Changes in Doctors, looking at possible changes in schools

As you probably read into my last post, I wasn't happy with the responses I was getting from our previous peds GI.  He didn't seem to think that Pumpkin had a problem.  Pumpkin wouldn't talk to him either because he was a man, and foreign and older.  I think he intimidated us and we didn't really feel he was listening to us.

Last month we visited a new GI in Chicago.  It is a much longer commute, but we liked her very much.  She listened to us and brought us into what she was thinking and planning, which is right along the same track as I.  I hoped that she would want to repeat her scopes and see that Pumpkin was not in remission and give us hope that we could make some changes in her regimen.  She didn't have Pumpkin's records from her previous GI, but promised to look them over and planned an upper GI and colonoscopy, which we will do next week.  She also is considering pill cam again, since that is what showed most of Pumpkin's inflammation last time.  She seems to be treating Pumpkin as a whole and not just her numbers, which have never been very impressive.  I'm thrilled!

Other IBD kids on the forums all seem superkids with amazing stories and seem to come through everything shining like some super hero. We're having more of a struggle when it comes to high school.

Pumpkin has always struggled to keep up with school. She is a bright girl and catches onto concepts quickly. Problem is: she is sick so often she has a hard time keeping up and when she gets behind she starts hating school and stops trying. She struggles mainly with two aspects of school: taking notes and writing. She is a slow writer. Getting concepts from her brain onto paper takes a long time. If you ask her the same question she'll tell you the answer orally without any problem. I will admit, I've been lax on making her do the written stuff, because I feel that it would be impossible for her to keep up with it all. Now she is finishing her freshman year and I hear her saying things like, "I don't think I can do ________" because I won't be able to go to college anyway. She thinks college will be too hard for her. I don't know how to help her. I brought her home this semester halfway through the year because she was so miserable. Granted she did pull off As and Bs last semester at her private school. However, the stress seemed to be making her Crohn's worse and worse. I'm glad now that she is only doing half-time school at the private school, because she has a colonoscopy coming up, starting Remicade (probably), etc. That would definitely put her over the edge.

We went last week and took a look at the public high school. My oldest daughter wants to transfer there for more opportunities for different classes. Pumpkin, on the other hand, is not so sure. I'm not so sure! It is so scary to make changes, especially when you don't know what it is like, and when your child's health may or may not be good... They aren't taking her homeschool class credits this semester (English, History and Biology) and so she'd probably have to do them over (or take remedial English - which sounds like a bad word to have on your transcript...). I'm not sure what to do. I have these options: 1. continue to do what we're doing - half-time homeschool, and half-time private school (I feel her education is lacking in the English department); 2. put her back in the private school full time (very stressful, but supportive staff); 3. try public school, and hope they work with me to find a track that fits her; 4. full-time homeschooling with an accredited program that she can do at her own pace.

Thanks for any advice or encouragement you may have!