Today, my family and I will drive to Florida so that we can take my grandson Jaxson in for his third surgery. He will be having his Achilles tendon lengthened by Dr. Dobbs ( Achilles tendon lengthening is a surgical procedure that aims to stretch the Achilles tendon to allow a person to walk flat-footed without a bend in the knee). Dr. Dobbs works with Dr. Park in Saint Louis but he recently opened an office in Florida. St. Louis is a difficult location for us as a family, so we are hoping this trip to Florida will be a bit easier. Friends have offered their condo and we will spend two days before the surgery having some family fun at Disney. We are hoping that this will help Jaxson’s mental state as he may be leaving the hospital in casts and he has never had leg casts before-ugh…
This past summer Jaxson and his brother Tanner attended summer camp again and they loved it, especially Jaxson. He has bonded with a few of the counselors and on his last day of camp he cried. This year, extra precautions were in place for Covid. Testing, social distancing and masks were hard for the kids but the rewards outweighed the inconveniences. Patrick, who is one of Jaxson’s counselors at camp wrote an essay about his time with Jaxson and it touched our hearts. The friendship, compassion, empathy and care that this young man has shown Jaxson is beyond words. I have included his essay below:
Patrick’s Essay:
Everyday as human beings we are presented with a different challenge, with a different circumstance, etc. On any day at any moment, we never know who or what can walk into our lives and change it forever, whether it be your soulmate, your best friend, or whoever it may be. For me, that person was Jaxson. When I first applied to Pine Grove, it was simply just because I needed a job for the summer and the hours were great! It is safe to say I was not quite “bought in” to what Pine Grove is all about at the time, which is being a role model and a selfless human being. No orientation or staff meeting could have truly changed that about myself at the time. When I first met Jaxson, I had no idea that he would not only change my approach towards Pine Grove, but also my approach to everything that I do in life itself. As it was both of our first years in camp last year, we were both shy facing a new situation with new campers and staff members that we had never met before. I was not quite sure how to go about making sure Jaxson had an amazing camp experience, but the day July 9th 2019 is when everything had changed. As we sat in the theater waiting for dismissal that sunny Tuesday afternoon, I can perfectly recall Jaxson grabbing my arm with the most ecstatic look on his face as he shouted “Patrick, today was the best day I’ve ever had!” From that moment forward, I was completely bought into the experience of being a counselor at Pine Grove. To have anyone tell you that YOU were part of the best day of their life is a feeling so rewarding it nearly brought me to tears. As the rest of the summer went on, Jaxson and I had gotten closer and closer, but unfortunately our time had run out together as camp was over. Although I did not think I would have Jaxson as a camper ever again, he inspired me to come back to camp the following summer and hopefully provide the same positive impact on someone’s life, no matter how hard it was to say goodbye to Jaxson as my camper. Receiving the opportunity to work with Jaxson again this year is the best thing that has happened to me in my life at this point. Not only have we become much closer at camp everyday this summer, but I have also become happier and accepting with myself as a person. Jaxson has taught me that success is not always about being in first place in Gaga, or being the fastest swimmer, but it’s about your own personal success and how YOU feel about yourself when it’s all said and done. Looking around at what everyone is doing should never affect what you do for yourself and for others. Although Pine Grove constantly emphasizes how important it is to make sure our campers are achieving their goals and succeeding at camp, I never realized how that can grow and change a counselor or any staff member for that matter. So, moving forward, Jaxson has not only become one of the most important people in my life but he also taught me more than anyone else has, and that is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
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Jaxson’s spirits are high as he is focused mainly on the fun portion of the trip. I hope that everything works out and he will move forward with his incredible progress. BTW-This year he started school on his canes and left his walker home. That is a huge accomplishment that he could not have been able to do without thousands of hours of hard work and effort. I am so proud of this child who is growing up to be a considerate, kind, young man with a future that is as bright as the stars.
To learn more about Jaxson’s Journey click HERE.
