Preparing for Camp Timber-lee

As we approach the sixth grade experience at Camp Timber-lee, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide parents and students at IMMS with a brief introduction to and update about our daughter, Anna Mischnick.  Anna asked me this year, specifically, to provide this information to anyone interested prior to Camp Timber-lee.

This year Anna is in Ms. Sanders' A.R.R.E. time class as well as Ms. Sanders' homeroom.  For those of you who are new to the district, are unfamiliar with Anna, or are curious about how she is doing, please continue reading to learn a little more about Anna, her challenges, and her progress.  During the last several years, we have learned that it is easier to be open about Anna's situation than to have others wonder, but be afraid to ask.

Prior to 2014, Anna was a happy, healthy, typically developing 6-year-old.  In early February of Anna’s 1^st grade year, she was diagnosed with high-risk metastatic medulloblastoma, one of the more common forms of childhood brain cancer.  The tumor was located in her cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls and regulates muscle coordination.  The cancer had spread throughout her brain and the length of her spinal cord.

Anna's treatment included brain surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, 6 weeks of high-dose radiation therapy, and an additional 6 months of chemotherapy.  Through the nine months of Anna's treatment, she experienced several complications, both common and uncommon.  Anna completed her treatments in November of 2014.  Her cancer is officially considered in remission and in February of 2019 we hope to celebrate the milestone of Anna being labeled a cancer survivor.

The most noticeable effects of Anna's cancer and its treatments are related to her neuromuscular system.  Anna was finally discharged from her initial 3-month hospital stay in early May of 2014, her muscle strength and coordination, as well as her sense of balance, was similar to that of a newborn's.  All of her muscles were affected: gross motor (large muscles used for walking and running), fine motor (smaller muscles in hands), visual motor (looking where you want to look), and oral motor (used for both eating and talking).  Her personality and intelligence was not affected in even remotely the same way as her physical skills were; those of you who know Anna can attest to this fact.

Starting in the beginning of 2015, Anna has worked hard to progressively regain many of the physical skills that she lost.  She has been able to relearn how to chew and swallow food, although she still requires the use of a g-tube for part of her daily nutrition.  She has worked on writing and typing, although both are still slow when compared to a typically developing 11 year old.

Most visible, however, is the progress with her gross motor skills.  Anna has transitioned from solely using her wheelchair in 3rd grade, to using her wheelchair for about 90% of the time in 4th grade, to using her walker 90% of the time in 5th grade.  Anna's personal goal has been to use her crutches almost exclusively in 6th grade.  We are hopeful that she can meet this goal at some point during the 6th grade school year.

Anna’s physical abilities are often the most noticeable results of her experience with cancer.  However, like many children who are treated for cancer, she experienced damage to other "unseen" but previously healthy parts of her body.  Cancer treatments can be pretty brutal on a child's developing brain and body.

In years past, Anna's dad has accompanied Anna on the bigger school field trips (Cave of the Mounds, Old World Wisconsin, MacKenzie Environmental Center) so he could give her a lift or help her stand to make the learning experiences as accessible as possible for Anna.  This year for Camp Timber-lee, one of us will be with Anna's group in part to help teachers and staff make on-the-spot modifications and/or accommodations to help make the experience as positive as possible for Anna.  We will also have the role of part-time group leader for group I.

We, as an entire family, feel incredibly thankful to all of the teachers and staff who work in the McFarland School District.  Every year, we are amazed by how compassionate, knowledgeable, and experienced everyone is.  Each and every year, teachers and staff go above and beyond their assigned position to make our schools great places to be for all students.  Anna wouldn't be the person she is today without the guidance, support, and extra effort of those who have been a part of her school days.

In addition, we feel incredibly thankful to live in the supportive and caring community of McFarland.  To all of the parents who have helped shape the individuals in the sixth grade, thank you.  The example of your lives and the conversations you have with your children about people who are different has made an impact in Anna's life.

Now it's time to pack for Timber-lee!