Back to School

 Kyra
8th grade
organized school supplies and folders yesterday
reviewed independent study plan
got up 2.5 hours before school bus arrival

Allen
10th grade
threw some paper, a pencil and two pens in his backpack 20 minutes before leaving for school
woke up 1 hour before school bus arrival

Service Project

 As a high school freshman/rising sophmore, Allen was old enough to go on his youth group's mission trip.  In the US he likely would have ended up in Appalachia working on homes or in an inner-city helping with a VBS or feeding program.

In Europe it meant that he traveled to Romania.  In Romania he helped build a playground and assisted with VBS and sports camps for kids.

The living conditions were rough - camping in the rain and cold.  The travel less than desirable - 30 plus hours by bus.  But he had a great time and I'm sure would go again.  His one complaint - his small group didn't have deep enough faith  discussions.  So when his group finished up (early) he went and joined a group that had longer and deeper discussions.

Next summer we will be moving back to Virginia, even so, I imagine we'll do our best to make sure he can go on this mission trip again.

Trick Candles

 Honestly, it was unintentional.  The commissary had a very limited supply of candles.  I didn't want the little kid ones, with Dora or Sponge Bob.  I grabbed the first package that looked normal.  Except they weren't.  They are the kind that relight after you blow them out.

I didn't tell Allen that.  Here he is anticipating eating yummy cupcakes.

And his first attempt to blow them out

and realizing what was going on...

and making another attempt

eventually he just spit on his fingers and squeezed them all out.

Vegan Cupcakes

My facebook status today says that my life changed 16 years ago when Allen was born.  Every mother quickly learns that life before your first born and life after are two different things.

At 7 months of age Allen had already so turned my life upside down that he prompted my grandchild-desiring mom to tell me "All children are not this hard."  To which I responded "you have four other married couples of child-bearing age, don't expect me to do this again any time soon."

By the time Allen reached 7 months, he had been diagnosed with asthma, multiple anaphylactic food allergies, severe eczema and had undergone skull surgery.  I count Allen's first year of life as the most stressful time in my life.

He still has asthma and has gone on to have other surgeries and yes he has those food allergies 16 years later.  Which is why I bake vegan cupcakes for him (thanks for the cookbook Paula!).  This morning Kyra and I spent a good amount of time in the kitchen preparing chocolate/vanilla swirl and margarita (fresh lime juice, tequila and salt)  cupcakes. I'd upload some photos of them except Allen has used up almost all of our monthly internet allotment so no photos on my blog until after the first of the month.  Trust me they look pretty and taste great.

Yes my life was turned inside out but is so much richer and funnier and joyful with him in it.  (I could do without the surgeries though)

Results of Second Surgery

First  - fair warning some of the photos below you may find gross.  If scars, surgery, etc makes you squeamish, stop now.  By the way his grandmother requested the photos.

Some history - Allen broke his arm (compound fracture of right forearm bones) doing parkour (click link for more info) on May 1, 2010.

On May 2 he had surgery to repair the break.  His bones were held together by two plates and 13 screws.  No cast just hardware.

In the ensuing months Allen was bothered by the hardware inside his arm.  Consultations with doctors led us to the decision to pursue a second surgery to remove the now unneeded hardware.  Allen had this surgery on May 23.

Following the surgery Allen had to keep his arm bandaged and dry for over three weeks.  Upon his return to school, his friend wrote on the bandage "Dan's Arm."  The next read "Still Dan's Arm."  The next "Still Dan's Arm - again."  The last bandage as you can see "Dan's Arm - forever."  Dan is moving to Florida in two weeks, it may be his arm, but it is staying in Belgium.

On Thursday, Allen was finally able to have his stitches removed.  This was not as bloody as the above photo makes it look.  It wasn't bloody at all - the dried blood was from the surgery three weeks prior.

Upon peeling back the surgical tape, what was visible was Allen's new scar and a piece of stiff thread used to stitch him up.  His skin looks flaky and yellow because it has not been washed since the surgery.

The scar is smaller (Allen does not appreciate this - he liked his wide bumpy and wicked looking scar).  And for the moment (I'm Allen's mom - I can say with almost certainty there will be a next time) we are done with surgery.

