I wanted to give an update today about Memphis. He's grown
so much and has come so far that I felt it unfair to not let everyone know how
it's been going.
Memphis is now 13 years old. He is in Seventh grade in a
virtual academy. He was voluntarily held back in kindergarten because of his
delays. Mem is doing so well. He gets up in the mornings and plays on the
computer with a few friends online and then comes and finishes schoolwork. Dad
and Mem work together daily to keep him on top of his school.
Memphis does not enjoy school. With all the physical hurdles
that he has had to deal with, he has also been given some pretty significant
learning and mental hurdles. He has an IEP and is allowed a lot of accommodations
in school. This is great, but even with this, he has a very hard time with processing
information. It takes him a long time to intake information and remember it. He’s
currently working at a second to third grade level on most subjects and has
been working hard. I sit with him for most of the time he’s in school. I am
very fortunate to be able to be his biggest accommodation. I help him feel
successful and learn to the best of his ability. This is something that I have
done for quite a while and hope to continue doing. This is probably the biggest
reason that we have continued to keep him in a virtual setting for school.
While experiencing trouble with education, Memphis is very
emotionally aware. He is the best little guy you’ve ever met and is smiling and
enjoying life most of the time. He does get a little grumpy when he’s hungry,
but don’t we all. He feels very deep and loves to be in positive happy situations.
He loves joking around and finding something to laugh about.
The downfall of being in a virtual setting is the lack of
social situations. Memphis has been included in a few sports, and he seems to
enjoy the time spent there. He does swimming and gymnastics. He isn’t competitive
in either of them, but we keep him in for access to other kids. He seems to
interact and connect with kids in the 8-10 age group. As you would expect from
any other teenager, he doesn’t want to go to these sports, but once he’s there,
he seems to enjoy it.
Memphis enjoys spending time with his extended family. There
are a few other family members in his age range, and he always has a great time
playing with them.
Memphis also enjoys spending time with our two dogs. Luna
and Maverick. He loves animals so much and loves petting these dogs all the
time. Luna, while not being a snuggly type of dog, does enjoy locking herself
in Mem’s room and just laying in there with him.
The family is doing well. Rowan is living in Washington
state, enjoying time with friends there. She enjoys the area and is looking for
a way to have a permanent residence there. Braden is doing very well. He’s in
his junior year of high school now and nearing the end of that. He is
participating in travel volleyball and enjoys that a lot. He has put a lot of
effort into volleyball, and it shows. Michelle is working at the same virtual
school that Memphis goes to. She stays busy with this but has a tenth of the
stress that she had in a regular school setting. Memphis’s paternal grandfather
passed away in September of 2023. This was a difficult time for Memphis and the
family. All in all, things are going well for the entire family.
The family went on a Disney cruise a year ago. I bring this
up because of Memphis. He enjoyed this cruise greatly. Not only was it a disconnect
from the norm, but it also allowed him a lot of freedom that he normally doesn’t
have. The cruise offers so much for children of all ages. Clubs and activities
for most of the day. Memphis did not participate in these those. I believe that
he feels disconnected when the other children understand so quickly and he has
a hard time. He very rarely asks for help with anything. What he did though,
was walk the ship almost constantly looking for Disney characters. Once he finds
one (they showed up quite often), he would take a candid photo of them with his
phone. He would come to find us every hour or so and report back what he found.
He absolutely loved it!
Memphis has had a few other medical hurdles, but all
in all he is doing quite well. He enjoys Mexican food, bacon, and pizza to eat.
He enjoys playing Fortnite and Minecraft. He enjoys laughing. He has dreams of
his future and has plans to enjoy it surrounded by a family and dogs.
Hope everyone is doing well, best wishes, and thank you all
so much for your thoughts and support.
I don’t plan on updating this again. Thank you all!
