My Son; My Hero

Jon had been sick with the flu and we were nursing it along at home. Call it mother's intuition, call it an act of God, but for whatever the reason I woke up in the middle of the night.

There was no reason for it and I couldn't figure out why I was awake.

On my way back to bed, I looked in on him only to find him not breathing in his crib. We spent the next several days in the hospital, and came away with even more labels.

The lack of oxygen he experienced at birth? Add that to this most recent episode, and our next diagnosis of left spastic hemiplegia was given (cerebral palsy).

It was also determined that he had pulmonary stenosis, which means the pulmonary valve in his heart is narrow. I was then told that he had sleep apnea, meaning he would stop breathing for short periods of time when asleep.

It was overwhelming.

When we came home, it was with a fetal heart monitor (the same kind that is given to parents with "preemies") and this began another chapter in our lives.

Now we had a visiting nurse coming to our home in between going to Easter Seals 5 days a week, where he would receive physical, occupational and speech therapy.

At 18 months, the monitor went away as did the visiting nurse and home visits and for the first time we were able to settle into some sort of routine.

One that didn't revolve around constant appointments.

In spite of all Jon has had thrown in his path, he has managed to overcome every obstacle thrown in front of him.

Is it any wonder I am so proud to be called his mom?

· Student of the Quarter
This was a big deal at his high school for a couple of reasons; he was a special education student receiving the award and he was nominated in both his Junior and Senior years.

· After graduation, he continued in a Life Skills program.
Here you see him hamming it up upon completion of the program. It was scheduled to be a 3 year program that he completed in two.

· He got involved with DVR (Department of Vocational Rehab)
This, in addition to his life skills program, prepared him for his next adventure. He found a job at Albertson's! He has worked there for a year, and last I heard he is up for a promotion.

Some others:

· He lives semi-independently.

· He has spent time volunteering at our local food bank and animal shelter.

· With a lot of hard work, others are now able to see the amazing person he is. While this has always been apparent to me, it does my heart good to see others appreciating him for who he has become.