Coco is back doing what she does best… bringing comfort and support to the students and staff who have tremendous love and respect for her.
Here’s Coco…
This week, I went to school with Mom for a whole day! Last week, I went for a couple of hours. Next week, I will go for two whole days. It feels like my life is getting back to normal. Although I am physically slower than I used to be, my job at Mom’s school is still extremely important. And I love the work – it makes me feel like my life has purpose.
On Tuesday, Mom brought me to an appointment and then we went to work. I spent lots of time in the behavior specialist’s room with many different students. No one in there seems to care that I only have three legs. Students petted me, talked to me, and sat with me while they studied and completed schoolwork. I felt at home in there like I always have. Students spend time in that room for lots of reasons – some need a break from the stressors of their typical school day, some need small group instruction in math, some need down-time and regrouping, some have anxiety, and others just like the family-like feel that the staff and students have created.
The personnel coordinator from the Central Office even came to see me! She has a lab that has gone through cancer, as well, and she and Mom share a love of dogs and the experience of caring for a dog with cancer. She drove 10 miles each way on her lunch break just to visit me!
At the end of the school day, one student was too anxious to get on the van that was supposed to take him home. He waited two hours for a ride. Mom says I helped keep him calm as he waited. He and I have developed a strong connection already, and I am looking forward to helping him throughout the rest of the year.
Students seem to take everything in stride. One of the guidance counselors was explaining to a student that I only had three legs. She wanted to prepare him before he and I visited. He looked at his counselor calmly and said, “My dad has had lots of surgeries…I am used to it…”
It still feels like the people who feel sorry for me are some of the adults. Mom reminds them that I am doing very well and that there is nothing to feel sorry about, but some of them are having a difficult time seeing me with three legs. I can tell by their faces and what they say that they pity me.
Mom and I finished writing my fourth Bright Spot Reading Buddies Book this weekend, Coco’s New Life. Maybe when people read about my surgery and my new life, they will understand that perseverance, love, and comfort can help with life’s challenges. I think the end of my book pretty much sums up how I feel:
I have a new life now – a life on three legs. It is not good or bad. It is just different. I love my life! ~Coco