Moving faster than the speed of light!   |   Thursday, July 7, 2011

Jonathon S. is a 9 year old whirling dervish! Suffering from Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy, he makes the most of every movement, taking in with every sense, touching, seeing and moving to the beat of his own drummer. Diagnosed with the MD at about 11 months old, his Mom knew something wasnt' right. Crawling was delayed and he didn't walk till he was 3 years old. Little does he know, that this disease, without a cure, will have him crawling again in a few short years. Researching Duchene's a bit, I learned that this mostly affects little boys, their physical developement is quite delayed, sometimes there are mental deficits and usually they will be wheelchair bound by their late childhood and will die in their teens. Not a pretty picture of a future for this delightful, active 9 year old.
He's in 3rd grade and his favorite class is, "recess." No kiddiing....this kid is making up for the time lost as an infant and toddler and the time he'll loose in the near future! Already preparing for the inevitable, Jonathon has been matched with a Service Dog, named "Figaro." He and the dog are in the bonding phases and Figaro already preforms simple tasks for Jonathon, but as he physical ability declines, Figaro will become more and more, Jonathon's hands and feet. His Mom says, he's expected to be in a wheelchair by age 11-12.
No wonder he's still trying with all he has to do it all, see it all, feel it all. He's an inspiration. My picture of determination and persistence. How much do we take for granted every day? Think about Jonathon. He's truly a Kourageous Kid!

Labels: Kourageous Kids, Muscular Dystrophy, Terri Shaver, The Oldham Project

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