And then it was nine...

 It seems like these post stroke anniversaries come around faster and faster each year...nine years, wow. Here is a recap on what has happened this past year. 

Jake graduated high school on June 8th! I was so thankful we were all able to attend in person. Up until just a few weeks before, it was looking like only 4 of us could go which would have left out his  grandparents. We then found out about a week prior that 8 of us could attend. We were so incredibly proud of Jake and how well he did in high school. 

He started his internship with Cherry Creek School District in the IT Department last summer and found he really liked it. He was able to get hired on as a temp employee through December. 

He also took classes throughout the fall at Community College of Aurora. 

I mentioned last year about the foot surgery he needed to have due to a lot of pain he'd been having in his foot. He opted to wait until winter break so it wouldn't interfere with school and work. It was a pretty extensive surgery and he was in quite a bit of discomfort for a few weeks. He also decided to get his wisdom teeth pulled while he was recovering, he just wanted to get everything over with. It did not make for a very fun winter break for him!

Jake started a new job with the school district in January working at Campus Middle School as IT Tech Support. He also started PT on his foot in early February. Working full-time and doing PT, he decided to take the semester off from classes. 

We have been so pleased on how he has recovered from the surgery and he's doing things he's never been able to do. His PT has him doing one legged squats on his left leg (the side he has foot surgery on), can balance on that foot, and has gained a lot of strength. The best part of it all is he is pain free. He and Todd recently went to Florida for a 4 day music festival and not only walked 7-8 miles each day, but stood almost all day and had no pain. I would have been wiped out! It is so amazing to see him able to walk around the house without his brace and have a flat foot...no rolling onto the side of his foot, no limping from pain, just walking. 

I am loving being the parent of a young adult. Jake is becoming really independent and is so responsible. I've always know how capable he was, it's just really cool to see it all happening right in front of me.