Discovered

Sometimes the best discoveries are the kind that you didn't expect.

Before Jake was born, his doctors told us that because the location of the lesion on his spine, he would most definitely be paralyzed from the waist down. We were devastated. His lesion ranges from the L2 to the L4 areas of the spine, and according to his doctors, this didn't offer much hope. It was a hard pill to swallow, trying to imagine our child that would never walk, never crawl, or even roll. A child that would never feel independent. A child that would most likely need constant care for the rest of his life. It was a very grey portrait they painted for us.

However, as our baby grew, we were most pleasantly surprised to find that Jake did have some feeling in his legs. Much more than his doctors, or we, frankly, ever thought possible. In fact, he had feeling down to his knees! His right leg is stronger than his left, but there's still feeling in both legs. We were thrilled with this because it would mean that our boy would be mobile. Not mobile like other children, but he could at least get where he wanted to go, and feel independent.

Jake's legs are very ticklish. In particular, the area right above his knees. Oh my, you should hear his giggle when he is being tickled. Best sound in the world, I tell you. So, we have a tickle fight at least once a day. Yes, he enjoys it, but I think I get more satisfaction out of the game just by hearing him laugh uncontrollably.

One day last week, as I was tickling his knees, I asked him to tell me where exactly it tickled. Of course, above the knee, he was responsive, but just for kicks I decided to try out his shins and see what he could feel there. Left leg, nothing as expected. Then I moved on to the right shin, and I was shocked to see him giggle and try to pull his leg away. I did it again, and received the same result.

In the past, he has always reacted very minimally to anything below the knee. But we have done it several times since, and he has had the same reaction every time!

Does this mean anything different for Jake as far as walking? No, but I still choose to celebrate it. To me, it is more proof that the Lord is in control and that Jake is in His hands. Any step forward, no matter how small, is still a step in the right direction.

Even though this doesn't really change things for Jake, I am still beyond thrilled with this very unexpected discovery.