Surgery

First two excuses for why it has been so long.  Number one between Oklahoma, Kyle out of town and Allen's surgery I've been a bit busy.
Then when I wasn't busy it was the end of the month.  For some unknown Belgian type reason our internet connection speed slows down to a snail's pace at the end of the month.  Doing anything on the internet takes incredible patience.  I don't have incredible patience so I do only essential email during the last few days of the month.

OK on to surgery...

A year ago May Allen broke his arm in spectacular fashion.  This necessitated surgery to put his two right forearm bones back together.  After the surgery his arm gained two metal plates, thirteen screws and two scars, one wicked looking and one more tame.

Last May shortly after surgery - scar not bad yet

Fast forward to now.  Two plates and thirteen screws are no longer necessary to hold Allen's arm together and were irritating his muscles.  After consulting with three different doctors it was decided that the best course of action was to remove the hardware.  The Belgian orthopedist who did the surgery was also offended by the wicked looking scar and was determined to give Allen a cleaner looking scar.

Yes we did consider returning to the states for this operation.  We know US health care and we are still getting to know Belgian health care.  In conversations with the Belgian surgeon and Americans in the area we felt confident that we would get good care here and that the procedure was a relatively minor one.  So we went ahead with arrangement for Allen to have surgery here.

Yes I was a worried mom, who wouldn't be?  But I also observed all the little differences between our US system and what went on in the hospital here.  Here is what I noticed -

1.  In pre and post op the doctors and nurses don't wear gloves.  Yes they wash their hands but they are not constantly changing gloves.  This was good for us as Allen does have a latex allergy.

2.  Patients wait in pre-op alone.  No family, no pastor.  They just lay on their bed and wait.  Unless.. they have a pushy mom.

3.  There wasn't any initialing of the limb to be operated on.  For his first surgery, Allen marked his obviously broken arm and the surgeon signed it as well.  In this hospital I guess they figured that the pre-existing scars and common sense were a good guide.

4.  Medical info is not to be shared with the patient.  I was given a sealed envelope to take back to SHAPE for Allen's doctor/medical records.  Allen's SHAPE doctor opened it and showed it to me.  It said that Allen had had surgery to remove the hardware in his arm.  This was a secret??

All in all everything went well.  It certainly wasn't necessary to return to the US for this procedure and I would say I grow more and more confident of the medical care available here.  One note though, speaking French was necessary and if I didn't have the language facility I have, the day would not have gone as smoothly.  SHAPE does provide an English speaking liaison but only at the Mons hospital which I have not heard good things about.

Allen is doing well.  He is still bandaged.  His stitches will need to remain in for another couple of weeks so we'll see about the scar.   He is using the arm as normal without complaint.  Scar update to come eventually...

Hurdles

 First he ran in the JV hurdles.  Don't know why - that's how the race officials classified him.  The hurdles were lower and closer together.  He won the race no problem.

Then the officials and/or coaches realized that Allen isn't JV.  So he got to run again, against bigger guys, over higher hurdles, spread further apart.

In between races, he ran up and down the field to check in, and get in place in time - no rest.

He barely was at the start before the gun went off for the varsity hurdles.  Nonetheless, he shaved a second off of his best time.  At 18.1 he has to shave off less than a second to qualify for Europeans.  Qualifying time is 17.3

We'll keep you posted on his progress

At Home with Allen

As I mentioned yesterday when Allen is feeling well he has many things that occupy his time.  He is also a typical teenager preferring connection with his peers over connection with his family, thus he spends a fair amount of his time at his computer on Skype and/or Facebook.

Conversations with Allen tend to be short and usually involve an exchange of information about schedules or homework.  Unless...

Unless Allen is on drugs.  When he broke his arm last spring I noticed that when Allen was flying high he was quite talkative.  He didn't make a whole lot of sense on morphine but he was quite talkative.

Steroids also make Allen talkative.  So while Allen was home from school I spent a good amount of time with him and heard his voice more than I ever do.  He told me all about his favorite youtube shows, about his plans for up-grading his computer, about car repair and many other topics that are of no interest to me.

I had to keep reminding myself that I should seize this opportunity to be with Allen.  I may not care at all about the plot line of "The Guild" but I do care about Allen.  I watched youtube videos he wanted to share with me.  I listened and listened and listened.

