Jonathan's Story
Viewing comments for Chapter 4 "The good and the bad ..."Our fostering journey with a severely disabled boy
29 total reviews
Comment from Sandra Stoner-Mitchell
You were amazing in the way you carried on. You had to be living on your nerves, and your three other children, they must have loved him so much not to become resentful. This is truly a monumentaly task and I doubt there are many who could manage as well as you did, and succeed. :)) Sandra xx
reply by the author on 11-Feb-2024
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You were amazing in the way you carried on. You had to be living on your nerves, and your three other children, they must have loved him so much not to become resentful. This is truly a monumentaly task and I doubt there are many who could manage as well as you did, and succeed. :)) Sandra xx
Comment Written 11-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 11-Feb-2024
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Yes, that describes it pretty well, living on my nerves. It was a steep learning curve for us all, and certainly a bigger and harder experience than we anticipated.
Wendy
Comment from Sarah Tummey
I'm sorry for the lack of communication, and lack of support for you and the family. Looking forward to reading on to the next chapter about resolutions.
reply by the author on 23-Jan-2024
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I'm sorry for the lack of communication, and lack of support for you and the family. Looking forward to reading on to the next chapter about resolutions.
Comment Written 23-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 23-Jan-2024
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Thank you Sarah, for this encouraging review. I am so pleased you are on board for these stories. Ther are some extraordinary situations still to come!
Wendy
Comment from BethShelby
This is something that would be extremely difficult to deal with. A now in hospital and resthomes some of the older residents with dementia or other metal disorders go a bit crazier at night and they refer to it as "sundowning", I wonder this is any way relatled. I hope there was a solution to this.
reply by the author on 19-Jan-2024
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This is something that would be extremely difficult to deal with. A now in hospital and resthomes some of the older residents with dementia or other metal disorders go a bit crazier at night and they refer to it as "sundowning", I wonder this is any way relatled. I hope there was a solution to this.
Comment Written 19-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 19-Jan-2024
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Yes, it could well be related, where that part of the brain is not functioning well and appropriately due to age, disease or damage. Yes, I found a solution - coming up soon. Many thanks for your understanding review.
Wendy
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
I can identify with your problem and am glad we didn't have it that bad. When we took in our third grandchild at the age of 18 months, we didn't realize at least one of us would not get to sleep all night. Her mother ran an illegal gambling game in the apartment, so she slept days and was always awake from eleven to three. Gradually she changed to where she was awake only an hour or two during the night, and she played quietly during that time. When she was ten, she slept all night for the first time and when we woke up with neither of us spending part of the night with her, we thought she died. She did sleep most nights after that, but sometimes, until she was fifteen, we woke up in the morning to find she'd crawled up from the foot of the bed and was sleeping between us. I believe your young man was ill a few months past. Has he recovered? I know when people can't tell you what is wrong, they do not always survive so I feared for him.
reply by the author on 19-Jan-2024
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I can identify with your problem and am glad we didn't have it that bad. When we took in our third grandchild at the age of 18 months, we didn't realize at least one of us would not get to sleep all night. Her mother ran an illegal gambling game in the apartment, so she slept days and was always awake from eleven to three. Gradually she changed to where she was awake only an hour or two during the night, and she played quietly during that time. When she was ten, she slept all night for the first time and when we woke up with neither of us spending part of the night with her, we thought she died. She did sleep most nights after that, but sometimes, until she was fifteen, we woke up in the morning to find she'd crawled up from the foot of the bed and was sleeping between us. I believe your young man was ill a few months past. Has he recovered? I know when people can't tell you what is wrong, they do not always survive so I feared for him.
Comment Written 19-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 19-Jan-2024
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Thank you so much for your beautiful review. You understand perfectly. I am very thankful also for the six stars. So very encouraging. You have a good memory. Yes he finally became well again after more than seven weeks in hospital - but a few weeks later he got Covid, so missed Christmas with us. Just a mild dose, fortunately. But he's well again now, and looking good. Thank you for your caring.
