Stories - experiences around people living with disability
|
EDUCATION STORIES
JAKE'S STORY
Hi, I'm Jake. I'm 11 and I go to Chisnallwood Intermediate School. I have an older sister, a younger brother, and I live with my Mum and Dad. When I was born there were big problems with my heart, the doctors told my Mum and Dad they didn't think I would live. But I have!
I have had quite a few serious operations in my life, and I have a pacemaker in my side to keep my heart beating regularly. I have to take medicine, but mostly I live the same kind of life of other boys my age.
I'd really like to play rugby, but I can't play it because of the danger to my chest and to my pacemaker, so I play touch. Touch is a contact sport too but you can't get dumped like you do in rugby. My friend Todd's Dad signed us up to North Avon Park, and we play touch there every Monday. My heart isn't too much of a problem. If I do one great big sprint, like the whole field, I get pretty tired, and if someone ran around me then I probably couldn't catch them because I'd be real slow. I sub myself out sometimes, but normally I like to be on the field, where I can get the ball. Every now and then Dad and I play a game out in the park.
I like some rock music but I mostly like rap. I like 50 cent and Eminem for instance. I love souvlakis and burritos best – I don’t like real spicy food but I'll try anything once.
When I get older I'd like to go to university to become a surgeon. They get paid a lot! I'd like to help other people and save lives. People saved my life and they became a hero by doing that, and if I became a surgeon I'd have the opportunity to do that for somebody else: become a hero myself.