ONE MORE DAY LEFT OF A VERY BUSY WEEK

FROM SEPTEMBER 2006
Well, I figured it was about time that I wrote about my adventures during this crazy and extremely slow to get over with week. As I mentioned before, all staff start their new work year this week, with a week long pre-service training period. Each day, in varying increments, staff attend different trainings provided by either management or outsiders who have been invited to come train us. I have a large bulk of providing some of this training. Out of the five days, I had all of today and all of tomorrow that I train the education staff. For the most part, I actually enjoy teaching/training staff. I like to think that I do a fairly good job of explaining and teaching the Ed. staff how to do their jobs. Our organization has a lot of paper work -- especially in showing how the children are progressing while attending. So, we spent all of today going over the developmental screenings and assessment processes. For some, it really stresses them out to be reminded, or if new to the job, learn how much they really have to do. I think others just get bored with it all.

Anyway, I started out this week with a cold/flu. I still have some symptoms, but really today was the first day of the week that I started to feel like myself again. I know I always say this when I've had a head cold, but man it amazes me all the stuff your head/body produces and that you keep blowing out your nose! lol There have been several others absent this week because of this flu bug. I'm glad I didn't get quite as harsh a dose as they did.

And one more thing to report from the week. The director of our program did something very strange on the first day of our pre-service. Many of us who work around her daily have really noticed over the past year how her mental capacities have not been what they used to be. At times I have really felt that she has Alzeimers. But on Monday, she really surprised and confused us all. She had given herself the task of starting out the week by welcoming us all back and giving a motivational speech on what great things we do in our non-profit preschool program. (She's never been so great at being motivational - usually it just ends up being a lecture). As she started, she was doing ok. She welcomed us and then began her "speech". But just as she pulled our her notes, and started to read from them, everything she said came out as jibberish. Within the first couple of "words" she stopped herself, kind of stuttered, and then kept going, still not making any sense. She was really focusing on her notes and I began to wonder if she was doing this on purpose -- like an object lesson that would all make sense when she finished. She completed about 2 sentences of jibberish when you could then start to hear a recognizable word pop up within her 3rd sentence. Then by about her 4th sentence, she started to make sense. It was soooo weird. She didn't have a clue what she had just done. And as she continued to present her presentation, she repeated some of her "activities". For example she had us list on a board all the types of ways we help the families and children we work with. A few minutes later it was like she had forgotten all of it and had us do it again.

Her second in command, the program manager, talked to her later and asked her if she realized what she had done and she admitted that she didn't know she had. So she went to the doctor, thank goodness! She had a brain tumor removed quite a few years ago, and then began to suffer from a seizure disorder as a side effect from the surgery, etc. Her doctor felt that she had had a light petit mal seizure that morning while talking to us. And as she talked to me about it this morning, it is what it sounded like to me too. She described herself as having a fuzzy, foggy feeling and then kind of popping out of it and realizing all of us were looking at her as she stood in front of us. She said she didn't know what she had already covered in her training, but that she had a list in her hand of what she wanted to say, so she started over. As she talked to me, she also admitted that she doesn't always take her seizure meds. I scolded her for that one! She said the doctor did also.

I'm concerned that there is more going on though. All of her recent behavior can't be blamed on her seizures. I hope she's not in denial too much about her own health. In the past, it took her crashing into a local motel's front lobby with her car to realize she had a seizure disorder. She was lucky then. She may not be so lucky again.