Good Medicine

It's amazing how great minds think alike - I picked up my mail today, and there was a letter from my good friend, Susan. She included an article from the Washington Post that featured the different types of ramen you can get in Tokyo!! Go figure that IPPUDO was mentioned in the article! So, really friends, you must try those noodles. I'd prefer it if you came to visit me here for them, but they'll be just as good in New York.

So back to our other adventures. A great source of stress for me in raising these two boys has been their education. David obviously has his legitimate medical and behavior challenges. Since the age of 3, Chris however, has also been having his own set of behavior challenges. Granted, our lifestyle and recent familial upheavals have not contributed positively to their own biological challenges. Psychologists, doctors, therapists, teachers, etc. for both children have intervened and tried to help us get through these challenging phases. My goal has always been to raise boys who will be independent thinkers and contribute positively to society. Pretty simplistic in concept, pretty stinkin hard in reality. I implied in an earlier blog that both boys were attending the same school. That was not always the plan. One school in Tokyo would accept David with his academic and physical limitations, so I always knew he would attend this certain school. I was reluctant to also admit Chris to this same school, because I believed he would get a better academic education at say the American School in Japan, Montessori International, or the British School in Japan, even. Well, while that may still be true, the problem is that none of those schools would accept Christopher based on his disruptive and unattentive behavior. So, the day before school was to start, Chris was rejected from our "back up school", and my only other option was to place him in the same school as David. That's the background.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining. The smaller classroom sizes, and the ability of the staff to work with special kids also provides an opportunity for them to focus in on and correct Chris's weaknesses while nurturing and building on his strengths. Chris came home the first day relatively happy and in a good mood.

David, on the other hand, came home complaining of torture. He said the school was "stupid", "horrible", "terrible", and he didn't want to go back under any circumstances. He got on the bus the next day under considerable duress, trying to do anything BUT get on the bus, and while on the bus, he had to be physically restrained by the aide. Not a good feeling. I went to the school at the owners' request to observe the training that he was undergoing. The owner and developer of the school is a woman who had two children of her own with cerebral palsy. I got to meet her oldest son who is 13-yrs old and completely independent. He walks tall, and speaks Japanese, English, and Chinese. He is the sweetest young man, and I believe just 6 years ago, he was wheel-chair bound, and barely functioning. This woman travelled around the world to find appropriate therapies to help her child. Came back empty-handed, and started her own "training" based on everything that she had learned from everyone else. They have David in what is to him very intensive physical therapies. They've quickly identified and pinpointed his physical weaknesses. And as the brain, posture, and body are all interrelated, they are working to help center and balance him. One of the exercises he performs brought me to tears with empathy for how hard he was working. It was a simple exercise of having his body completely centered by the therapist - arms behind his back, on his knees, shoulders centered and straight, and David had to move his head from back to front - only using his neck muscles. For a kid with a noggin the size of David's, this is no small feat. He did 10 repetitions, and the last 3 WERE like absolute torture. He was struggling so much, and giving all of his best effort. I know it sounds simplistic, but I just couldn't bear seeing him struggle physically so much. But you know, it all makes sense, and I've seen an improvement in behavior and strength in just three days. So have they - he even slept for 10 hours the other night - something he's only ever done when he's been sick!

So, I've got to put my overprotective mom fears aside. They are loving, yet firm. The next day, when David was talking to his dad, he said, "Hey Dad, guess what? School is great!" I still get a few grumblings about not wanting to go to school on Monday, but those will soon subside, and I fully believe that this is where God wants us all to be - David, Chris, and I. Kind of a heavy blog, kind of a heavy topic. Thanks for hanging in!

Stay tuned for some more light hearted blogging. Joe has found info on speed dating in Tokyo for those 30 and over. He says he'll babysit the boys so that I can take part in that experience! whoo hoo, I can only imagine...

Ja Mata...