Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign

It's tomorrow. And it's also every day. The R-Word website sums it up more perfectly than I can:

"The R-word is the word 'retard(ed)'. Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It’s offensive. It’s derogatory. The R-word is hate speech."

 

How "retardation" went from a clinical description to a word of derision

 

"When they were originally introduced, the terms 'mental retardation' or 'mentally retarded' were medical terms with a specifically clinical connotation; however, the pejorative forms, 'retard' and 'retarded' have been used widely in today’s society to degrade and insult people with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, when 'retard' and 'retarded' are used as synonyms for 'dumb' or 'stupid' by people without disabilities, it only reinforces painful stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities being less valued members of humanity."

Consider taking the pledge. I have.

Head Injury Update

My apologies for not updating Zane’s blog sooner. If there's one consistent thing in life, it's craziness.

Zane seems to be back to normal after his spill last week. We watched him closely over the weekend. His tiredness slowly subsided, so he likely will not need any more medical care such as a CT scan. He has a well-check with the pediatrician this afternoon. I’m sure we’ll discuss the incident, and she’ll give him a thorough examination.

Thank you so much for all the kindness, concern, good thoughts, and prayers for Zane. As always, they mean the world to us!

Head Injury and the ER

It’s been a rough end of week for Zane—and really for all of us. On Thursday, Zane wound up with a head injury from a fall at school. Right now we are light on the details. When I arrived to pick him up, I was more concerned for his well-being than about gathering all the information about the accident. Especially since I had been told he was crying for twenty minutes already. On the ride home, I called Jeff. We both thought it was best to consult with the pediatrician. The nurse asked if I could take him in right away. I drove straight from the school to the doctor’s office (40 minutes away). Though the pediatrician didn’t see any overt signs of trouble, she said there was a possibility of a brain bleed and to be on the look out for the following signs:

·         Extensive crying (which would indicate pain since he can’t use words to tell us how he feels)

·         Vomiting

·         Unusual sleepiness

Zane did well on Thursday night. He even smiled for the nurse while we were in the office. But Friday, he was not acting like himself. In the morning, when he normally has major doses of energy for exercise, Zane fell asleep in my arms (not at all typical for this five-year-old). When I jostled him after a half hour, he didn’t really want to wake up. Throughout the day, he took two more naps. I figured maybe he was tired from the trauma and excessive crying from the day before. I didn’t worry—too much.

Then around 6:30—after returning home from gymnastics with Justin—Jeff told me Zane slept the entire time we were gone. Jeff picked him up and held him while we watched a program, and Zane drifted off to sleep in his arms again. This is when we debated whether to call his doctor or not. Jeff called. So at 8:00 last night, Jeff and Zane made the trek into town to the emergency room. There was talk of doing a CT scan, but Zane needs to be sedated for one of those. His doctors don’t like to sedate him at the hospital in town because they don’t have a PICU in the event he codes. So after four hours at the ER, the two returned home with a watch-and-see order. Needless to say, we are all very tired. Zane slept until roughly 9:00 this morning. But likely this is from his late night out. Hopefully, all is well with him, and we won’t have to take any additional medical steps regarding his injury (such as going to Denver).