I found out today that one of my favorite paraprofessionals passed away. Cynthia was definitely one of a kind and her presence will be missed by so many. When I started at my school Cynthia was a one to one health para for one of our medically fragile students. I didn’t know the student that well, I mean I knew what nursing procedures she had ordered but I didn’t know the student like what was normal or not normal for her as a person. Cynthia was very patient with me and gave me pretty much the student’s whole past history because she had been assigned to this student for a few years. She knew her in and out.
Cynthia was very, very pro child/pro student. Everything she did was for her class and the students of that class. The past two years Cyn was assigned a different medically fragile student. A boy this time. She never took her eyes off him. Literally. She felt it was her job to give her all to that student and that is what she did. If she didn’t feel as though that student was “right” in that moment, morning, noon or afternoon she would call or simply bring the child to the nursing office for me to check him out. On more than one occasion Cynthia followed her gut and she was right that the student wasn’t well that day and needed more interventions that we could give him there at school. I trusted her and she trusted me. We had a great working relationship and I enjoyed her as a person as well. She didn’t talk much about herself. But was not shy in her observations of you and she would think nothing of letting you know what she was thinking.
I can’t believe she’s not here anymore. She’s with the Lord dancing with Jesus. I know this with all my heart.
Menay O; mom to 4, Christian and thrift shopper on the side... 