A letter to Aila's preschool teachers

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Hi Edna,

We are excited to see you tomorrow morning!  Brian and I will be bringing Aila to Lil' Learners together.  She is very excited to join "her friends" at "Zander's school."  We are excited that she gets to try something normal two mornings a week.

I'll bring along an "Aila Emergency Sheet" that I've made.  I'll leave a copy with you, and there will also always be one in her backpack.  On it are all contact information.  I'll stay in touch as time goes on, of course, but I just wanted to mention a few things up front that I imagine could come up:

1.  Aila is on a strict fever protocol.  If she has a fever, we must take her immediately to the ER.  If you or any of your staff notice that she is looking peaked, please call me or Brian IMMEDIATELY.

2.  If Aila falls and bleeds, please call us IMMEDIATELY.

3.  Aila's chemotherapy makes it very difficult for her to control her bowel.  If she does have a bowel movement during school, feel free to contact Priscilla to come and change her.  Please make sure that she is not meant to feel badly about pooping at school. 

4.  Every three weeks, Aila spends one week on a high-dose steroid.  This medication tends to make her VERY hungry and sometimes very ornery and more or less crazy.  We will do our best to assess on those weeks whether she can handle school.  If she cannot, we will keep her home.  However, if she has an uncharacteristic emotional outburst at school, this may be because of her medication.

5.  Every three weeks, she spends Tuesdays at the infusion clinic at UCSF in San Francisco.  We are going to try our best to get as many of these appointments scheduled in the afternoon, so that it will not interfere with school.  But she may miss school these days.

6.  She is likely to miss a good amount of school.  We'll see, but that's what we are currently thinking.  We will do our best to let you know on days that she is unable to attend.

7.  A side effect of Aila's treatment is that she is always immunocompromised, which means she is very susceptible to germs and bacteria.  We would like to limit as much as possible Aila's contact to any children who are very sick since when Aila gets very sick, it can quickly become a matter of life and death. Would you be able to let us know if you hear of any sickness in the classroom or school at large that seems concerning?  We can keep her home during those times.  Of particular concern, for example, is chicken pox.  None of our kids is vaccinated (because of her chemotherapy protocol) against chicken pox, but if infected, it is very dangerous for Aila.

We so appreciate the opportunity for Aila to attend Lil' Learner's this year!  We are looking forward to seeing you in the morning!

Victoria Cosgrove and Brian Overstreet

Comments

Angela Tana 8 years, 2 months ago

Oh Vicky! How nervous you must be sending her off to school. I'm glad to hear she's getting to this point in her treatment. Let's pray this year is a healthy one for all.

Wishing little Aila a wonderful experience at preschool!

Angie

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