Thursday - Sunday

Thursday - It was pretty hard to keep Riley occupied until 4pm. This is what time we had arranged to meet Riley's teachers at Hickory Valley Christian School. I wasn't expecting it to affect me the way it did. As soon we pulled in the parking lot, I was a wreck. I just broke down because all I could think was, this just seems so unfair. All Riley wants is to be able to go to school with his friends and for things to be like they were, and this will probably never happen. Anyway, Mrs. Shepard, Riley's teacher in kindergarten last year met us at the van as I was getting Riley out and as soon as she walked up, Riley called her by name. We spent some time in the classroom and during that time, Riley called all of his teachers by name, Mrs. Aytes, Ms. Slaten and Kelly Nichols. He also talked about several of his classmates and some of the things he remembered doing at school. And I finally learned what a toodie tah means (which Riley sings a lot)! When we got home that night, Riley was already saying he wanted to go back to class.

Friday - We took a ride down to Dalton, GA to have lunch with Brandy in the mall Community Room. I thought getting out for a little while would help, but he constantly said, "I want to go to class" the whole time we were there. Pulling in the mall parking lot, Riley decided he would take off his seat belt and stand up. This is definitely a downfall of not having another person to ride with us when we go anywhere. After leaving Dalton, I had decided I would ride him by the school again to see if it would satisfy him. I was going to take Riley in the chapel but it was locked, so we walked down to the gym instead. When the office manager, Sharon, saw us, of course she exclaimed, "Riley!" Some of the students on the second floor of the gym heard her and I heard people start saying, "It is Riley!" I started to panic since Riley can't be around other kids, so we went in to the school office. Sharon asked if it would be okay to call the 1st grade teachers to bring their classes down so they could see Riley from the office. We stayed in the office and raised the blinds so the kids could come down and see Riley through the window. It was so sweet. I think he could hear the kids, even if we wasn't able to see each and every one. Then, Kelly Nichols was kind enough to let us go in one of the K3 classrooms that only meets 2 days a week and was empty. Riley knew this was NOT his classroom and did not have the same reaction as the day before. He was not happy and we were never able to make him happy that day. He just kept saying he wanted to go back to class. Things were a little stressful that day, so you can imagine my excitement and surprise when I found out Brandy and I were going for massages that night! I thought we were going to the new grocery store, Earthfare, but it turns out, it wasn't even open yet and I had no idea! We had great massages while Joel stayed home with Riley and Brandy's sister, Rachel, who is an occupational therapist, and her friend and co-worker, Jessica, came over to work with Riley. It was a much better night than day!

Saturday - This is what we woke up to!


Unfortunately, it did not last long. Saturday was a great day. Riley had visitors, which he is always asking for! My sister, Diane, (named Raggedy Diane Coggins by Riley), and her husband got to Chattanooga around 2pm. This allowed Joel and I to run a few errands. Saturday afternoon, Ryan and Sidney Sinclair and their dad, Jimmy, came by to see Riley as well. Riley kept saying, "Sid, you're a teenager." Shannon was also coming in town Saturday night. Riley recognized all of his visitors and called them by name. He definitely is aware of who is around him.

We were scheduled to go to a holiday get together at my boss's (and friend) house Saturday night. Unfortunately, Riley was not feeling very well on Saturday and got sick several times. I mentioned to Joel that I didn't think I should go to the holiday party (Diane & Shannon were both planning to stay at the house with Riley), but Joel said for me and Shannon to go and he would stay. After Riley was getting ready for bed, we decided to go. It was so great to see all of my friends from work! Most I had not seen in 8 months. It was great to get out of the house for a little while.




Sunday - Riley had a good day yesterday. He was able to see that we started putting up the Christmas tree and began singing Oh Christmas Tree! He also played with Indy and enjoyed it for the first time. Riley and I had a great time watching Shannon work on the tree! He was in a great mood. He took a nap yesterday, which was bad for me last night. He was up eating different things until around midnight. Riley hardly eats breakfast or lunch anymore. Instead, we have to feed him through his G tube. However, by late afternoon, he has a big appetite. Unfortunately, he only wants a few bites of anything and then he has thought of something else he wants to try. Of course I am just happy he is eating, so I try and accommodate whatever it is he is wanting to eat. Probably not a good thing to start... Overall, it was a great weekend and we are still just thrilled to all be home and together!