The Fall before my son Hank’s first birthday we took him to Children’s Hospital in Columbus to have what we thought was a Brachial Plexus injury looked at.  We did this because he had shown visible signs of not using his left arm… enough so that there was cause for alarm.  After a visit to the Pediatrician, he was referred to Children’s Hospital to have an electromyography test to make sure his nerves were healthy enough to move the muscles in his arm and to rule out any damage.  When he arrived for his test Henry was placed on a bed and asked to play with toys.  After about 5 to 10 min the Doctors stepped outside and came back in to tell us that they would not be preforming the test, rather they thought he had brain damage due to an in utero stroke or something else and would need a CT scan to evaluate just what was going on.

Not long after the CT scan, we found ourselves in a small exam room with a computer.  Hank was a fairly happy little boy and was extremely patient as we waited for the Doc to come in to tell us just what was happening with him.  When the Doc finally came in, life changed.  It changed for all of us. The words from the Doctor “Cerebral Palsy” were not only foreign, they were confusing.  We immediately shot out questions as we looked at an image on the computer screen showing only about 2/3 of the expected amount of brain tissue in his right hemisphere…. What did it mean?  Was he going to be okay?  Was he going to be able to function?  Would he walk?  Would he talk?  Could he feed himself someday?  Would he have lung issues?  Would he ever be able to communicate with us or his older Brother or anyone for that matter?  Would he ever live a “normal” life?!   Those close to our family of know what I will steal from Paul Harvey as the rest of the story, but for those that don’t, here it is…

Hank continues to be a living miracle and a testament to faith.  He has and continues to overcome.  As if the Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis wasn’t enough then came the seizures that eventually become uncontrollable with medicine. It was when he was 11 that we had to make and extremely difficult choice and go with the only option that could resolve his seizures. That decision was brain surgery and a functional removal of the right hemisphere of his brain called a hemispherectomy.  It was as scary and radical as it seems. We spent almost two months in Children’s Hospital after surgery focusing on rehab and he walked out seizure free. I simplify it here for the purpose of brevity, but it was truly a roller coaster of emotions and physical demands. All along though, we never lost faith.  We relied on family, friends, and loved ones and his own desire to never quit to help get him to where he is today.  And, where he is today is on the footsteps of COLLEGE! 

Hank is a warrior!  Recently, I was reading some of my previous blog posts and one revealed that he told me at the age of 4 that he was going to grow up to be a Super Hero.  Little does he know he did just that and will always be that in our eyes!  You see, Hank refused to let the obstacles of CP and Epilepsy get in his way.  I’m sure I could spend hours writing about Hank and still not cover the reality behind all of it.  And not just for me as his Dad, Hank is a phenomenal example of Faith and Resilience for all that know him.

In the Bible, there’s a verse in Matthew 8 where Jesus asks us a compelling question “Why are you afraid?”  In this case I think we could have come up with multiple reasons along the way of why we were afraid, but life has a way of moving so quickly sometimes you just let Faith carry you.  In the case of Hank, it was faith in his doctors, faith in his spirit, faith in healing, and our personal belief… faith in God.  You all know I’m not an in your face Christian, but often recall and have a quote front and center in my Bible from a Men’s retreat years ago that simply reads “FAITH OVER FEAR”.  I’m sure many of you have probably heard it or seen it as well.  It seems to pop up in the most random (or possibly most deliberate) ways for me. Regardless, it’s there for a reason.

In less than a week, Hank will be starting his next chapter at college and in many ways so will we.  It’s a chapter of celebration, a chapter of hope, and a chapter of FAITH.  I hope whatever lies before you that you also approach it knowing that there is nothing you can’t overcome if you focus on faith.  I hope you all can find it, if nothing else, in the story of a young man that continues to do what he’s “not supposed to be able to do”.  I know I will each day of my own life.