Strong and Steady Wins the Race (Caitlin)

The students urged me to crank up the tempo on the count and clap activity. I obliged as they had developed quite the sense of rhythm. They clapped in as much unison as a classroom full of sixth graders can manage. Since we had approached our wind instrument unit, I popped in a video on breathing exercises. After fumbling with a few cables, it finally played. Everyone breathed in for one count, out for two. I continued. Two in, four out. Four in, eight out. At that point, Jenna, one of my snarky students, cracked an asthma joke, to which I responded more wittily than I had intended.
          "If it weren't for these videos, my asthma would probably be worse. By your logic, if I can do these, so can you." Whoops of assent and giggles arose from the rest of the class. After getting them to settle down, we continued breathing. Some of the students became lightheaded; I stopped at this point and distributed the worksheets. I could see that Caleb was holding his head, so I let him have a break. He made his way to the couch to recover from his headache. Soon, he raised his head.
         "May I go to the nurse? I have a headache." He rolled over on the couch and moaned. I permitted Caleb to leave. I glanced at the clock and realized there were ten minutes left in class, the students were bored, and I had nothing left to teach, so I let them socialize for the remainder of the time. I pulled my new Redphone 4 out of my pocket and saw that received a text from my neurologist and my general practitioner.
      
Dr. Chen:          4:00 is fine?
Me:                   Sure! The track team already knows.
Dr. Chen:          Thank you for confirming. 

Andrew: So Betty will see you again?
Me: You know her? And Dr. Chen's name is Betty?
Andrew. Yes.... 
Me: I think it's going to rain today.
Andrew: Me too. I can smell it. Have you seen an allergist yet?
Me: No. Steve says I don't need one.
Andrew: You need an allergist. Doctor's orders. 

Lately, I have been having more seizures and different types as well. They rarely occur when I teach and, when they do, they are myoclonic seizure clusters in my arms/legs. My phone chimed. I took more anticonvulsant and staggered to my feet from my chair. My legs were sore and weak between my pacing and the myoclonic seizures. I took a few painful, wobbly steps to the door and continued to make my way to the track. When I approached a minecart road, I tripped over a speed bump. I tried to get up, but I fell down again. How would I get through this and, Minecraft Symphony Orchestra rehearsal, and Impulsive Brass Band rehearsal? I wasn't sure, but, like everything else, I just pushed through. When I tried to break my second fall, I noticed that my elbow bent backwards slightly. Was that normal in ataxic cerebral palsy or yet another issue that needs yet another doctor? A few concerned students passed me by; at that point, I got up and hobbled/limped to the track.

The middle school track team greeted me with eager smiles. I recognized Caleb, Jenna, and Devon from my music class. The others only knew me from track. Nevertheless, they seemed relieved when I arrived. My colleague, Brynna Chazen, demonstrated a new warm-up while I verbally narrated the steps. The students took to the track while I anticipated my own race.