Loving Jason
Yesterday was a good day. Jason was in a really good mood, so we sat talking for a little while. Trying to talk, anyway. It’s a difficult process. Jason is my 39 year old kid brother. I say kid, not because he is younger than me (which he is), but because in many ways he is a child trapped in a man’s body. And I am slowly accepting the realization that someday he will be my responsibility.
Jason …. where to begin…Jason has had the toughest, most unfair life of anyone I have ever known. He has suffered several illnesses, and as a result he currently has multiple disabilities. He is legally blind. He has epilepsy. And he has lost his hearing. This is just a preview of his ailments.
Losing his hearing was a tipping point for my brother. His physical abilities were already so limited; when he could no longer hear, he became angry, frustrated, depressed. Wouldn’t you? I know I would. He had been deaf in his left ear for a very long time. It’s one of the dangers of epilipsy. He had a seizure, fell and hit his head, destroyed the nerves in his ear. But the other was still good. It was manageable. And then, a couple of years ago, the same thing happened again, and bam — no sound in the right ear.
Fast forward through a couple of surgeries and some recovery and training time, and the Cochlear Implants are finally starting to help. If I speak slowly and loudly, and sit right in…
