Gone physically but not gone emotionally! Most of you know that I have been absent from MRA now for the past month. Some of your students may have told you why depending on their age and some may have not said anything. I want to give the community an update on the P.E./Health program as well as my health. It is important that you are informed so that you know who your child is spending time with during their school day.
First of all let me say that I do miss the children and my colleagues and I miss my ability to be able to teach them as I have in the past. I have been faced with the challenge of a very rapidly changing body. Physical tasks that were once easy have become very difficult. Simple things like, tying a kindergarteners shoe, demonstrating skills, getting out and setting up equipment, picking up a ball off the floor, and helping a child who may be hurt are a few of the new challenges. I have been diagnosed with Necrotizing Autoimmune Myopathy (NAM). I know, something you have never heard of before. My body is killing its own muscle cells and I have lost 13 pounds this Fall in muscle mass. Right now I am fighting the disease with high doses of Prednisone and have just started another drug, Methotrexate which is a chemo agent. There are appointments to OHSU, Naturopath, Physical Therapy, etc. The long term prognosis is fairly good. My doctor said, "you will live a normal life just not being able to do all the things you normally did". O.K. now if that's not confusing! I guess what he means is that I should be able to continue most daily normal activities but I will never be an athlete, lift weights, climb a mountain, etc. I will have to be careful of overdoing it and probably be on some form of medication forever. This is all the unknown. Another unknown is how long will it take to get to that point. I have heard it may take a couple of years. So...where does this leave MRA's P.E. program? Lori Martin has graciously taken my position through December and has been doing an amazing job. Please reach out to her and give her support and words of encouragement. Kori Jones has been hired to be the long-term sub for the rest of the 2017-1018 school year. She has one year of teaching experience. This week Kori Jones is joining Lori for the rest of 2017 so that she can visually see the program, get to know the kids, and become comfortable with MRA in general. Please welcome her and support her in any way that you can. My plan is to come back about 10 hours a week if I am able starting in January. I will be teaching Health and P.E. in the afternoons with Kori's assistance. So that is the the updated news. Kori will be continuing the blog for now and I may have some updates too. I know this has been difficult for some of the kids but they are so resilient. What they can do now for me is to be the best P.E. student they can be. They know what that means. It is not about how much of something they can do or how fast or skilled, it is about doing their best, trying new things, working well with others, showing respect to the teacher, classmates and equipment, and having fun! A lot of these kids have been in my life for 6 years. The progress I have seen is remarkable. Not only in their physical abilities but most importantly in their character. May they continue to grow in all aspects of their health! Your prayers and thoughts are appreciated. Sincerely, Danielle Reeber
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Danielle ReeberThis is my 6th year here at MRA. Prior to MRA I have taught in Canby, Oregon City Maple Valley, Spokane and Auburn, WA. I am a graduate of Washington State University with a K-12 P.E. major and a Health minor. I currently live in Wilsonville with my husband of 23 years, my three 17 year olds and my dog, Charlie. In my spare time I love hiking, camping, spending time reading a book on a sunny warm beach and scrapbooking. Archives
June 2018
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