For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, I’d like to introduce Jack ‘I am bigger then my hemiplegia’ Livingstone.

 

Jack is a high energy three year old (four in June, 2010), who is simply larger then life. When Jack smiles, the warmth fills the room. His corn cob teeth, little nose topped off with spectacular hazel colored eyes behind little glasses, his little gimpy, determined walk, and his extraordinary ability to do things with very little help from ‘righty’ is Jack in a nutshell.

For us, he is the completion of our family. The closure of our circle. As our baby, everything little thing he does is greeted with ooh’s and aah’s, made only more meaningful when we stop to think how truly amazing he is.

 

Finding out Jack had a massive stroke at 2 days old seems like a very distant memory. The week that followed in the ICU is a blur.  And there is Jack, already a little trooper at just a few days old, having been through more testing then I knew was possible on a 5 pound little mite. He was prodded and poked, needles in places we can only imagine and seriously try not to, and yet he slept and ate and thrived through it all. All the tests said there was no discernable reason for the stroke, the doctors said ‘the only thing we know for sure is that Jack will be a lefty, we have no idea what his cognitive or physical abilities will be’. Great, thanks for the insight as to what life hereafter was to be like.

 

We survived those early days, with family around. And we simply started a new once we got home from the hospital. We made his homecoming from the hospital as if he had just come home for the first time. It wasn’t a conscious thing, it just happened. We played with Jack, fed him, worried about him and before we knew it, he was two months old, sleeping through the night, eating well and just as cute as could be.

 

I don’t remember much of that time, and how all the steps fell in to place. I remember getting a follow up list from the hospital – one visit to the Hematologist at about 2 months and one visit to the Neurologist about 1 month later. At the Neurologists office, I was given a prescription for Jack to receive Occupational and Physical therapy. I remember asking her if she could recommend anyone to me, but she said I should just try find someone close by where we lived. Ok then. I called a neighborhood friend, who I knew pre-mommy days, she was a geriatric physical therapist and begged her to help me since she had ‘therapist’ in her title! She gave me the name of a friend of hers who didn’t even live in the Orlando area, who then gave me the name of the place to start. Early Steps. 

 

That was the beginning of many, many evaluations on the way to beginning Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy (fine motor skills and upper extremity) and Physical Therapy. At two months old, my beloved little baby started therapy. Twice a week for each different therapy. The trip to creating Jack’s team was not an easy one. What does one not experienced in dealing with all this know to decide who’s good and who’s not. I have learnt that my gut works for me. It lets me know when something is not right, and when there is a little innocent child involved, you get on with it and make the demands you need to get the job done, and done right.

 

Today Jack is in the Varying Exceptionalities Pre-K class at Lawton Elementary, the same school his sister Natalie and neighborhood friends go to. He continues to master skills that we did not dare hope for, but worked hard towards every day.

 

A few accomplishments of the last year:

Can ride a tricycle, steering beautifully with both hands

Can ride a four wheeler power wheels that requires 'righty' foot to control the pedal and lift it off to stop!

Is using both hands during regular activities

Can open all fingers on righty hand, (this time last year he could barely open two fingers)

most recently, can actually carry some heavier objects in righty hand without the help from lefty!

He can take off his clothes with just a little help and pulls up his pants using both hands (have you tried to pull your pants up with one hand recently:-)

 

I will keep adding as I remember. He has so many accomplishments every day of his life, he works so hard for every one of them big and small.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read Jack's story, please pass it on to anyone you know, and lets spread the word for Childhood Stroke Awareness!