I expect a couple of epi pen uses and 911 calls in the first week BUT I do feel like they care & will do everything they can to put his needs into the priority of focus while still tending to the other children equally.
We are only half a block from the school, really it's just out my backyard. Given that anything does happen, I can be there before the ambulance. :-)
So the plan for now, is just to relax until later this summer. We'll do an official 504 plan that lays out his medical needs & the steps to take, but at this point for me that's just paperwork, everything is already being put into practice.
I wish this process was easy for everyone. I hear & read about so many fights the parents have to make for children with 504 plans and it really breaks my heart that it's so hard to make schools safe for everyone.
P.S. Have an extra $1??? Donate to Help us with research & education thru the FARE network. They have created EXCELLENT resources for parents & schools & daycares. Here's Mason's link:
Mason's Miles - FAREwell to allergy walk & fundraiser
