Back to School, Birthday Boy, and Other Fun

  • Post category:Birthdays / School
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Back to School

Our long summer—thanks to the spinal fusion and extended recovery time—came to an abrupt end on August 19th when James went back to school to start the 5th grade.

 

A side‑by‑side pair of outdoor photos shows James and his nurse on a driveway. James sits in a wheelchair with supportive padding, wearing sunglasses and a neck pillow, while his nurse crouches beside him smiling. In the left photo, James holds a sign reading “FIRST DAY OF 4th Grade.” In the right photo, the sign reads “FIRST DAY OF 5th Grade.”
First Day of 4th Grade vs. First Day of 5th Grade

 

James sits in his wheelchair as he is being lifted onto a yellow school bus using a mechanical platform. He wears an orange shirt, white socks, dark shoes, and supportive padding around the head and neck. Two people stand on either side of the lift assisting, while another person in a reflective vest waits inside the bus. Houses, trees, and a residential street are visible in the background.
Getting on the bus

 

James sits in a wheelchair holding a sign that reads “FIRST DAY OF 5th grade!” with an apple illustration. He wears an orange shirt and a supportive neck cushion with red and blue sections. The wheelchair has patterned armrests, and behind him is a wooden door and part of a classroom wall decorated with small framed labels or pictures.
Welcome back to school James!

 

He made it a whole three days before he got sick and ended up spending a couple of days in the hospital. It was some sort of respiratory thing, but we’re not exactly sure what. The ER said it was pneumonia, but the PICU doctor didn’t think so. Whatever it was, it wasn’t too serious and only spent a couple of days in the hospital before they let him come home. He stayed home for a couple of days before we sent him back to school to celebrate his birthday with his classmates. They even gave him a special award at school for his birthday:

 

James sits in a wheelchair holding a colorful birthday certificate decorated with bright borders, a cartoon cake, and festive designs. The certificate reads: “Happy Birthday! James 😎 I hope your day is as GREAT as you are! Room 109 8‑29‑19.” The background shows a classroom setting with desks, chairs, and educational materials.
Happy Birthday award

 

 

Birthday Boy

A collage shows ten photos of James, one for each birthday from age 1 through age 10. In each picture, he wears a shirt with the number for that year, often paired with themed graphics or birthday designs. The top right corner includes colorful text that reads “Happy 10th Birthday James.” The images together highlight his growth across the decade.

 

James lies on his cushined recliner covered in a polka‑dot sheet, and is wearing a black T‑shirt featuring a pink frosted donut with sprinkles. The shirt’s text reads: “DONUT LOSE YOUR SPRINKLES BUT IT’S MY 10th BIRTHDAY!” The scene highlights a relaxed birthday moment.
His 10th Birthday shirt

 

It’s hard to believe that James is 10 years old. Ten years of ups and downs; smiles and cries; laugher and sadness. It’s been one hell of a journey, and not one that Stacy and I ever imagined taking when we decided to start a family. I often wonder if we knew what James’ and our lives would be like prior to conceiving James, if we would have still done it. Sometimes I say no, but not just because it’s been hard on both Stacy and me. It’s also because it’s a tough world out there and James can’t do a lot of the things that kids should be doing, and he won’t have the opportunities that most people have. But then sometimes I think that I would do it all over again if given the choice. In a way I think he’s going to change the world more than most of us ‘normal’ people will. I mean just look at all the lives he’s touched in his ten short years on this earth. It’s probably more than Stacy and I combined.

“We made it!!! There have been several times that I was not sure if we were going to make it to 10!!! We love you sooo much James… and we do ANYTHING & EVERYTHING for you!!”

~ Stacy

As you may have guessed from the picture above, his birthday theme this year was donuts. No particular reason other than a long john looks like the number 1, and a regular donut looks like a 0. We also like donuts.

