Final Post

Isaac grows up and makes the decision to live with his grandparents due to the fact that his grandparents were consistently by his side. He is much more comfortable living with them because he feels that they give him the necessary attention. They are also able to provide the services that he needs in order to aid with his ADHD. Although Thomas and Magda visit try to visit frequently.

Isaac has graduated high school and is enrolled in Baylor University. While driving to move into college, he was hit by the drowsy driver of a Coca-Cola truck. He injured both his legs so he had to have an extended stay in the hospital. This was a costly bill for Magda and Thomas and they are still trying to figure out how to pay for it, but they were grateful that there were no life-threatening injuries. Because of his injuries he had to take a semester off from school while he attended all of his physical and occupational therapy sessions in order to regain strength in his legs.  

Thomas wishes that Isaac would also pursue a career in music, however Isaac has no interest whatsoever in this career path. Instead he wishes to pursue English and he wants to be a writer for the New York Times. The following summer he gets an internship with NBC. Isaac starts dating the news caster Leah and five years later, they are happily married with 2 daughters, living in New York City. Although Leah and Isaac are able to pursue their dream jobs, they aren’t very excited about raising their children in a busy city. They are trying to explore other options, however if they move to a more suburban area, they would have a very far commute into work.

Thomas is offered to attend a conference in Italy about Performing Arts. Thomas attends and falls in love with Italy, deciding to move there in order to pursue his musical career. Now with Isaac and Thomas gone, Magda is very lonely. She decides to sit down with Thomas and work on rebuilding their scarred relationship. Magda decides to move to Italy along with Thomas and gets another nanny job there in order to have a steady income for her and Thomas.

Thomas and Magda live in Italy but can only visit Isaac once a year due to the increasingly high prices of air fare. With Isaac being their only son, this is upsetting to them because they rarely see him and Magda and they have only met the grandchildren a few times.  Thomas retires at the age of 65 and returns from Italy and moves to Catlett, VA in order to be closer to his grandchildren.

Thomas comes down with appendicitis, and had multiple follow up infections. Because of this and because of the continuing case of diabetes of Magda, they decide to have a live in nurse at their home. The nurse is there all day but leaves every night after she puts them to bed. The nurse returns every morning and helps with all medical care. One day when the nurse returns in the morning, she finds that Thomas has passed away in his sleep. Magda decides to move in with her son Isaac, and her grandchildren.

July 15 Post Nine

Thomas is now 35 and decides to have a family with Magda. He decides that the number one thing in his life is to make her happy so he goes through with having children. Magda is not aware of his hesitancy to have children which could potentially cause problems when the child arrives. He decides to make a vow to her and she does the same. When Thomas’s parents find out, they are very upset. Thomas parents, Taylor and Marcus are very upset because they are a very traditional family and expected Thomas to follow the same values. They are upset that he is not married to Magda and believe that this should occur before the two of them pursue having a family. Also, they have only met Magda a handful of times and don’t know if they are comfortable having her raise their grandchildren. Despite all this, Thomas and Magda start a family and baby Isaac is born. 

Around age three Isaac starts to show some ADHD tendencies. Thomas has always believed that ADHD was caused by environmental causes, but after having a child with ADHD , he realizes there is a greater genetic component. After doing his research he realizes there is strong evidence that the primary cause of ADHD is genetic, due not to any single gene, but to combined effects of a number of genes, meaning ADHD runs in families. If a parent has ADHD, their child has more than 50 percent chance of having ADHD; for siblings of a child with ADHD, the risk is 32 percent. Causes of ADHD are linked to chronic problems in the release and reloading of two specific neurotransmitter chemicals, dopamine and norepinephrine, that are crucial for effective communication in the management system of the brain. The brain of someone with ADHD apparently makes these chemicals, just like everyone else, but often it does not release and reload them effectively. This may lead to significant inconsistency in the individual’s ability to focus and get things done, especially if the task is not a high-interest activity.

Thomas is trying to find ways to raise a child with ADHD. He has begun writing a little book explaining his experience with ADHD, discussing his own ADHD and how it has affected him in his life and how he has handled it. He can include what has worked, what has been most difficult, and what he has learned most. This is something he plans to share with Isaac once he reaches about age ten. 

Thomas’s parents, Taylor and Magda are upset that Thomas and Magda never had a traditional wedding ceremony. Despite their frustration, they are thrilled to have a grandson and they come and visit all the time. They also watch Isaac during the week since both Thomas and Magda work. Living only 2 hours away from Thomas, they make many weekend trips to visit Isaac. Thomas starts to get annoyed because he feels like they are coming too often.

