Information meeting at the kindergarten.

Since a few years back, at the pediatric clinic at Queen Silvia’s, there is a person they call contact nurse. Her job is to liaise between the healthcare side and, say, school and pre-school. Conveniently enough, she’s also Abbe’s nurse when we do our check ups.

Some weeks ago, she visited Abbe’s kindergarten to inform the staff about things which can be useful to know when it comes to heart children. She had also taken the opportunity to invite along an information consultant from The Swedish Information Center for Rare Diseases – “SmågruppsCentrum” – to talk a bit about the 22q11-syndrome. I must say that was brilliant.

Abbe’s teachers were there, one of the teachers from big brother’s class, too. But there was also a woman there, whom I’d never seen. She introduced herself as the new headmistress. She is fairly new on her post and has taken the place of the acting headmaster who gave Abbe a place at Montessori after the previous one had to leave. Are you following?

Anyway. I was very surprised and extremely happy. We’re talking a commitment which, to be honest, I could never have imagined coming from the former headmaster. I have rarely felt I disturbed anyone, bothered anyone and taken up their precious time as much as that time when I tried to make her explain why Abbe was unable to get a place at pre school. But now – bloody hell. Here, a completely new person spends a whole evening listening, making notes and asking questions. It turns out the new headmistress previously had a pupil with 22q11, at her former school. And when it’s time to go home, she concludes by saying “Don’t you worry about how it’s going to be later in school. We’ll just have to put in the resources needed when that time comes.”

A cheer for the new headmistress!