Jason and Mr. Jones

Some of you that connect to this Blogspot and our prayer circuit will know and remember Jason. In the summer of 2005 Jason awoke one summer morning with no vision. His eyesight was gone. It has been a full year as we have adjusted to all the ramifications of vision loss and determining what will happen for the future.

Jason now lives in the local Extend-a-care Seniors home. He may not really fit there because of his age of 26 years – and yet he is fitting in. His severe diabetic problems have caused other problems that make it difficult to function totally independent. And yet, even with restrictions that surround him every day – he is not defeated.

Jason called the other day very excited. He has enrolled himself on an Sledge Ice Hockey Team. Yes I wrote that one correctly. He will be playing a special hockey this fall.

As Jason called me to describe what he is planning to do I was impressed. He needs me to take him to a sport shop this week to buy some equipment – a helmet to protect his eyes and some gloves to protect his hands.

He described what happens in the game. He will sit on an apparatus that is something like a larger size skate board or a mini sized stretcher. On the bottom of this apparatus are skate blades. He then propels himself with two spike like handles and with a smaller size hockey stick he shoots the puck along the ice.

Now you may ask the same question that I did… how does a Blind Guy see the puck let alone know where to go? Jason laughed at that question. He will be equipped with an ear piece which has a receiver connected to it. A coaching helper from the player’s box will tell him where he should go and where the puck is on the ice. The helper becomes his eyes.

Believe me Jason is excited and wants to get started with practices and the games to come this fall. He has a new purpose.

Now what you don’t know is that Jason fell out of his wheel chair this summer and broke his hip. He uses a wheel chair because of blood pressure problems related to the diabetic condition he has. When he lays down his BP is normal. When he sits up it drops. When he stands up it drops again and he will at times fall or could lose consciousness. Add to that he has now encountered a new problem with a growing osteoporosis where bones will break easier than normal.

The spirit in this young man is something else. In his wheel chair and from his inability he can teach many people much.

Jason will be reading this from his new computer sometime later today. I will deliver a copy of the blog to him. Later this month – or sometime soon – he will be connected to the Internet personally to be able to read it himself.

For Jason and others that will read this today… the following story was sent to me from a friend. The older Mr. Jones that the story is about – could well be Jason.

Have a great big wonderful day!

Pastor Murray

Mr Jones' Story
A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coiffed and shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he manoeuvred his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied."

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.