We went to see Jake's Neurosurgeon this week and for some reason I needed to ask him details about Jake's stroke. Back when all this was happening, there were so many things to be concerned with, I never asked. I wanted to know how bad his stroke was and if they rate them somehow, he just said "It was bad." He went on to show us Jake's scans and explained the severity of his stroke was due to the size of the bleed, the pressure that was caused from the bleed and the damage to the vascular structure in and around the bleed area. He then showed us the scan that was done right after surgery and it had a pretty large gray area, that was the area of damage. I hadn't remembered seeing that scan before and was quite surprised to see how extensive the damage was. He then went on to tell me that the fact they did surgery within 30 minutes of Jake arriving at Children's also speaks to the seriousness of the situation, that's not something they like to do that quickly if they can help it. The last thing he said was "I'm not saying this to be dramatic, but it was life threatening. Jake is a miracle." Wow. A lot of these are things I knew on some level, but hearing them almost a year later I processed it differently. After we left his office, I got this overwhelming peace and warmth followed by feeling so thankful that Jake is doing as well as he is. I watched him walk down the corridor with so much pride, he has worked so hard to get where he is today.
When they started sharing some of the survivor's stories, Jake happened to be standing next to one of the girls being featured and got his picture up on the jumbotron above all the scrolling names.I think the thing that made me the happiest about the whole evening was seeing Jake have so much fun. He loved being on the field and seeing himself on the jumbotron but I think for him, getting to hang out with one of his best friends was just as good. When Connor found out Jake was being honored at the game, he asked his parents if he could go. He had seats a few rows back from us but there was an empty seat in our row, so he came and sat with Jake during the game. Watching the two of them was pure joy. They talked, laughed, cracked jokes, and danced when the music came on trying to get on camera. It was the most "pre-stroke" Jake I've seen since all this happened a year ago. All our extended family came to the game and I got calls and texts today from them commenting how great it was to see him have so much fun. I couldn't agree more.
It's hard to believe that on May 31st, it will have been a year since all this happened. Todd and I have been talking a lot about how we wanted to recognize his first anniversary as a survivor. We decided we have a lot to celebrate so we are throwing a party. This has been a tough year to say the least, one we could not have got through without all the prayers, love and support we've received. In addition to all the people I know that have offed support, there are many of you I've never met that have prayed for Jake and read the blog regularly. If any of you would like to join us to celebrate how far Jake has come, we'd love to have you. We'll be having cake and ice cream sundaes on May 31st from 2:00-4:00, come and go as you can. I hit a little snag with our original location on Friday, so will be figuring out the new one on Monday. Please send an email to dkmorg@gmail.com and I'll get you the details.
Gosh, Dana - this made me cry! The joy in Jake's face in these photos is awesome (and Connor, too!). I am so glad your family was able to celebrate Jake this way BEFORE the big shin-dig next week. Truly a miracle.
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