Monday – my birthday

I enjoyed some time out with a friend who I haven’t seen in ages and enjoyed brunch at a super cool bakery. As the whole fam likes bread we found this amazing Turkish flatbread to bring home to snack on. Later in the evening, for dinner, we enjoyed some Sri Lankan food that my family bought us as a birthday surprise from my Uncles shop in the east of Melbourne – Curry and Chips. To chill out we watched some crap Aussie romance film on Stan. A very low key birthday but very special in to be with people I love!

Tuesday – out and about with my son for PST conferences

So good to hear that my son is doing so well with his art course at his new school. He has blossomed as a young adult and his artwork is incredible! He is so excited to draw and learn and improve his illustration skills. I really can see that when the education environment fits the student there is no stopping them. For H, we had a conversation about planning for home education and that is the way we will go until the end of the year as she really needs to get her strength back and get back into learning her own way. She said that she is looking forward to learning interesting things at home. We have a maths tutor in place to get her foundational skills happening and build up her confidence again. The rest of the subjects will be an online curriculum called EUKA which speaks to me as a teacher, I love it! Student-led learning is a great way to go but for now, this is a structured curriculum aligning with the Vic curriculum so if we decide to go back she will feel good about it. The good thing about home school is that you don’t even have to align to curriculum and you can follow your child’s interests to hit key learning areas. For now, as she has experienced a lot of trauma she can see what’s out there and who knows interest might grow in something she reads about.

Wednesday – clinic appointment

Today was a busy day in the clinic checking out the healing taking place on all the grafts on the face and arm. Some areas like the upper arm are healing really well and that is what the specialists are aiming for. The massive skin graft on the right arm is slowly getting there with silicone and a pressure garment and the left hand is improving as well. Patience is key for healing the skin. H is doing well with the donor spots on her legs and no infection – thank goodness and the scar from the burn is healing there too. So she has a bandage that can get wet which means that she can have a full shower at home for the first time in 3 weeks! The neck collar still has to be worn due to keeping the neck skin stretched as it heals.

As it turned out we had a second appointment at the hospital this afternoon that we did not find out about until we were at the hospital! It was 3 hours away at the time so we just came home had lunch and I enjoyed a cup of tea to relax and keep myself fully protected from any negative energy. The meditation I did last night with white light really helped me today as there is so much pain and heartache at the hospital. Anyway, the second appointment was for H’s clear facemask which is 3D printed. This is where I see technology shine! The 3D imaging from the first clinic visit was transformed into a mask that flattens the grafts on her face. She is really happy with it. They also had another one that was created in “old school style” of plaster of Paris on the face under general anaesthetic which did not fit so well at all. We agreed to share the research on the differences between the technology of old and new so our appointment ended in a photographic studio with H getting her picture taken so doctors can see how incredible this new technology is! H is pretty excited about this mask as I could hear it in her voice when she said I won’t look like a bank robber anymore!

Well, that is it for me today, I will eat and tonight I will float away. Goodnight!

Thursday – the decision to homeschool

As we were debating about what to do with the rest of the year and H’s healing we decided to homeschool. This was due to many factors and the number one was self-paced learning in a consistent manner. H has so much to do with her physio exercises, eating properly and taking meds throughout the day that it would be a very disjointed time for her to manage in a structured mainstream curriculum. We all felt – H included, that it was best to stay home and heal and fulfil the social duties with her friends by going to the park or meeting after school/weekends. We went to the school this afternoon and informed the staff of our application to the VRQA and once we have the OK we will gather the exit paperwork required from her high school. After our meeting H met her friends and went down to 7 Eleven for a Slurpee with her friends and hung out. So there you go, socialising with peers – done!

Friday – A professional development (PD) day with my work

It was my first time seeing my work friends since we finished work end of last year as I have not gone back at all due to H’s accident. My managers have been incredibly supportive of what we have been going through. We had a wonderful PD session with the Groupwork Centre and here is a beautiful metaphor to share that you always need your “wise one” in charge when dealing with difficult emotions and/or people. The circles consist of micro skills to apply when working within challenging situations. The day ended with a beautiful meditation by one of the staff from another kindergarten she shared cards with us to meditate on and mine was “Powerful”, I need to harness that energy to get through the rest of the year. Thank goodness my exercise practice of body combat is helping me get there.

Saturday – Hamilton matinee

It is amazing and the Australian cast did a wonderful job. This is my second time seeing this show live, my first time was in San Francisco. This old theatre needs a bit of love and a renovation as I felt a bit too close for comfort with my neighbouring seats! Especially in the times of Covid I put my little bubble of protection around me and enjoyed the show.

Sunday – relaxing at last

It was time to do some study and catch up on homeschool prep for the week. H was building a house in Minecraft which is pretty cool! There’s a little bit of organisation to do but as I have experience as a teacher, it is all a matter of gathering the resources you need and discussing with H how the week will look with English and Maths at the beginning of the day and then other fun subjects in the arvo. Homeschool is pretty flexible, so we are all thankful for that! One less stress is always a good thing!!