Move in day for Jason and Sean
by James Lee
On a warm August morning, we received a call informing us that Jason and Sean would be moving into the Rosemary Connelly Home at Misericordia on November 7, 2016.
It was one of the hardest challenges that we had had to face in almost 20 years! Jason being three years older than Sean, gave us such a hard time. He knew exactly what was happening. We were breaking his daily routine. Our boys are non-verbal and non-ambulatory, but both understood everything that was going on.
Several years earlier they were diagnosed with BCAP-31, a very rare genetic disorder.
On the morning of move-in day, following a week of havoc preparing for it, we arrived at ten o'clock. The boys were already attending the day program. We discussed the pros and cons of the transition and with heavy hearts, we proceeded to sign all of the necessary paperwork.
After that, we put their clothes in their closets as Sue did her best to make their rooms as homie as possible.
Before leaving, we visited the boys at the day program to say goodbye and tried to assure them that we would see them on the following weekend. But we were terrible at hiding our true feelings which led to Jason sobbing uncontrollably and made Sue start crying as well. Ryan, Jason's teacher at DT, did his best to calm him down. Sean seemed fine at the time not realizing the changes that would come.
It took Jason six months to adapt. Now he enjoys going back to Misericordia after every home visit which mainly takes place every Sunday. He even practices saying "Hi" in the van during the trip back.
We can't thank the staff enough for caring for Jason and Sean with the same love and care that we provided. It helped make their transition easier for us all.
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