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How YMCA Teachers Helped Zayan Return to Preschool After Hip Surgery

Metro Y Staff : Published

Child Care Our Cause
How YMCA Teachers Helped Zayan Return to Preschool After Hip Surgery
How YMCA Teachers Helped Zayan Return to Preschool After Hip Surgery
2:57
 When Zayan, 3, needed surgery on both hips this spring, her family faced a long recovery and plenty of unknowns, including what it would mean for child care.
 
“When we found out, we were shocked and completely overwhelmed,” said Zayan’s parents, Nadia Hidayatallah and Nadia Brittingham. “The YMCA was so understanding, and they reassured us that she would have a place to return to when she was ready. That was an immense relief.”
 
Zayan had been at the South Mountain YMCA Early Childhood Learning Center since she was 12 weeks old, with the same teaching team from the infant room through the Chameleons toddler class: Ms. Shelia, Ms. Niah, Ms. Nadisha, and Ms. Adrian.
 
“I remember telling them the news. My tears were met with warm hugs, empathy, and support,” Hidayatallah said.
 
Before surgery, the Chameleons team threw Zayan a class sendoff party, made a poster with drawings from her classmates, and put together a care package for her recovery. During her six weeks in a cast from chest to ankles, they sent videos of her friends saying they missed her, and her lead teacher visited her after surgery.
 
About 10 weeks into recovery, Zayan came back, though she was not yet walking. Her teachers adapted the classroom to her: she moved at her own pace, used her stroller when she needed it, and joined activities safely alongside her friends.
 
“We weren’t sure if this was the right decision given everything she had endured, but within a few days, we knew it was the best possible thing for her,” her parents said. “Her teachers helped manage her recovery with such love and care and helped her peers to be kind, gentle, and inclusive.”
 
In September, Zayan moved up to the Dragonflies preschool classroom, still not walking. Her new teachers, Ms. Kesha, Ms. Chanelle, and Ms. Gloria, worked diligently on her mobility, encouraging her to get moving while never hesitating to give her a little extra TLC. Then Ms. Keshia picked up two walkers for her, one for home and one for school.
 
“We were beyond moved,” Hidayatallah said. “Zayan’s joyous grin as she showed me how she could use the walker for the first time nearly brought me to tears. She was so proud of herself as she walked toward me down the hall.”
 
Over the next few days, her teachers decorated the walker with ribbons, feathers, a basket, and a bell in her favorite colors, pink and purple.
 
Today, staff across the building stop at drop-off and pickup to cheer on her progress.
 
“I joke that she’s the ‘sweetheart of the Y,’ but it really does feel like the community has come together to support our daughter,” Hidayatallah said. “We don’t have any extended family in the area, and the YMCA has truly partnered with us on this journey. What a gift.”
 
At the South Mountain YMCA, every child has a place to learn, grow, and belong, including during life’s hardest chapters. Learn more about the Early Childhood Learning Center.
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