Day +159

Posted on: 03/09/2014

Today Ava went back to school for the first time since early March. I have talked in this blog about many key milestones in her recovery, but this one seems the most significant by far. Ava is not yet six months post-transplant, yet here she is back in her school uniform and bursting with excitement at the thought of being reunited with her classmates. I have had very mixed feelings today - on one hand I was delighted for Ava (and by the prospect of a few uninterrupted hours to catch up on some paperwork), yet I was also very nervous about her ability to cope within the busy school environment. Thankfully this morning was fine and when I collected Ava at 1pm for her OT session, she was happily finishing some jelly and greeted me with a beaming smile. This afternoon I heard all about her charming new teacher Miss Poyer and also the lovely gap year student, Miss Hebe, who has been assigned to give Ava some 1:1 support. I'm not sure how Ava is going to fare academically this term, as she is still dealing with post-chemo effects, which have affected her short term memory, concentration and ability to process numbers. However, we are continuing to see improvements in these areas and we must remain positive that she will fully regain all of her abilities in due course. In the meantime, she seems healthy and is certainly happy, which is a good place to be and a great deal to be thankful for.