Exam time, Jamie’s progress!

Exam time!

We’re now almost a week into our teenagers doing  the “Junior Certificate Exams” (for students in 3rd year of Secondary school).  Our son, Jamie, who is 16 is sitting these exams.  To say that we are proud of him would be a complete under-statement, we are thrilled to bits.  Looking back all those years ago, when Jamie was first diagnosed as being profoundly deaf, we wondered if he would ever be able to put a sentence together that could be understood in a coherent way.  His “Visiting Teacher for the Deaf” used to tell us stories of hope, stories of teenagers who he was helping to prepare for Junior Cert. and Leaving Cert. exams.  We could only dream back then, dream that someday, by some miracle our Jamie would be a future candidate for sitting these exams.  Well we did dream, and we dreamed big, we dreamed that Jamie would somehow make it through the education process to the point that he would be prepared and able to sit these exams.  We never gave up hope, we never let go of the dream, but more importantly Jamie never gave up.  He always believed that he could do and be anything that he wanted, that he just had to work a little bit harder but that he could achieve the same as anyone of his peers. Three years ago, Jamie started the second chapter in his education, he started Secondary School.  In preparation for him going through main-stream education, we had several meetings with his future educators.  One caveat that was stressed to us before Jamie began that September was that if by the end of the first year he was unable to keep up with the course work, that we would be accepting of the school’s recommendation as to whether or not he should continue there.  At the end of his first year, the reports were glowing and he had done fantastically well, in fact he was showing much promise and seemed to be extremely motivated and capable.  Roll on three years, and now he is sitting the Junior Cert. exams, he is doing the higher level paper in all subjects, except Irish (actually he is exempt from having to do Irish or French because of his deafness, but he has chosen to study both languages!) We are completely astounded by his focus and determination.  He’s now about half way through the exams, today he sat the second paper in Higher Maths, I asked him afterwards how he got on, his reply was that the exams were just getting easier!! (luckily he is naturally great at Maths, like his Dad, – but so unlike me!!).  Regardless of what results he gets in these exams, we are so proud of him, so proud that he has put 100% effort into doing them, so proud that he is motivated and has not chosen the easy route and dropped Irish & French (he’s focused on knowing that he needs a foreign language to get into his chosen University course – which happens to be Aeronautical engineering). This child is one that I know will live the life of his dreams, I can say that with certainty after seeing the effort he has put into achieving everything that he has already achieved, it doesn’t matter what results he gets in September, he has already achieved a massive goal and made his and our dreams come alive.  We are so very proud of Jamie, he is an inspiration to all kids who have a disability and to their parents, so don’t be afraid to dream and don’t be afraid to believe that your dreams can come true, because sometimes, somehow they can and for us they most definitely have.