Saturday, February 5, 2022

 Saturday, February 5, 2022

 

    As I walked this morning, I had metatarsal pain in my left foot. The ankle was slightly swollen, but that caused no pain.

   The Internet was down. I quit Spectrum to go with a private company that offered a stronger internet connection. Now it was down. I contacted the guy who set this system up. He said he was working on it. It should be another twenty minutes. That was at 9 am. I had a stable connection again around noon. I had to miss my 9 am appointment with the M &W sisters. There was a chance of doing it later, but that didn't work out. At noon the family went to the beach.

    I take it badly these days when I think I've made a mistake. I haven't done that in years. I may have regretted a decision, but I didn't sear myself with hot coals. That's what it feels like these days. 

   I spent the morning doing some housekeeping and working on the updates and blogs. I also spoke to my hanai sister, Jean. She was in terrible pain from sciatica. She is scheduled for a back operation on the 7th. The doctor refused to give her enough codeine to last until the surgery. I've heard two reasons for this. Of course, they are afraid of creating an addict. I doubt this in Jean's case. Her drug of choice has always been working. She has no chemical addictions. I'm more vulnerable than she is. I'm addicted to Hersey's Milk chocolate kisses with whole almonds. 

   The second explanation is that if she takes it now, it won't be effective after the surgery. Apparently, she can anticipate being in pain for at least ten days afterward. I hope that will be the end of her pain. I've heard stories of failed back surgery; it's a term. 

    I recommended she try a massage therapist to help tide her over. A while back, I suggested using a tennis ball to relieve the spasms in the past. I don't know why I haven't thought of a massage therapist. However, she rejected the tennis ball suggestion outright. She's a lot like Mike in this regard; he opposed any procedure that his doctor hadn't recommended. Doctors see the value of massage. However, they don't recommend it because it's not a service they provide, and they expect everyone to know its benefits. 

    Jean announced her friend Bonnie had lung cancer. It was diagnosed two days ago. She will be operated on at the same time as Jean. Jean has had to wait 3 months. I pointed out that Bonnie's problem was lethal. I had no idea how deadly until later in the day. In a conversation with another friend, I learned lung cancer is particularly dangerous because it metastasizes quickly. While Jean may sometimes think of killing herself, the pain is so bad she won't die of sciatica.

   I had a long talk with Judy about whatever. We can talk forever, and then I still think of things I forgot to say when we hang up.

   Isaac texted to ask how I was at the exact moment I was thinking of texting him. I was worried about him. I wanted to check I was okay. He said he had contact with people his own age today. He spent some time with some through church and later made new friends. He saw a group of young people playing a game, something like volleyball. He walked up and asked if he could join. They were the perfect people for him. They are students at the University of Nations, an unaccredited Christian college dedicated to volunteer work worldwide, Youth with a Mission, YWAM. Isaac was able to talk about religion with them. He finally had contact with people with a similar background. I could hear the relief in his voice. He said they were hot; he doesn't see himself that way. He had their contact information but was concerned it might not work out. This is the first time he's connected with people from the same cultural milieu. His relief was palatable. He's a youngster away from his own people for the first time in his life and completely alone. I gave him ways to connect with people from UofN if these new friends didn't contact him. He could visit the campus for other purposes and run into people that way.  

      Adolescent D's mother called with tons of good news about him and lots of praise for me. Remember, I had thought my contribution wouldn't be recognized. It has been ignored in other circumstances. I have often busted my rump to accomplish something with a student to have it dismissed as maturation or credited to someone else. It was not happening in this situation, at least with his parents.

   But first to what D accomplished: 1) He prepared a presentation for his class independently. He probably dictated his presentation into his phone; 2) he coordinated it with slides; 3) he read what he wrote to his mother; 4) he asked his mother for help (she recommended they print out his speech rather than read it off his phone), 5) while she was editing it, he asked her to make bold headlines because he could get lost easily. 6) He read the speech with relative ease after his mother edited it. 7) he made the presentation to his class. This is probably the first time he has read anything before other students in his life. Each one of these steps is amazing in itself. Altogether, we're talking about a significant miracle.

    The second part of what I learned is good for me but not for the other tutor. His mom said she didn't think the tutor hired by the school system had a clue how to teach. She did some evaluation, having him read the Fry Sight Word List. D made it through the third list. This would be one grade level higher than he tested in the summer. They had him at a second-grade reading level, but without being able to discern the difference between her and here or recognize the word they. They also said he had no decoding skills, and he had auditory processing problems. I wish I knew why the other tutor stopped with the third list.

   D's mom tried to cancel D's Wednesday class with the other tutor so they could work on his presentation. The tutor said she would work on it with him. Her proposal was that she would mute herself, and she could listen to his presentation. It sounds like she assumed he would have it all together and just need to practice. His mom knew better. She had to help him with the writing. 

    I told D's mom I saw a significant boost in his energy and confidence the day after the new tutor started working with him. I asked how old she was. As I thought, twenty-five. She is in the fertile female category. The combination of a fifteen-year-old boy and a young female teacher. Need I say more? Mom said the woman does some light flirting with him. This is harmless since it's all on Zoom. She had FBI clearance. No worries. In the meantime, she has him practice reading and boosting his testosterone. Great! This is wonderful. If she serves no other purpose, this is good.

  D's mother is clear that I was probably the only person on the planet who could have helped her son with my BrainManagementSkills. She recognizes the uniqueness of what I have to offer and how successful I have been.  

    I called Judy to tell her she was right about why the tutor never got back to me. I complained that I had sent her detailed notes and asked her to tell me what she was doing. Judy said she wasn't contacting me because she didn't have a clue on how to work with D. I wailed, "She's trained." Judy said that meant nothing. Judy was right. The tutor has a degree in special ed. That guarantees she knows nothing about teaching. The special ed degree focuses on legalities, testing, and documentation rather than teaching. 

    Tonight, it was a bagel and lox night. I didn't enjoy it as much as I had. The lox tasted too salty and made me slightly nauseous. I'd been eating half a bagel every other night to ensure I used the cream cheese before it went bad. I finished the container last night. I can take a break now.

    I watched Queens of Mystery. It's a light, vacuous show. Not very satisfying, but not disturbing either. I have enough nightmares of my own. I don't need TV shows introducing new disturbing thoughts, especially right before I go to bed.