As some of you may know, Jake our sixteen year old son was diagnosed with Ushers Type 2a 3 years ago, at the time Trev and I thought our world had ended and wondered how Jake would cope, he was a sensitive 13 year old, but we needn’t have worried. Jake literally grew up overnight and in his words “we’ll deal with this head on, get on with life and see what happens”. If a 13 year old could say that then what right did we have to look on the down side. That was the moment we realised we needed to let Jake take the lead and we would follow.
Jakes not the most academic person and was predicted D grades in his GCSE’s but with his usual determination he achieved 4 C’s along with those D’s. I’ve recently spoken to one of his old teachers who said Jake is the pupil she will always remember because despite being given the devastating news of Ushers he buckled down and although he struggled sometimes he wouldn’t give up and he should own his achievements.
Then there’s his passion for karting, he takes on adults and holds his own, he sometimes gets a battering (cos he isn’t heavy enough) but that doesn’t deter him it just makes him want it more, then there’s night racing, could have been a problem but having no night vision doesn’t stop him, he sticks a light on his helmet and off he goes.
Now he’s started college doing Motor Vehicle Technician at level 2 and he’s made new friends (that’s a relief he’s quite shy sometimes), they all have motorbikes and yes you guessed it he wants one too, can’t blame him he just wants to be the same as his mates and be independent, so we’ve filled in the licence form and extra form declaring his Ushers, it’s now a waiting game to see if he can have one :-s, do I want him to have a bike, no, not really but that’s coz I don’t like them, he’s a sensible young man who knows his limitations, he knows he can’t ride a bike at dusk/night and won’t put himself in situations that aren’t right for him. For him, I hope he gets a licence as his next thing is wanting a car (I feel better about that option).
People say how strong we are but in all truth were not, we take Jakes lead and if he can be positive then so can we, Jake is the most positive, strong, stubborn, determined, loving and thoughtful person we know and we wouldn’t want him any other way.
Thanks for reading
Debbie and Trev xx
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