I’ve posted this picture in a couple of previous posts, but in case you didn’t read them, this was his birthday cake this year:

Two large cakes designed to look like oversized donuts sit inside a box on a white base. One is rectangular with blue icing and multicolored sprinkles; the other is round with a center hole, covered in pink icing and sprinkles. Along the bottom edge, black letters spell out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES.”
James’ 10th birthday cake

 

He took some “donut” cookies to school to share:

 

Nine round cookies decorated to look like donuts are arranged in a 3×3 grid. Each cookie has a center hole and colorful icing in shades like white, brown, blue, pink, and light blue. Some have drizzle patterns, others are topped with multicolored sprinkles. All nine cookies are individually wrapped in clear plastic and set on a light surface.
“Donut” birthday cookies

 

Someone even gave him a book about donuts for his birthday:

 

James lies down with a gray neck pillow and a colorful pillow under their head. Resting in front of him is a children’s book titled “If You Give a Dog a Donut,” showing an illustration of a white‑and‑brown dog perched on a tree branch holding a donut, with apples and leaves hanging on the tree. The scene captures a quiet moment with the book positioned prominently in view.
One of his birthday gifts

 

We were supposed to have a party for him on the 25th, but we had to cancel because he was in the hospital.

 

A hand holds a party invitation card with a dark gray background decorated with colorful donut illustrations and confetti shapes. The printed text reads: “You DONUT want to miss this party. James & Stacy are turning 10 & 40! AUG 25 | 1PM.” At the bottom edge, handwritten text says “OVER →”.
Birthday Party Invitation

 

We’re planning a smaller party with just family next weekend. Better late than never, right?

 

 

Other Fun

In early August our township’s disability services department had a summer celebration event. James got to pet a bunny rabbit and meet an owl; a balloon artist made him a hat with a monkey climbing a tree; and we even took a quick trip to Paris.

 

James, sitting in his wheelchair wearing a bright green shirt and a red‑and‑blue neck support, reaches toward a small rabbit. The rabbit, with white and gray fur, is being gently held by another person’s hands. In the background, several people stand near a table covered with a green baseball‑themed tablecloth.
Petting a bunny rabbit

 

A small owl perches on a gloved hand worn by a person in a blue shirt and khaki pants. The owl is tethered to the glove with a thin leash. Behind them, several colorful animal carriers sit on a table, suggesting other animals are present. The setting appears to be indoors, likely part of an educational or animal‑handling demonstration.
Learning about owls

 

James sits in a wheelchair with supportive padding, wearing a bright green shirt and a red‑and‑blue neck pillow. A hand holds a balloon sculpture above his head — orange and green balloons shaped like a palm tree with a small orange figure resembling a monkey. Other people stand in the background near a table covered with a green tablecloth.
Balloon hat with a monkey climbing a tree

 

A hand holds a printed photo strip containing four small pictures of Stacy, James, and Jeff posing together. Behind them is a backdrop featuring the Eiffel Tower against a bright, cloud‑filled sky. The group makes playful expressions in each frame. In the center of the strip, white text on a blue background reads “Summer Celebration!”
A quick trip to Paris

 

A friend made James some additional spinal fusion shirts. Now he has an assortment of colors to choose from:

 

Three T‑shirts in red, orange, and yellow are laid out on a flat surface. Each shirt has the same bold text on the front reading “CHICKS DIG SCARS #SPINALFUSION.” The red shirt uses metallic silver lettering; the orange shirt uses white lettering; and the yellow shirt uses black lettering.
Chicks Dig Scars #SpinalFusion shirts

 

I was debating if I should post this picture or not because I think that some people may find it offensive. This is Stacy’s new shirt:

Stracy takes a mirror selfie in a bathroom with blue patterned shower curtain behind her and a beige countertop with a sink and a soap dispenser in front of her. She wears a purple T‑shirt with white text that reads: “Just in it for the [wheelchair accessibility symbol] parking.”
“Just in it for the parking” shirt

If you are one of those that find the shirt offensive, let me just say this. Raising a disabled child is hard. Sometimes it’s just a real pain in the ass. James will never be able to do anything on his own; he will need to be cared for his entire life. Anyone in our position has two choices. You can either bitch and complain about it and be absolutely miserable and bitter; or you can accept it, make the best of it, and have a little bit of fun with it. We choose the latter. Don’t get me wrong. We would do almost anything for James to be able to walk, talk, eat by mouth, etc. But we have come to accept that he will never be able to do any of those things, so we have a little bit of fun with it here and there.