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Jordan
Submitted by Rebecca Wylie, Teacher, Lee County Head Start, Jackson, Kentucky |
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| His name is Jordan. He came to us here at Head Start after being referred by the First Steps program in which he had been receiving services. I can still remember the first day that I met him about a year and a half ago. He was in another classroom but I saw him often. He had adorable blond hair and a set of mischievous looking blue eyes. |
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He was so small and short that I worried about him getting run over by the
older and bigger kids. I did not have anything to worry about because it
became apparent that Jordan could take care of himself. He captured my
heart immediately. Since Jordan was not in my classroom, I was not aware
of the extent of his disabilities. It was the next year that I got the
chance to have Jordan in my class, I then learned that he had overcome
quite a few obstacles. Jordan had a very difficult birth. He was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his throat. The doctors lost his heartbeat for several seconds. The doctors thought that Jordan would be all right but later, they determined that Jordan had a medical condition that is known as “failure to thrive”. He simply stopped growing. The soft spot on his head closed up far to early and the doctors feared that his brain would stop growing. Jordan had to spend a lot of time with his doctors and had to be monitored very closely. Luckily and thankfully, Jordan and his parents got good news about six months ago. Jordan seems to be growing at a normal rate and is expected to make reasonable progress in all areas of development. As Jordan’s teacher, I have seen many of these wonderful accomplishments. Jordan can now say his own name and can recognize that it is his reflection in the mirror. He no longer wants to be a loner. He loves joining the other children in their activities. The children and staff love Jordan. He is definitely the class clown and makes our day much cheerier with his many antics. He loves pedaling the tricycle and having other children or his teachers riding on behind him. He squeals with delight as he swings high in the air on the swing. He loves to sing “Bingo” at the top of his lungs. Jordan has enriched our lives so much with his vibrant determinism and zest for life. Jordan is truly a very special person and as his teacher, I am looking forward to working with him and watching him continue to grow as he reaches his fullest potential. |
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