It's hard to believe that it's been eight years since this whole journey with Jake began. Looking back he seemed so young and little when his aneurysm burst...now he has just finished his senior year and will be graduating high school on June 8th.
I think having your child graduate is a huge milestone for all parents. Jake's brings a whole extra set of emotions along with it. He's been through so much these past eight years and has worked so hard to get to where to he is today. Add to that, it's been a crazy year that didn't feel at all like a a traditional senior year.
He's been a trooper through all the school changes - starting in August with a mix of online and in school learning, to 100% online, back to mixed, and finishing the year out full-time in person. I am really thankful he gets to have a close to normal graduation with us, Luke, and both sets of grandparents in attendance.
Jake has decided to attend Community College of Aurora for at least the next year while he figures out what he wants to major in. He's pretty burned out on school right now and really doesn't know what he wants to do. He's leaning towards economics and we'll see how that goes. He's working this summer as an intern with Cherry Creek Schools in their IT department helping get 1000's of new computers set up for next year. It's the perfect job for him since it's not a lot of time on his feet and 4 hour shifts.
Jake continues to go to OT and PT and he's also looking at another potential foot surgery this fall. You may remember he had a pretty major foot surgery back in July of 2016 and unfortunately his foot has regressed and is looking a lot like it did prior to his previous surgery. If you look at this x-ray, you'll see his left foot and ankle pronate out and it causes a lot of pressure to be put on the outside of his foot when walking. We've spent the better part of a year trying different braces and adjustments to get him comfortable when he's walking. Spending so much time at home and not having to walk at school ended up being a huge blessing while all this was going on. We've finally got him in a pretty good place and he's relatively comfortable in his brace. We walked over 6 miles a couple of days ago while touring the University of Wisconsin with Luke and he was tired, but not in any pain. That was a huge win. The surgery would allow him to be more comfortable walking without his brace when at home and just get his foot in better placement. We are leaving the decision up to him since he is the one who has to tolerate the pain. If he decides to have the surgery, it will mean 3 weeks of non-weight bearing and 3 weeks in a walking cast following by a lot of PT. There isn't any availability until mid-September, so things will get interesting with attending college classes.
It is such a blessing to see the young man he is turning into. He is kind, thoughtful, incredibly helpful around the house, and is extremely appreciative. I honestly don't know how we got so lucky, he truly is an amazing kid. While this has not been an easy journey, I am so thankful for all the support we've received the past eight years, especially through the school. He's has had some incredible support staff and teachers in his corner. I am really going to miss them now that his chapter of his life is closing.
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