Sick, Sick, Sick..... & TIRED

What a week we've just gone through. I have a new appreciation for parents of chronically ill children. I don't know how they do it. On Monday Brie woke up feeling sick on her stomach. She didn't have a fever and since the school was in the middle of PSSA testing, I went ahead and sent her to school. I had a feeling she might not make it all day, but to my surprise, she did. By the time she got home she was running a fever and fading fast. That was her last "good" day. She has been in bed all week, except when I took her to the doctor and an emergency trip to BWI. I made her a bed in the car and she slept most of the time... fortunately the boy we were picking up was waiting at the drop off zone so we didn't even have to park. Her temp bounced between 101.4 and 102.8.... peaking over 103 the first night going into Tuesday, and again Wednesday going into Thursday, when she also had chills. It was NOT a good night! Her fever is finally down, but now she can't seem to shake the upset stomach. I've been giving her Emetrol but that isn't doing much either. She's not eating because every time she tries she thinks she's going to vomit, even though she hasn't once through all of this. I'm at my wits end. And yes, she did get a blessing. Without that I know it would have been much worse on her.

Now the second part of the stress induced week. As I mentioned, Brie was in the middle of PSSA testing. As part of the "No Child Left Behind" law, all students must be tested at certain times throughout their education. These past two weeks just happened to be our schools turn. Brie had completed half of hers when she got sick. I received a call from the school on Wednesday afternoon giving me three options on how to get her caught up. I could do these things on Thursday or Friday so the test would be finished by Friday.
1. Bring her to the school during school hours but staff would isolate her from the general population (kinda like prison) so she could test.
2. Bring her in after school so she could test.
3. Have the principal come to our home to administer the test.
Remember, this is a child who still has a high fever and is in bed. I have a note allowing her to return to school on Monday. Obviously none of these options were going to work. I was told she would get a "below basic" on her test besause the state considers incomplete answers as incorrect. I told them I didn't care because we all know she scores "advanced" and "proficient" on all her tests in school. The PSSA in no way has an impact on her day to day scores. It's only a measure of how she (and this school district) stacks up against the national average. SHE IS SICK!!!!! Even if she did test, there was a strong chance she'd score below basic because she's ill and hasn't eaten for three days. Imagine that.

I'm sorry to say, I finally caved. I gave in when the principal called me on Thursday. She was actually very nice and agreed that Brie was in no shape to test Thu. or Fri. She asked if I would feel comfortable allowing her to come to our home Sunday afternoon to test Brie then. I said yes. I know, can you believe it? Part of the reason is because Brie really did want to test. She has this weird thing about doing well... funny isn't it? She takes great pride in doing well and being at the top of her game. She has asked me about being tested for the gifted program. I have hesitated. I want her to enjoy school without undue pressure. Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, Brie is cool with testing tomorrow. I just can't believe how much this district puts pressure on us to do this. It seems terribly twisted that when a child is truly ill there is no consideration given. Makes you want to scream some days.