Friends With FOP

Posted by Karen This week I did something which I was a bit nervous about...  I talked to Miranda's kindergarten class about Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva.  Or, more to the point, I talked about what FOP means for Miranda in their classroom. To back up a step, various other parents of kids with FOP (and other special needs, for that matter) had recommended to me that I do two things - write a letter to classmates' parents about Miranda's FOP, and then sit down and have a chat with the kindergarten class.  The idea is that if you get the message out about ...

Posted by Karen This past week was, at looooong last, Miranda's first week of school... I took her up to the school, bright and early Monday morning.  She was really excited to finally begin, so was disappointed when it lasted only an hour that day.  Still, it was the first real taste of school!  Miranda has the same teachers as her brother Owen did, Mrs. H on Monday through Wednesday and Mrs. T on Thursday and Friday.  These are very experienced kindergarten teachers, so I knew she'd be in good hands.  She also has an educational aide, who seems like a capable person ...

Posted by Karen This was Miranda's last week before kindergarten begins in earnest.  She had 3.5 days with no school and no daycare, and even worse, brother Owen in school full time...  Luckily, my parents, Malcolm and Helen, had a week free from their usual responsibilities and drove out from Calgary to see us! "Baba" and "Grandpa Mal" arrived on Tuesday evening.  Miranda and Owen were DELIGHTED.  They always have a blast with their Munro grandparents, since they really know how to have fun with their grandkids.  We had just over 3 whole days with them.  Unfortunately, this wasn't technically vacation time for me, ...

Posted by Karen This is for Dawn A, who left a reply to one of my March 2010 blogs.  Dawn, I couldn't see your e-mail address, so can't reply to you directly, but hopefully you'll read this blog again.  I'd be happy to connect you to a whole bunch of people who have FOP.  Please send me an e-mail message at karenandpete@shaw.ca and we'll take it from there!

Posted by Karen Well, here we are...  STILL waiting for school to start.  It's true; Miranda has not yet begun kindergarten.  Our district seems to have the latest and most cautious beginning to kindergarten of anywhere in North America (at least it feels that way). Get this...  Kindergarten begins this coming Tuesday after Labour Day (for you Americans, yes we spell "labour" with a "u" in Canada, ;-) ).  It's only a half hour the first day.  That's OK, none of the older kids are there much longer than that either.  But, after that, there's no more school for kindergartners for the ...

posted by Suzanne I am officially STOKED over our upcoming trip.  In my mind we have jumped over all the hurdles that we had to deal with.  First were all the August birthdays.  Second, get the kids ready for the new school year.  Third, pay the mortgage.  Fourth, wait for the mortgage payment to clear.  Finally, enjoy Erin's "Wish Party." When we started Erin's Make A Wish (MAW) journey, Cherelle and Eun-Ju (the MAW volunteers) asked us to think of a place or restaurant to have Erin's going away "Wish Party."  We were running out of time and I was out of ...

We did it!  We made it through the first day of school and kindergarten for Erin.  Erin is fortunate to have a great group of teachers and specialists that put together a safety plan in order for her to participate in all-day kindergarten. Alan and I had two meetings with the school to make preparations for this school year.  From bathroom issues, types of seating in the classroom/cafeteria/assemblies, playground safety, and stairs...we covered everything in those two meetings.  My anxiety was high throughout the preparation period and especially the day before school went back into session; however the first day ...