School lunch special time for mom, kids

“I have heart failure and SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), which is like an irregular heart beat. It makes me feel tired a lot. Some days I have to stay in bed. I can’t play with them like I used to. I can’t run and do things like I used to when they were very little. I’ve had it for about five years. This past year, it got worse. I was at the hospital once or twice a week for a few months, until they got me on the right heart medication. It helps. I haven’t been back to the ER in two or three months.

“I try not to think about it too much. I do what I can do and just know my limits. One of the things I really enjoy is eating lunch with them at school. I’ve been doing it pretty much every day since they started. I just miss them too much when they’re not at home. Everyone at school knows me. All the teachers know me. All the janitors know me. The front desk, they all know me. They automatically type in my name and give me my sticker.

“And I know the kids like it. They ask me every day, every single day: ‘Are you going to eat lunch with us today?’ If there’s ever a time that I can’t make it, they’re like, ‘Where were you? Why weren’t you there?’ When I was growing up, it’s something my mom wasn’t able to do. She was a single mom with four girls. She had to work all the time. Maybe that’s why I do it with them, because I have the opportunity that my mom didn’t have. It’s a pretty special time for us.”

— Jessica Fernandez (with Jasmine and Santiago Jr.)