Jesse

 My name is Patches Hester. My son is Jesse Caden Hester. He was born on March 30, 2007. He was a big guy, weighing in at 12 lbs, 12 oz and 21 1/2 in. long. No major problems at birth except, he did fail his hearing test. We weren't too concerned at first and he continued to grow as normal. At his 4mth checkup, we noticed that he was not meeting some of the typical milestones such as holding his head up very well, and very little eye contact. He had also consistently failed all of the normal hearing tests. We were sent to a genetics doctor and he was diagnosed with PKS at 8 mths. old. With the help of our state's early intervention program and children's rehab services, Jesse has began to get all the things he needs. He is almost sitting up by himself, he rolls over on each side so well, he is developing eye contact better and with his hearing aids he can verbalize certain sounds very well. No one can really explain what it is like to have a child with special needs. As a mother, you want to fix everything, make sure they are not in pain, comfort them but you can't fix this. However, he has opened an entire new wonderful world that I would have never experienced if God has not given him to me and my family. Our patience has increased, the smallest achievement that he makes brings so much joy, his smile can light up a room. He is non judgmental, he is just simply happy. Jesse has an older brother, Levi, and I can already tell that he is very protective and very compassionate towards him and other people ( a beautiful trait). Our family does not what the future holds but Jesse will be there right with us all the way.