The steroids have now come to an end.  Allen is feeling better (hooray!) and is gradually returning to his lair.  But I now know what interests him and what topics of conversation will draw him out.

I also know that if he initiates extended conversations with me that I need to be checking out what substances are entering his body.

When it Rains it Pours

About a week ago I was thinking that I was running out of blog topics as we have now mostly adjusted to life in Belgium and at the moment all of us are settled into our routines.

But then Allen happened.  (It is almost always Allen who shakes things up)

It is winter which means cold season which means post nasal drip which means Allen's asthma kicks up.  This time his asthma really kicked up, so much so that we made an early morning trip to the local emergency room.

Allen has no memory of the last time his asthma was this bad.  In hindsight he was probably in what doctors would refer to as the "yellow zone" versus the "red zone."  Red or yellow he still needed more assistance to breathe than what we could do for him at home.  So off to the emergency room we went.  He did have an audible wheeze to his breathing and the oxygen level in his blood was not what was optimal.

At the hospital he received a breathing treatment and was put on oral steroids.  I now know the French word for steroid (but not how to spell it) - corticoid (core tea coe eed).

Most of last week was spent monitoring Allen's breathing and with him home from school.

When Allen feels well he is quite busy with school, friends, running, youth group, Bible study and worship band.  When he is at home he is usually in his room and on his computer.  It was a change of pace to have him around more and interact with him more than usual.

I have something more to note about Allen being around but I think I'll save that for tomorrow as this post is already long.  So check back in tomorrow...

Christmas Surprise

 Not surprisingly, Allen asked for computer games for Christmas.  The one he really wanted was Call of Duty.  He has anticipated receiving this game and playing it for a few months now.

One of his other Christmas wish list items was a soldering iron.  He has begun to experiment with battery electronics and speakers and wires.  One of his grandpas buys and sells similar things at flea markets, so we knew Papa would come through.

I anticipated that if he didn't have anything to solder right away, he would be frustrated so I went on e-bay and bought him a $6 solar cell.  I had no idea what he would do with it, but that was for him to figure out.


So our festival of unwrapping comes to an end and we turn to our gifts - putting them away, powering and registering them (Kyle's kindle) and playing with them.

What I expected - Allen would disappear to his room to play his game only to reluctantly appear again at dinner.

What happened - Allen got out his soldering iron, the solar cell, his Ipod, and the charging/sync cord. He connected the proper wires (the black and red ones) to the properly charged spots on the solar cell.  The cell isn't quite powerful enough to charge the Ipod but it does (in sunlight) keep the battery from running down as fast.

Then Allen went out in the snow to play with the dog.  And yes, then he did go and play and yes he did come to dinner and then he returned to his game.  He is a teenager.

Opportunity

As a mom, I have been very attuned to what Allen and Kyra are missing back in the United States.  On the one hand there's all kinds of stuff we gladly leave behind - the traumatic years of being a girl in junior high,  extensive drug and alcohol abuse (it's here just not on as large a scale), American self-indulgence, Northern Virginia traffic, etc.  And on the other, I cringe at what we have lost in being away from a Fairfax County education, its level of excellence and diversity of classes.  I miss opportunities for Allen and Kyra -  big and small.

And in the midst of these "woe is me/ woe is my family" pity parties in breaks a reminder of how fortunate we are, how what we have here might never happen had we not picked up our lives and settled in rainy, foggy Belgium.

Such a moment happened last night.  Last night was the fall sports banquet.  It was a potluck in the school cafeteria.  I can sense you are jealous already.  But wait there is more - six teams, their coaches and parents were present and we got to sit and listen and clap for six teams (with their middle school, jv, and varsity divisions) passing out participation certificates, awards and gifts.  All this in an echo-y cafeteria with a not so great sound system.  I hope you are getting the picture.

As awful as the evening was, there was one shining moment that made it worth sitting through all over again.  Allen not only received a varsity letter for cross-country but also a certificate for athlete acadmic achievement.  Would Allen eventually letter at Lake Braddock? Probably, but not until his senior year and certainly not as a freshman.  In a smaller school, with more individual attention and less fierce athletic competition, Allen has really stepped up both academically and athletically.

