So it's been over a month...

.... and I haven't heard any news from anybody other than Carroll H.S. I'm not too concerned, since I know schools generally don't start actively searching around the end of April, but still, it would be nice to hear something from somebody else. I think I've got about 10 applications floating around Indiana right now. I will know more from CHS though in about two weeks, since I'm scheduled to have an interview on the 19th. Hopefully it'll be something good....

It's been a tough week or so on the teaching front. Aside from the load of grading that took up my entire weekend, some other things have happened too. Late last week, one of my students was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, which I've been told is a pretty serious disease. Apparently, it's just a disease that kinda creeps up on people without a lot of known "causes". Based on what I've found out from the nurse and his mother, it sounds like he's got a rough road ahead in the next several months. Towards the end of March, Travis will be having a bone-marrow transplant (assuming his sister is able to donate) to see if the production of blood cells can get straightened back out, but he will not return to classes this year. His hope is to walk at graduation with his class. It would certainly be nice to see.

Atop that, yesterday, another student at our school, who is also a football player and wrestler, was in a severe car accident and, based on all reports, could lose the use of his leg. While on his way to school, a man ran a red light and hit the driver's side of Adam's vehicle, causing a compound fracture in his femur, 7 fractures in the shin-area between his knee and ankle, multiple torn ligaments in his knee, hip, and ankle, along with a pretty severe cut on his forehead, causing a lot of blood loss before they were able to airlift him to the hospital. He didn't have his seat belt on, unfortunately. Until mid-afternoon yesterday, there wasn't much of a pulse in his foot, prompting doctors to prepare to amputate it. After the help of some specialists and surgery last night (6 hours worth) doctors were able to repair the compound fracture, which now sports a number of pins and a steel rod, and they were also able to get a pulse back into his foot, which means that he gets to keep it, provided that the blood continues to flow. He'll likely have a several more surgeries in the next few days to repair the other fractures in his lower leg, as well as many of the ligament tears he experienced as well. He'll have a tough go of it over the next several months before he'll be able to walk again. I'm sure he'll persevere, since he's an extremely active young man who has overcome some pretty terrible circumstances to be successful, but, nonetheless, he has a difficult hill to climb.

I'm sure these two kids, both Seniors, would appreciate your thoughts and prayers in the coming weeks and months. They certainly have some trying circumstances to overcome as we head towards the end of the semester and they head into the rest of their lives.