Hank has always wanted to be a pilot. Then when he was just a little boy, his eyesight was damaged through an illness with Heamophilus Influenza type B. He was in the hospital about two weeks. We lived in KS at the time, so it was long days and longer nights away from our family and all that we knew. This illness was in his bloodstream and we were told that it would cause organ system failure which would lead to death or mental retardation. Thankfully, none of that happened. What we were not told is that it could cause deafness and blindness.
He wasn't blind but he was in glasses by age 4 with his eyesight changing rapidly.
Move ahead to Hank in elementary school. Something was just not right. I knew...it seemed we all knew it, but the school. Finally in 5th grade he had a hearing screen and we found out that he needed hearing aids. We asked the school to keep him in 5th grade to give him a chance to adjust to the aids and to get a better foundation for reading and math before plunging straight into middle school.
They did not see it that way....
That was the start of our homeschool journey.
I cannot believe that we are finishing that journey in about 3 and a half months!
His eyes have now stablilized. His hearing he believed was healed several years ago at a conference we were at back at our home church in Cabot.
He found out he can be a pilot if he meets the vision requirement with his glasses. He has decided to go for it......in Tulsa.
He sat down with me last night and we started all the paperwork for graduation, another run at the ACT, and to gather more info from his top three schools of choice.
Y'all, it was all I could do not to turn into a blubbering mess. I have feelings of pride for my boy that we were told would not succeed in school. In fact his 4th grade teacher told us he had ADD, Dyslexia, Aspergers, and a host of other things that were not true. We know they were not true because he had to be tested for all of that due to her recommendations. The boy had absolutely nothing wrong but hearing loss. She also told me it was because his Dad and I, my first husband, were divorced....Lie! Girlfriends, let that be a lesson to you. The enemy wants to destroy you and your family. If he can just get a toe hold on your self esteem, he will do it! Guard against any negativity like that toward you or your family. That was a lie and I knew it, but if I had let it sink in and dwelt on it.....Hank's future, and mine, may have looked very different.
It's been a hard road for him. Due to the hearing impairment we were behind the 8 ball when we started homeschooling. He made up ground quickly. He wanted to learn. Was it easy? No way....there was a lot of tears and a even more prayer. I will confess that somedays I just didn't know what to do to help him learn. I wanted to throw my hands up. He probably did too. But, we made it. We worked together and figured out how he learned the best and just went for it! I am so glad God has bountiful grace and mercy, because Lord knows, He had to cover me a multitude of times over.
Now here we are. He was given hope again when he saw that he had a chance to go for his pilots license. Not only that, he has a couple of good back up plans if he still can't pass the vision tests. He said, "Mom, I am not going to think about failing. I am just going to say, When I become a pilot. It worked for Donald Trump, he said, When he becomes president, he never said if...." so there is one positive for DJT...he has influenced my son to take a positive approach.
Y'all, my boy with his big ol'servants heart, is going out into this world that is cruel and unforgiving. I don't know if I can stand it. I know that with this, just like everything else that has happened in my life, good and bad, God will be there to give me strength when I have none, His spirit will encourage me, and with Him beside me and Frank on the other side....we will see this boy through this season.
I'm exctied for his future, but just know that I will be standing there from the sidelines with a proud heart and misty eyes.
It's all part of the journey, Regina
