Jake celebrated his 12th birthday this week! He had a few friends over on Friday night for a sleepover and it was interesting comparing this year's celebration with last year's. He has really come so far in the past 12 months.
Last year was really tough on Todd and I seeing what a hard time Jake had trying to keep up with his friends...physically, socially and his stamina in general. While he's still not 100%, this year was so much better. He was part of the conversation, kept up when they were goofing around and stayed up much later than we thought he could. In fact, after midnight, we had to finally tell them it was time to wind it down. It took the rest of the weekend to recoup, but that's not all that abnormal after a sleepover, even for Luke. Todd and I were talking Saturday morning about how the differences between Jake and his friends have lessened over the past year...he really has made a lot of progress. We're also really pleased that he's got good friends that have stuck with him.
On a completely different note, one of the things we've noticed with Jake is he tends to go through phases/cycles. Right now he seems more anxious about things. Looking back, it started around the time he had his CT scan a few weeks ago. He has become acutely aware of every ache and pain and is focusing on those feelings to the point he's constantly worried that "something else bad is going to happen." It's so hard to see him genuinely worried that his eyes being irritated might mean he's going blind or a stomach ache means he is going to get sick and it will affect his walking. (He got a cold a couple times last winter and his walking really regressed while his body was fighting off the cold.) It's started affecting him being able to go to sleep at night because he lays there thinking about and focusing on every thing that feels slightly off in his body.
Todd and I are constantly telling him that the stomach aches, head aches, etc. are normal and it doesn't mean anything is "wrong." I've also told him that when I stop and think about and focus on what's going on in my body, my back is a little sore, my stomach a little irritated and my eyes are dry. We are encouraging him not to focus too much on the little aches and pains and reassure him that he really is ok. It's hard knowing how much of this is due to what happened to him and how much could be very normal for a 12 year old. We're just hoping it doesn't last too long and will continue to reassure him the best we can.
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