After having Isaac, Magda has been having a lot of health complications. She developed Gestational diabetes when she was pregnant. This occurs when blood sugar levels get too high during pregnancy. Between 5% and 6% of pregnant women are diagnosed with the condition every year in the United States. Luckily Isaac was still born at a healthy weight. However, after the pregnancy, Magda is still experiencing symptoms related with diabetes. She is trying to control her blood sugar levels through a healthy diet and exercise since her blood sugar values remain high. However, she is a nanny all week every week and is having trouble finding time to exercise and to eat healthy.

Thomas has had at lot of offers to travel for his work at Julliard. He is thrilled because this has always been his dream. However, now he has a family at home and Magda doesn’t think he should travel. Thomas still really wants to travel and think that Magda and Isaac will be fine for the time that he is gone. He doesn’t want to go for long periods of time he only wants to go for a week here and there so he doesn’t see and issue with it. However Magda is very frustrated and believes that this is not a good choice and after making that known to Thomas, the two begin to argue about this situation. However, Thomas’s music class has been offered the chance to play in Italy so he takes it up and leaves for the week. He comes back from the week and Magda has moved out.

1)    Do Taylor and Marcus have a right to be upset that Magda and Thomas didn’t get married in a traditional wedding ceremony?

2)    How much should grandparents be allowed to see their grandchildren?

3)    Besides diet and exercise, what are some other treatments that will help with Magda’s diabetes?

Decision Point:

Did Magda have the right to leave? What does Thomas do next? Does he try to get back with her, or move on?

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconceptioncare/conditioninfo/pages/health-problems.aspx

July 11 Post Eight

    Thomas and his girlfriend Magda decide to move in together in a bungalow outside of Manhattan in Brooklyn.  After much deliberation, they believe that this would save them both money and it would give them a better idea of what living together is like for future purposes.  

    Upon graduation, Thomas accepted the teaching position and will start out making around $65,000 a year as an adjunct professor.  Juilliard had ensured that with experience and exceptional teaching, Thomas could become a full-time professor within the next few years.  They also offered to pay for Thomas’s Master’s degree education.  

    Meanwhile, Magda and Thomas are having minor issues at home in their train house style apartment.  Oftentimes Thomas feels like Magda is on him constantly about something and Magda feels distant from him.  They decided to go to the doctor together to see if it had something to do with his ADHD.  The doctor agreed that it was very much so the ADHD causing some of the issues and advised them to begin doing activities together in the city and spending stress-free time together since the past few months of their twenty-three year old lives has been filled with drastic changes.  Thomas also voiced his thoughts about going off of Ritalin eventually.  The doctor decided that since this is what Thomas truly desired to begin taking a smaller dosage every day.  Eventually, the doctor wants to go to every other day with this dosage.  The current regimen of the smaller dosage every day will continue for about three months, and the doctor wants Thomas to return when the three months.  The doctor advised Thomas to call ASAP if anything strange or worrisome occurs because it could be a side effect of a smaller dosage.  The doctor decides only to go down 50 milligrams since Thomas has had the same dosage for over ten years now.  

    Thomas follows his new regimen of medication and finds himself to be okay.  He does not notice a difference in his mood or actions; he is the same as he has always been.  Magda said that she notices he has been happier and more care free instead of being uptight so much.  She may think that the move had put a lot of stress on him and could have contributed to his weird moods and distance.  They go running together every other morning through a park right down the road from their apartment.  They did this until winter came and decide to join the local 24-hour YMCA to stay active while it is cold outside.  Magda and Thomas’s relationship has grown since this transition.  They manage everything together with open communication.  

    Magda is from Morocco and speaks fluent French, which opened the opportunity for her to begin a nanny job.  She quit her job at the private school so that she could be a nanny for very wealthy people on the upper east side of Manhattan.  Thomas is happy that Magda is pursuing something she enjoys, but is worried that it will make her want children of her own.  Thomas does not know how he feels about that-he loves her and wants to be with her but he is getting worried that they want different things in life now.  Thomas still wishes he could travel, but he may end up having to put that off much longer in order to make his true love happy.

Questions:

1.  How much do nanny’s get paid in Manhattan versus how much do private school teachers make in Manhattan?  With Thomas making around $65,000 a year, would starting a family be a smart financial decision?  (Keep in mind that Thomas’s schooling for his Master’s would be paid for) Lastly, would starting a family make life more stressful for Thomas?

