By the time that Jesus reached his eighth birthday, he already had a reputation of being playful, pleasantly mischievous, and slightly dare develish. One day passing time outside in front of his house with his friends, he decided that he wanted to hitch a ride on the back of a moving car . He managed to jump on the rear fender but could get a firm grasp neither on the vehicle's side nor on its roof which he could barely reach. He fell off backwards and landed on his head. The friends ran for his mother who found him unconscious in obvious trauma. She rushed him to the hospital where they operated to relieve pressure on the brain and put him on life support including artificial respiration.
The family, especially the grandmother, stayed day and night at his bedside. He remained in a coma for eight months showing no signs of improvement. There upon the attending neurologist explained that after so long there was no hope for Jesus, that the window of opportunity had closed, and that it would be better to disconnect the machines and let go, stop his suffering. The family pleaded for more time which they were granted. Two months later, Jesus woke up.
In the miracle accounts of the Gospels, the sacred author, especially Mark, frequently attaches the word ‘immediately,' as in, “immediately he took up his pallet and walked.” The experience of those of us at CANOA in dealing with these cases is exactly the opposite. Recovery demands prolonged, consistent, painful therapy. There are no quick cures nor short cuts.
When Jesus came to CANOA, he could not walk. The long stay in the hospital saved his life but atrophied his muscles. Our gentle, kind therapists started him on a basic course of repeated movements and exercises. After a couple of months, he graduated to the parallel bars when he managed all of two steps partially supported. Little by little with encouragement and acceptance from the other youngsters, he increased his steps so that he could walk in the bars for two complete turns. We then got him a child sized walker and took away his wheelchair which at first was not a particularly popular move. But after some protest, he then acclimated himself to his improved circumstance and even began to leave the walker preferring to grab on to his grandmother. After six months, he could navigate around the house independently and increase the distances of his supported walking.
One of the CANOA volunteers works as a coordinator for the National Institute of Adult Education which offers a program of home study for physically challenged youngsters incapable of mainstreaming. She enrolled Jesus and started to guide him along a path that would eventually bring him back to an equivalent grade level as others his age.
But just as all the arrows pointed upward, Jesus took sick with a high fever. He did not get better with medication. When the infirmity impeded his breathing, the family rushed him again to the hospital. He did not get better. Two days into treatment, he had a heart attack. The doctors informed that he would probably not pull out of it.
Jesus refused to die. After another month, Jesus walked out of the hospital hanging on to his grandmother. He continues to come to CANOA when the weather is not too cold. He still flashes the same smile and exhibits the same unwavering determination to make it all the way back.