Had we stayed in the US, Allen would not know the joy of being on this cross country team (which is a great group of kids, their camaraderie is evident), competing in some notable places and reaching a level of achievement he (and his parents) can be proud of.  

Even in the midst of the damp and clouds every now and again, a bit of light shines through

Away Meets

I'm dragging a bit this morning.   Allen's bus for his away meet left at 3:45 in the a.m.  Within the DOD league there are only two schools relatively close to us - both are in Brussels and are about an hour's drive away.  All the other schools are spread throughout Europe.

Throughout the course of the cross country season the team has travelled to England, other places in Belgium and to Germany.  They have competed against teams from England, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.  That's a lot of passport traveling for a lot of kids.  Often it has meant overnight trips departing mid-day on Friday.  Yes, Allen has had to miss half days of school, much to his dismay.

As pleased as I have been that Allen has enjoyed cross country, I am also pleased that the season is ending.  We'll have a bit of a break before track starts in the spring and the whole crazy travel schedule begins again.

Homecoming Dunlap Style

 This weekend was SHAPE homecoming. This past week was spirit week - each day with a theme, such as wacky tacky, pirates vs. ninjas, cartoon characters, green and gold, etc.

Friday evening was a parade and a bon fire.

Saturday all the teams had home games/meets.

Saturday evening there was a homecoming dance for the middle school and a homecoming dance for the high school.

 In case you have not yet observed this fact - Allen and Kyra are not very formal kids.  Allen prefers to wear jeans and t-shirts and Kyra has the same preference.  Outside of dance, Kyra doesn't wear dresses or skirts.  She is not a girly girl.  I was a bit surprised when she asked me if she could order a dress for homecoming.

The other girl you see in the photos, is Kyra's friend Zoe.  Zoe's parents are out of town this weekend and she did not want to miss homecoming, so Kyra has some extra company and a friend to go to the dance with.

 As you look at the photos of the kids you may be wondering, where is the Dunlap style??

Look down...

Cross Country Meet - Allen Style

 1.  Attend youth group lock-in the night before

2.  Play outside in the rain in your warm up suit

3.  Get warm up suit so wet and dirty it can not be worn to the meet the next day

4.  Wear street clothes instead

5.  Hang out with friends while waiting for race to start


6.  Eventually warm up a bit

7.  Remove street clothes, change shoes and prepare to run

8.  Go to start line

9.  Begin to run

10.  No matter the terrain, the rain, the mud or the incline, keep a steady pace throughout the race

11.  When encounter obstacles (there were some thigh high rails that the runners had to weave around) jump over them rather than run around them.

12.  At the end of the race pour on the speed and pass other runners in a race to the finish (Allen passed four runners on the track and three in the transition from path to track)

13.  Finish 63rd among 108-120 guys running (count of total runners unconfirmed)

14.  Hang out with team afterwards - the best part

Cross Country Meet

allen is the most obscured runner in this photo

Saturday was Allen's first cross country meet.  As the meet was significantly far away, I did not attend.

Significantly far = kids boarded bus at school at 1pm checked into hotel in England around 9pm.  Kyle attended as the male chaperone so he was there for Allen and to take photos.

This past spring (before breaking his arm) Allen decided to take up running.  One night he said, I'm going to go running.  As it was dark, I made him stay in the neighborhood - he put on some shoes and for three hours circled the neighborhood.

For the months when his activity was restricted due to his arm, he was anxious to get back to running.  So when we got to Belgium (and the months of restriction elapsed) Kyle and I encouraged him to give cross country a try.  He has been running daily with his team and training.

According to Allen his best skill is consistency of pace.  Running around the track his laps time the same.  He doesn't slow down he doesn't speed up.  His coaches like this and encourage this consistency.

 On Saturday, Allen got his first taste of American high school competition - in England. The course was in a local park close to Alconbury air force base.  It was a 5k course.

Kyle says there were about 40 boys running.  At about the 1k mark Allen was in the last quarter of the pack and by the 2k mark Allen was towards the middle.

In the end Allen was the fifth to finish of the boys on his team.  He finished 16th with a time of 22:13.  Allen says he was neither tired nor winded so next meet he's going to go for a faster pace to see if he can improve his time.

I look forward to seeing him run soon when he'll be a bit closer to home.