So I survived my first week back at work after a three month absence. My first day back was wonderful. Everyone welcomed me back with smiles and hugs. No on asked me why I was gone for so long, they just said they were happy to have me back. My students were mostly happy to see me (some just didn't care lol). One said it was the best day ever because I was back, one jumped for joy and tackled me with a hug, and a few others smiled and gave me hugs while yelling "ms wildflower!". It was awesome. I'm so happy that I make a true impact on my students, and that they weren't put off by my behavior in the beginning of the year when I was always crying and known as the teacher who never smiles.

Work is a little hard to get back into. Thanks to the ECT, I have forgotten a lot of the basics of my job, like how to do IEPs and who gets incident reports. But thankfully I have been able to explain this to my administration- not mentioning ECT, just saying some of the treatments I had caused memory problems. They said it was not a problem. They also gave me my facilitator as a co-teacher for a couple of week until I get back in the swing of things. She has been so helpful in planning lessons for next week!

My major problem, which caused a bit of frustration today, is my concentration is shot. I think it's a side effect of the ECT. I just can't focus on anything for extended time! It's impacting my teaching because I am getting lost in the middle of lessons, forgetting what I have already said and stuff. I'm also having trouble preparing for class because I'm having trouble remembering what needs to be done. And I'm having trouble addressing all the behavior that needs to be addressed.

Do you think my brain will recover from the ECT over time and I will get my memory back? I did last time but I had more treatments this time, AND it's the second time I've gotten ECT.

Well I hope so. But I'm happy with the support I've received from my coworkers and administration. I'm very lucky!