Jacob Podsiadlo isliving in Tanzania as Peace Corps Volunteer
Jacob Podsiadlo -
Living in Tanzania
By Steven Podsiadlo
Steven Podsiadlo
In one of his New Testament letters, the Apostle Paul noted about how his weakness had become his strength. I've often reflected upon that when I think about my son Jacob and what he has accomplished in his life as a child, teenager and young adult. Jake was born with a congenital birth defect which resulted in his left leg being amputated below the knee when he was 10 years old. As a young child he had several bone graphs and had a continuous series of leg casts until he was 4 ½ years old. Even though he was sometimes and pain and somewhat restricted, he maintained a cheerful disposition and a great sense of humor.
Jake is currently living in Tanzania while serving in the Peace Corp. He's had quite a journey, both literally and figuratively getting there. Tanzania is physically half a world away from Maine where he grew up, and the journey seems all the more remarkable when one considers how his disability shaped his life in so many positive ways. When his mother and I first learned about the problem with his leg, the future seemed bleak for him. What we didn't count on was his sense of humor, adventurousness, and determination to help him along the way.
Before he could walk, Jake mastered climbing onto the kitchen stove in order to pilfer the kitchen cupboards. Once when he was in a wheelchair, he got stuck in the open refrigerator when the door closed against the wheelchair and wedged him in. Of course, he took full advantage of the situation, nibbling of whatever goodies that he found. At out house, it was difficult to find an apple or piece of fruit that didn't have his teeth marks in it.
As Jake attended grade school, it became apparent that he also had a learning disability. No one realized the full extent of it until he was reevaluated as a freshman in college. His marks were generally good, and he graduated with honors from high school. He had accomplished this by studying for hours more than most could contemplate. This is a situation where, like Paul, his weakness became his strength. As a child, he had to learn to walk again with each cast change, all 17 of them. He wasn't able to with a few, but that was due more to other issues than his resolve. Many physical activities were very difficult, but he knew that he was expected to do as well as possible. When learning became difficult, he used that same resolve to master his subjects. A couple of years ago when he graduated from college, his grandmother said that it was too bad that he had his problem and how it held him back. I counted that by saying that it was his experience with his leg and his difficulty with learning which gave him the resolve to always apply himself to the fullest.
Jacob's overcoming his disability has given him many opportunities. His confidence and ability gained him respect from his peers and teachers. His interest in education has given him opportunities while in high school to travel cross country several times with a school group to educational conferences where he has had the opportunity to meet and talk with educational leaders. He graduated from college with honors.
Jake is an expert skier and has been an instructor for the Maine Handicapped Skiing program. He likes to go climbing in the White Mountains. The list goes on, but I believe that he didn't accomplish these things in spite of his disabilities. I believe that he accomplished them because of them.
Jake is now in Tanzania. Life is difficult there as people are very poor. Items which we take for granted such as a pencil, or an envelope that seals are hard to obtain. He walks to the village from his house rather than take the bus as he wants to become more familiar and accepted by villagers. Jake has relayed that it's difficult for him to walk all the time, haul heavy water buckets and the like, but he feels that he's growing and learning about himself along the journey.
I'd like to close this with a note from Jacob which truly inspired me. It was after he had gone swimming in the ocean after not doing so for 10 years. It seems that salt water and artificial limbs just aren't compatible, but he made a leg from some old leg parts and went for a swim in the ocean, and as he put it, "Not just the ocean, but the Indian Ocean." Here it is. Please excuse the spelling, etc., but he has very limited computer time on a slow computer so proof reading and spell checking don't get done.
Hello to all,
So today I did something that I have not done in over 10 years and something else I thought I would never do I swam in the ocean and the Indian ocean at that. I made a rig out of some old leg parts, some rope, some fire (fire makes everything better right, well it helps to make things seal anyway) and a whole lot of determination. I've not swam in the ocean as it was just so hard with my leg. Any leg that I could walk to the water with could not go in the salt water and any leg that could go in the salt water I could not walk with. Yesterday, I remembered something.. well two things that I say all the time and that is that you are truly only as disabled as you let yourself be. And to quote Richard Bach "If you argue your limitations long enough they become your limitations."
Life is truly too short to ever not believe in yourself and sometimes we just need to remind ourselves to believe the things we believe in. I wont say it was an easy walk to or from the ocean, but the moments that I was in the ocean with all its warmth surrounding me and its sound filling my brain with tranquility were like no moment I can easily find the words to describe and truly give any justice to how powerful it was…. and do you know what happened then?….. I forgot about all the work it took to get there. I want to swim in the ocean more often and argue my limitations less often. That's all the self help I'm offering for free. No not really just had to share this experience.
Peace, Love, Lindi, Jacob
