Cooper starts school..

On the 4th of February, Mitchell started his first day of Grade 1 and Cooper his first day of Prep at school (Prep being Victoria, Australia's first year of schooling).


My how quickly they grow!  Cooper had been looking forward to being as big as his brother.  He managed first term ok, tiring quickly like most Preps.  But he had hurdles to overcome as well!

Dealing with his friends being told that he has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy for one.  His mum bringing his motorised scooter in and explaining that Cooper needs to use it because he has weak muscles would be the second...

 Consequently after explaining all of these things to the Preps, a majority excitedly explained that they too had 'weak muscles.'  I did explain that their weak muscles can feel better after a good nights sleep.  However they still insisted that their muscles were so weak that they to would need a scooter as well. The only way to curb the excitement was to explain that Cooper, and his family, had to have a blood test with a needle and then a doctor told us that only Cooper had the messages in his blood explaining that he had weak muscles.  I was careful to ensure I didn't scare Cooper's classmates about needles, but emphasised that a Doctor has to 'read the messages' in their blood. 

But he finished the term on a high note at least...  One of the concerns for Mitchell has been "what will happen when we have the school cross country?  How will Cooper compete?"
I had worked out between Cooper and his teacher that he would take photos at the finish line. But when I got to the event and the Preps had all lined up to do one lap of the school oval, I was informed that Cooper was 'hiding behind the bush about 6 metres from the finish line'.  I initially thought that was a bit unfair for the other kids having Cooper scare them on the way around. 
I didn't realise that as the competitiors came around the bend for the finish line a beautiful Grade 6 girl, led Cooper in front of the others to cross the finish line first!  It was an amazing experience watching his big beaming smile as he ran across.  Lucky I had my sunglasses on to hide the emotion.  But when I saw the actual winner of the Cross Country that afternoon, I made sure that I congratulated his effort and commented at what an athlete he was, coming first! 
For as much as I appreciated how much the school cares for and caters to Cooper's needs, I'm always mindful of the considerations of the other children in his class.