Wendy
Comment from Iza Deleanu
Poor kid and poor family, they all want what is the best but unfortunately it seems like it is not going to work. Thank you for sharing and good luck with your writings.
reply by the author on 18-Jan-2024
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Poor kid and poor family, they all want what is the best but unfortunately it seems like it is not going to work. Thank you for sharing and good luck with your writings.
Comment Written 18-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 18-Jan-2024
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Thank you Iza - keep reading and you'll see what happens next! I appreciate your review.
Wendy
Comment from Paul McFarland
I am very interested to read your next installment, Wendy. I'm guessing that you came up with a solution to the problem. I ran into a similar problem a couple of months ago. I was participating in a reading, and there was an autistic person in the audience. During my reading of a serious poem, this person would burst out laughing. It was quite disconcerting, but I managed to get through it.
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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I am very interested to read your next installment, Wendy. I'm guessing that you came up with a solution to the problem. I ran into a similar problem a couple of months ago. I was participating in a reading, and there was an autistic person in the audience. During my reading of a serious poem, this person would burst out laughing. It was quite disconcerting, but I managed to get through it.
Comment Written 17-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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Yes, I can see that happening. Jonathan did that at times, at music concerts (informal, so the musicians weren't put out) and it can be very disconcerting. But for non-verbal people, it is often a sign of pleasure and appreciation. Thank you for reviewing, and I'm sure you'll enjoy reading about my "solution"!
Wendy
Comment from LJbutterfly
I read Sheryl's Story when you originally posted it, and wondered why you chose to take her son into your home. It now sounds like the foster care facility didn't give you all of the information you would have liked before making a final decision. However, I admire you and your family for the love you demonstrated in caring for Jonathan, and for trying to save your sanity while making his life as pleasant as possible. Through it all, he sounds happy.
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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I read Sheryl's Story when you originally posted it, and wondered why you chose to take her son into your home. It now sounds like the foster care facility didn't give you all of the information you would have liked before making a final decision. However, I admire you and your family for the love you demonstrated in caring for Jonathan, and for trying to save your sanity while making his life as pleasant as possible. Through it all, he sounds happy.
Comment Written 17-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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Thank you very much for the lovely review. If you want or need more context, then "Jonathan's Story" and "Why would you choose a child like that?" are in my portfolio. (But don't bother reviewing as they've now expired.) Thanks again.
Wendy
Comment from Annmuma
Written in such a way that the reader gets a true glimpse of what life must have been like in those early days. I have eager to continue the ride with you. ann
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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Written in such a way that the reader gets a true glimpse of what life must have been like in those early days. I have eager to continue the ride with you. ann
Comment Written 17-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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Thank you very much Ann! Lovely review, and I am glad you want to read more!
Wendy
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
Oh my goodness Wendy, there is nothing worse than not getting enough sleep and I am sorry you had to go through this when all you were doing is your very best. I have no idea disabled people has such sleepless nights, this post is an eye opener, love Dolly x
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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Oh my goodness Wendy, there is nothing worse than not getting enough sleep and I am sorry you had to go through this when all you were doing is your very best. I have no idea disabled people has such sleepless nights, this post is an eye opener, love Dolly x
Comment Written 17-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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Thank you so much for your understanding review. Not all disabled people are like him, even those with day-night reversal. I haven't heard of any others who did this wild laughing. Yes, it was a long and frequently hard road.
Wendy
Comment from Aussie
More please. What were his disabilities? Was he physically dependent on you 24/7? Some people are night people (I am) I function better at night. How long did you foster him for? How old was he mentally? I am most interested in his case history as I have worked with them. K xx
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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More please. What were his disabilities? Was he physically dependent on you 24/7? Some people are night people (I am) I function better at night. How long did you foster him for? How old was he mentally? I am most interested in his case history as I have worked with them. K xx
Comment Written 17-Jan-2024
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2024
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Thanks for reviewing. Always appreciated. The first three stories go into it more - a huge list of disabilities, mainly cerebral palsy, technically blind, epilepsy, non-verbal.... Short answer: totally dependent for everything 24/7. Please keep reading along (but you might be best to read the first three to give context - don't worry about reviewing as they've expired)
Wendy