There have been a ton of things going on for our little man lately…many fundraisers and amazing people in our life taking the time out of their life and away from their own families.
In January our good friend from high school, Derek McQuinn, professional wrestler and owner of Team Fitness, approached me about a wrestling fundraiser he wanted to put together. It was so much fun and Bo was able to attend the last part of it. Seeing him in the ring during the main event was truly priceless. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. I can’t thank him enough for his time and effort on the event. He handled everything. It was amazing, he is amazing and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts.
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Currently, our life long friend Rodney, who is a big time hunter is doing an online Redneck Raffle for some amazing prizes. He is busting his butt to get the word out about Bo. He is unbelievable. It’s amazing to me, our support system. I always worry people will get tired of hearing about Bo, about his day to day struggle. His day to day struggle is real, so real I know people have a hard time understanding our struggles.
Here is an example. Last week for Valentines day, Brookie and I were making stuff for her class. Bo wanted to help so, I of course, let him. He asked me if he got to go to Brookie’s party. I had to tell him, “I am so sorry honey but you can’t go.” He didn’t want to help any more. Friday morning as I was getting Brookie ready he said, “I just want to go to a party.” I was heart broken, for him, for me…then I just got angry. It’s so unfair for him. It just isn’t right for my 5 year old to have to struggle everyday with his health and now he is sad because he can’t go to a party. I hate it.
So here is one of the many reasons we’re doing all of these fundraisers. Obviously theses fundraisers help with our medical expenses, but for over a year now I have been researching a diabetic alert dog, which will benefit Bo in many ways.
He will have a companion, a constant furry friend who is always with him. The dog will go every where Bo goes – to the doctor, the hospital, to get IVIG, to get blood, to the movies. Any and everywhere Bo goes, this dog will go. And it’s not like he really gets to go anywhere, which is why this is so important. He needs a friend!!!
Another benefit is that this dog will be trained to night alert, most diabetics die in there sleep, they get too low and just never wake up, which is why I check his blood sugar at multiple times a night for my peace of mind. This dog will be trained to ring a bell at night that will ring in our room, so if he is low or high the dog will sense that. It really is amazing. It will not change the fact that I will still check him. I have done it for 4 years now and I don’t think my mind could ever actually sleep through the night, simply because it’s all I know. This could be life changing for Bo. He isn’t your typical 5 year old. He misses out on everything and it’s terrible as a parent to have to deal with the heartbreak that comes from that.
That brings us to kindergarten. Brookie will be starting kindergarten in the fall, but Bo will not. As a mom this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. For the sake of his health I know I am making the right decision, but socially it sucks. I can’t even explain it to him yet because he won’t understand. I never thought in a million years the day I brought Bo and Brooklynn home, I would ever have to make a decision whether or not one of my twins could attend kindergarten. That’s not how it’s supposed to happen. IT TRULY BREAKS MY HEART. The Shawnee Mission School District has been great about working with us but it’s still really hard.
I honestly try not to be a downer all the time. I think for the most part I do pretty good, but believe me if everyone knew exactly what our day consisted of you would be exhausted just reading it, let alone living it. Divide and conquer is all we know as a family.
I almost forgot…to all of our amazing friends who brought Bo valentines, ALL of the amazing teachers at Roesland, who’s entire classes made him valentines – thank you so very much. It was truly amazing!!
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Elaine Miner - When Brooke starts kindergarten, can the district start a FaceTime session so that he can interact with the other kids? It might help if he can at least join in on some of the activitities even if it is on screen. It might not quite be the same but it might help him not feel so isolated while keeping him safe. He could share some friends and meet some of the same kids. You might ask the district if that is available.