Everyday my kid’s amaze me. Each day they say or do things that surprise or shock me, that’s what being a parent is about! Zeke’s life started that way even, he was born early and spent the first week of his life in the NICU. Literally every day was new and amazing to us, and miraculous. He had some health issues and was unable to walk without the help of special orthotics and even then not until he was 15 months old. He has been diagnosed with hypotonia, which is general muscle weakness, and tires faster than his peers when doing similar activities. This will cause more problems as he ages and he already suffers from migraines and some developmental delays.
We knew he would always have trouble with sports and I’m always glad he’s interested in art instead. I was happy when he seemed to like swimming. At the beginning of the summer he was still at the point where he needed help and needed to be watched all of the time, and in fact two weeks ago the life guard jumped in thinking he needed saved! Although in Zeke’s defense I yelled that he was fine and she didn’t believe me!!
This past week Zeke did the unthinkable! He was able to swim without help, without stopping, more than half the length of the pool mostly underwater coming up for air when needed to pass the swim test so he could get a bracelet so he could go off the diving board at the community pool.
This is something Bo just learned to do last year, at age 5. Zeke surpassed this a whole year younger than Bo did, and Bo is the one who was riding a bike without training wheels at age three and typically does physically things with ease right away.
Granted Zeke gets tired easily after swimming so much, and will retreat to a lounge chair to rest after swimming for a while all on his own, but he loves to swim and I have overheard several kids older than Caleb say “that kid swims better than I do” Watch out world Zeke might be the next Phelps!!
I might be biased, but more than anything I am so excited that my little boy that usually struggles to just walk straight and pedal a bike, can swim better than other kids can!!! It might give him one thing to keep him in the game when it comes to having something to look forward to and/or being good at as he gets bigger.
Take a look at him enjoying his new found freedom and hobby:Zeke swimming and diving board
