We got a message from the teacher today saying that John had a good day, but tried to break the projector and purposely peed on the classroom floor! Is that a good day?? At least no seizures...
Friday, January 24, 2014
Sparrow Club fundraiser at LimeBerry
Last night, the kids from Battle Ground HS had their first fundraiser for their sparrow (which happens to be John!). It was held at a neat little yogurt shop in town called LimeBerry. The whole Mr. Battle Ground team (organizers & contestants) were there from 4pm - 8pm (during finals week!). We got there around 7pm and the place was PACKED. John just loves all of the attention he gets:
We had a great evening. Thanks again to Taylor, Maddie, Hannah, LimeBerry, and all of the Mr. Battle Ground guys (we'll get all your names right eventually!)
Friday, January 17, 2014
Sparrow Club
I've been wanted to post about this for awhile, but I waited to make sure it was actually going to happen first.
John got selected by Sparrow Clubs to be one of their sparrows! This is an amazing charity that teams up schools and kids in need. The kids in the school come up with various ways to fundraise and the money goes to the sparrow child.
As most readers of the blog probably know, John is ridiculously hyperactive. He desperately needs more outlets for his unlimited energy. But, with his mental capacity he can't do any organized sports or even individual activities like jogging or riding a bike. So, we have really struggled to find ways for him to get out and get active SAFELY. If you've been reading this blog then you know that I found a bike that I think would be perfect for him. This problem is that this bike is prohibitively expensive for our family.
This is where the Sparrow Club came in. They understood immediately our unique need and set us up to be adopted by the great kids at Battle Ground high school. The hope is that the kids can raise enough money to help us purchase that bike.
The experience so far has been nothing short of amazing. The representatives from the Sparrow Club have been great and the students at Battle Ground have been so friendly and helpful. It is quite humbling that they would do this for us.
Here is John's Sparrow Club page:
http://www.sparrowclubs.org/sparrows/john_hopper
And, check out this video that the Sparrow Clubs put together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNdSF_Vsnwo
Now for the fun part. Battle Ground High School has a competition each year where one of the senior men gets selected as "Mr. Battle Ground". The guys have to do dances, talents, etc. at an assembly and the build-up includes charity events such as car washes, yard work, and frozen yogurt night. They have incorporated this tradition at BG High with fundraising for the Sparrow Clubs. Awesome.
Yoshie, John, and I were fortunate enough to be able to go up to Battle Ground yesterday and meet Taylor (coordinator extraordinaire) and her planning team, as well as all of the Mr. BG contestants and many of their parents. And they were all able to see John (who was his typical rambunctious self) and hear a little of his story.
We are looking forward to going up many more times in the leadup to Mr. Battle Ground!
John got selected by Sparrow Clubs to be one of their sparrows! This is an amazing charity that teams up schools and kids in need. The kids in the school come up with various ways to fundraise and the money goes to the sparrow child.
As most readers of the blog probably know, John is ridiculously hyperactive. He desperately needs more outlets for his unlimited energy. But, with his mental capacity he can't do any organized sports or even individual activities like jogging or riding a bike. So, we have really struggled to find ways for him to get out and get active SAFELY. If you've been reading this blog then you know that I found a bike that I think would be perfect for him. This problem is that this bike is prohibitively expensive for our family.
This is where the Sparrow Club came in. They understood immediately our unique need and set us up to be adopted by the great kids at Battle Ground high school. The hope is that the kids can raise enough money to help us purchase that bike.
The experience so far has been nothing short of amazing. The representatives from the Sparrow Club have been great and the students at Battle Ground have been so friendly and helpful. It is quite humbling that they would do this for us.
Here is John's Sparrow Club page:
http://www.sparrowclubs.org/sparrows/john_hopper
And, check out this video that the Sparrow Clubs put together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNdSF_Vsnwo
Now for the fun part. Battle Ground High School has a competition each year where one of the senior men gets selected as "Mr. Battle Ground". The guys have to do dances, talents, etc. at an assembly and the build-up includes charity events such as car washes, yard work, and frozen yogurt night. They have incorporated this tradition at BG High with fundraising for the Sparrow Clubs. Awesome.
Yoshie, John, and I were fortunate enough to be able to go up to Battle Ground yesterday and meet Taylor (coordinator extraordinaire) and her planning team, as well as all of the Mr. BG contestants and many of their parents. And they were all able to see John (who was his typical rambunctious self) and hear a little of his story.
We are looking forward to going up many more times in the leadup to Mr. Battle Ground!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Bloody nose
It's just a typical bloody nose, but when Yoshie first saw him I think she got a little freaked out:
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
School
Since John started at his new school in September he has not had a single grand-mal seizure while in class, as most of his big seizures have been at night. That changed earlier this week when he had a 2 minute seizure during class. The teacher called me and he was OK with John sleeping it off at school. So, John slept for a few hours and woke up feeling pretty good again and was able to ride the bus home as usual.
Of course we hate for John to have any seizures, but it's kind of a good thing that the school gets to experience it. It's one thing to explain a seizure and talk about how to handle it, but it can still be a bit overwhelming until you are used to it. So, now that they went through it I think they will be more comfortable going forward. And, we are really happy that they handled it so well.
John continues to enjoy school for the most part. We don't have any more of those battles to get him on the bus like we used to.
We get occasional calls from the school when they have to use some sort of restraint with John. It's required by law to call us. But, it's kind of a joke. Of course you have to use restraint with John! That is just part of normal everyday life with a kid that can't communicate effectively. If he doesn't want to go inside, or decides he is going to go out in the hall there really isn't anything you can do to stop him from trying, outside of using physical restraint. That law certainly wasn't meant for kids like John.
Of course we hate for John to have any seizures, but it's kind of a good thing that the school gets to experience it. It's one thing to explain a seizure and talk about how to handle it, but it can still be a bit overwhelming until you are used to it. So, now that they went through it I think they will be more comfortable going forward. And, we are really happy that they handled it so well.
John continues to enjoy school for the most part. We don't have any more of those battles to get him on the bus like we used to.
We get occasional calls from the school when they have to use some sort of restraint with John. It's required by law to call us. But, it's kind of a joke. Of course you have to use restraint with John! That is just part of normal everyday life with a kid that can't communicate effectively. If he doesn't want to go inside, or decides he is going to go out in the hall there really isn't anything you can do to stop him from trying, outside of using physical restraint. That law certainly wasn't meant for kids like John.
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