He is doing absolutely wonderful in school. I am reminded each and every day just how much of a blessing Pre-K has been to him. He is able to socialize with others his age and loves each of his classmates. He is still working with his "team" on a daily basis, working to learn how to chew and control food with his tongue and getting over his immense fear of food and eating.
A few months ago, back toward the beginning of the school year, Eli's class took their very first field trip! Even though it was an exciting thing, it was also an anxiety-provoking event. For a kid with EE, even every-day tasks take a great deal of planning. A field trip, especially to the Corn Maize..... took a LOT of extra planning and work. Multiple phone calls between myself and school personnel, meeting with his school nurse and phone calls to his pediatrician, allergist/immunologist and gastroenterologist....... It was finally decided that Eli should be safe to attend and participate, but we had to take certain precautions. I would have gone either way, but it was decided that school nurse could not be away from campus all day, so if Eli wanted to go and participate, I HAD to go. They would be spending most of the day there, eating lunch, seeing the petting zoo, going through a miniature hay-bale maze, a hay ride through corn fields, then finally going through the main attraction: a Wizard of Oz themed corn maze. On top of Eli's EE, there were also multiple environmental allergies to be concerned about.
So... I packed my bag. EpiPen, allergy meds, wet wipes, topical allergy meds, a mask, inhalers and safe snacks. I looked like I was ready to go on a weekend-long trip with my big bag! The teachers all laughed and said they were glad I was prepared for anything!
Once we arrived, the teachers said that they could turn around right then and go back to the school and the kids would have had the best day ever just riding on the bus! For most of them, it was their first time on a school bus and they all loved it!
Eli had a great time with only a few minor issues. His eyes were a little irritated from the blowing dust and hay, but he was very conscious of his surroundings, not touching the hay, corn or animals. When they were taking a class picture, his teacher started to pick him up to have him sit on a hay bale and he quickly said, "No! I can't sit on that!"
And he was more than happy to wear his mask! (I was afraid that would be a battle since none of the other kids were wearing one, but he happily agreed!)
Eli really had a great time and I'm so glad that it was a successful field trip with no major issues. Honestly, I had nightmares about something happening and having to leave to rush him to the ER. But, everything went off without a hitch and we are happily looking forward to and preparing for our next school field trip! I know that, due to his health issues, I will probably be in attendance at each one of them, but I'm so happy to be able to share in these experiences with my sweet boy!
Riding the Cow Train.
Going through the miniature Hay Maze.
Pumpkin Jail!!
The beautiful pond! Eli loved seeing all the fish swimming around!
