I sit here at my desk, marveling how the years have passed as I think about events of the boy’s life from a young child to his high school years. The last post ended at the time the little boy was nearly in his teens and would soon start a new school after attending the previous school for 6 years.
Watching the kids today and seeing their environment in school makes me wonder if this young teen would have made it through in this present-day school environment, but I am reminded as I write this, God was with him all the way, both then and now.
Jr. High
The first year seemed better in many ways. The young boy played football as well as basketball and track. His grades were A’s and his socialization was improved somewhat but he lost his best friend after starting school as she (his sister) was a senior in High school by then and involved in her own social life. Other than the same kind of treatment by classmates and teachers, he was able to move on until the following year. His family moved to a new neighborhood resulting in yet another school, it was at this new school where the changes most young kids start to go through mentally and physically along with new classmates and new teachers. The anger began to roar constantly resulting in regular fights and trouble with authorities as a result of the constant teasing and misunderstanding he experienced because of his hearing loss. 9th grade was his best year in school. He played football and did ok academically. That year he was one of the oldest and had grown into a large young man at well over 6’ and nearly 200 lbs.
High School
Now a young man in high school and beginning adolescence, with all the changes that come normally, his problems from birth were exacerbated. As if that were not enough, football brought on head injuries such as concussions and constant headaches, resulting in regular seizure activity. As with all kids, there were normal life experiences too. His first car, his first girlfriend, etc.
His 2nd year in high school ended up with him in the hospital often with testing, being placed on prescribed meds and eventually staying home with a tutor coming to his house for his schoolwork. The one good thing about football, it gave the young man an outlet. A place to pour out the tremendous anger he was now enduring. Even his sisters were afraid to be around him at times. Only his mother was by his side through it all, but she and his dad were afraid of him getting into trouble, eventually placing him in a hospital for treatment and a safe place to be kept out of harm’s way, or so they thought. No more football so no more release and no direction to channel the anger.
The Dr., overseeing his care and testing, added even more pills for him to take, making his daily input a total of 14 pills per day. One was given for calming yet another to offset the first and so on. Resulting in a literal “zombie” like countenance. This all ended when his mother and father discovered his Dr. had ordered the young man to be locked in a small room, laying on a bed face down in a straight jacket for several days.
Back at home, the young man finished out the school year. The tutor kept him from having to repeat the year although, academically, he learned nothing. There were, of course, more incidents but the following summer brought a much-needed reprieve, as he and his parents took a vacation to the Caribbean for 10 days where all the negatives were removed. It was at that time he realized the only way out was to simply get out. He cut down his meds gradually until he could completely cut them all. Slowly, quietly, his mind cleared, he was able to focus on getting his school finished and figure out what came next.
Once again, God was there and God orchestrated the young man’s miraculous recovery from those terrible adolescence years.