2. How long does it take for one to get weaned off of a medication like Ritalin?  Do people learn to live without it?

3.  How does ADHD affect offspring?  Is it more likely to occur if a parent has it?  What could Thomas and Magda do to prevent this or manage it if ADHD were increasingly likely in their child?

Decision Point:

Does Thomas decide to start a family with Magda together?  Would this involve a traditional ceremony or just a vow to each other?

Citations:

http://www.ehow.com/info_8669769_salary-professor-juilliard.html

July 8 Post Seven

The summer between his sixth and seventh grade year, Taylor and Marcus decide to move to allow Thomas the chance to excel in his piano performances. They are taking the initiative to set him up with a musical education just in case his skill set is not enough for the future.  Taylor and Marcus did discuss this with twelve year old Thomas, and he agreed that he wanted to pursue piano and go to the Conservatory of Musical Arts in Southern NJ.

            Thomas adjusts very quickly to the new school. He easily makes friends with similar interests, starts taking a few beginner as well as advanced classes and soon becomes challenged with piano. The beginners classes help him with his improper form and self taught tendencies. The advanced classes also push him ahead several years with more complex compositions and performances.

            For his sixteenth birthday, Taylor and Marcus throw Thomas a huge “sweet sixteen” bash. They celebrate with close family and many of the friends Thomas has met these past few years. With his few best friends, they go up to New York to see the Heritage Blues Orchestra perform, his favorite performing group.

Thomas continues to develop normally along with his peers. He focuses on his performances and skillset and excels at the Conservatory of Musical Arts. Normally, adolescents with ADHD have much more trouble in school and often have disciplinary problems, are poorly organized, and have trouble developing relationships and controlling their emotions. Because of the specialized learning environment and staying on a strict medicine regiment, Thomas has done much better. He remains on Ritalin throughout school. He develops in the same pace and ways as his peers. None of his instructors or teachers even knows that he has ADHD. He has enough to get him occupied throughout school between classes, performances, and being class president. Soon. It's time to start looking for colleges.

Thomas graduates in the top 10 of his class with honors. He receives a partial scholarship to the University of Alabama's School of Music in Tuscaloosa. After talking to the head of the school of music, Thomas realizes he is really interested in being submersed in an area where blues and classical go hand-in-hand.

           

Throughout college Thomas struggles with his classes. It has been a while since he received classes on anything other than music. He has trouble with his general education classes and music theory and history. He does however meet a girl who he begins to date who is also a music major. Once or twice a semester, Thomas sells his Ritalin to students who know he is taking it. He sees it as easy side money but never extends past friends and acquaintances he already knows. It doesn’t become an issue and he gets away with no issues.

He takes time to think about going off of Ritalin. He hasn't spoken with his doctor for 2 years now and he's been taking it so long now that he doesn't realize the difference from what his normal behavior would be. His parents advise against this but give him the ultimate choice since he will be living on his own now and not under their roof. He decides to wait until he is finished with college. Just in case, staying on medication is helping him with school and classes like it did since he was younger, he doesn’t want to chance his grades dropping any lower than what they already are.

         Four years later, he graduates and is offered an adjunct teaching position at the Julliard school of Performing Arts based on his performances in the school’s jazz band and classical orchestra.  He plans to pursue a Master’s degree, has a girlfriend of three years now and dreams of traveling and watching different music around the world in person. He doesn't know if should put off the Master's for a few years when he's more settled or go right away while knowledge is still fresh in his mind. His girlfriend is also offered a position nearby Julliard in a private school teaching music classes in elementary students. They seem to be doing very well. They have their arguments from time to time but so do all couples. They talk about possibly moving in together and getting married.

Citations:

http://www.in.gov/icsb/files/performing-arts-conservatoryatt20-app-full-1.pdf

http://music.ua.edu/contact-us/

Questions:

1.What are the effects of Ritalin on individuals who do not have ADD, ADHD, or another disorder that it can be prescribed for? Approximately how much of it is distributed each year in colleges illegally?

2. What are the possible side effects of immediately stopping medications such as Ritalin? Are withdrawal symptoms likely?

3. If given a general overview and average, how does one partner with ADHD effect the outcome or growth of a relationship? What about both partner?

Decision Point:

Does Thomas have enough motivation to become an adjunct professor at Julliard in NY with his girlfriend, or does pursue his dreams to travel the world first?