The lights dimmed. An enthusiastic announcer’s voice booms out” I am pleased and honoured to present the Print Media graduating class of 2009.” We see to our left a seemingly endless line of graduation gowns cascading down the aisle heading down towards the grand stage. My emotions accelerated. We are actually here and Jason is one of the gowns.

Perched on the edge of our seats we are desperately trying to search out Jason. We have been seated in the middle of the row about half way up the auditorium so our location combined with the dark and everyone dressed the same was making it hard to find him. Madly scanning the group for his height, his unsteady gait….my worry takes over. Where is he? Is he all right?  Of course my mind had already dragged me through every type of scenario that could happen and figuring out the fastest way to get to the stage which involved climbing over people and stepping on heads that were in the rows between me and my son. Thankfully, one of the few times I would be thankful for a seizure, Jason had already had a seizure about an hour before we had left home which was the biggest relief to  have it out of the way but we all knew it wasn’t totally impossible for him to have another seizure especially with this type of stimulation.  The girls exclaim “there’s Jason!!!!” OMG I see him. I thought my heart was going to burst. The amount of love and compassionate energy coming off our four chairs would move mountains. Jason’s name was next. He appeared at the far right of the stage waiting to hear his name, the cue to start the long walk across to the far left side of the stage. Jason looked so incredibly handsome, his stylish new clothes and shoes poking out from underneath the long gown. Jason’s name was called. Holding his head up focused ahead on the diploma in the President’s hand at the far side of the stage Jason set off.  He walked with such purpose and poise across the stage like I had never seen him walk….striding out, so balanced and straight, passing the rows of College Professors and dignitaries.  OMG I was almost in shock seeing this play out in front of me. Jason’s neurosurgeon said it best ‘this was his moment’ and it most definitely was. Nobody in that auditorium knew what this amazing young man had to overcome to be up there; starting College in 2002 having to resign time and time again due to brain surgeries and radiation, nothing stopping him, never giving up. Now here we are in 2009 and Jason is on a graduation stage. My emotions are so powerful, hard to describe. My love and admiration for this child resists all confines of language.

The forces of Jason’s illness were present daily:  nausea, sometimes vomiting in the truck on the way to school, headaches, cranial pressure, seizures, weakness, tiredness, pain, debilitating dizziness but unless he couldn’t walk he would insist on me taking him to school and the power of his mind with my help carried him to class. The heart wrenching times when Jason could not make it up the College entrance steps was when Jason knew he was defeated that day “Take me home then Mum.” He would be so frustrated saying “if I was just feeling sick or had headaches I could go but the dizziness makes it impossible to do anything.” I could never not drive Jason to school as much as I knew I would be bringing him back home right away or shortly thereafter, this is just something I could never do. The fact that Jason, despite such forces against him, wanted to try to go was the fire and spirit of his soul and this could not be extinguished in the slightest. The spirit and drive Jason had was like no other. I was so proud of this amazing young man up there as he quietly exited the stage, diploma in hand.