When Roberto was diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus two weeks after his birth, my husband and I were devastated. He had a ventriculoperitoneal shunt implanted through neurosurgery into his brain when he was only three weeks old. When he came out of surgery he seemed so fragile and we prayed that he would never have to go through this ever again.

But, by the age of two we ended up in the hospital once more. His shunt malfunctioned and he had to go through surgery again. He has gone through numerous shunt replacements since then, but I do not recall him ever complaining or asking, “why me.”

When he was in the seventh grade he wanted to play football. I, as a mother, was very afraid because I knew how rough the sport was. I wanted to keep him from playing but he insisted so much that I finally made a deal with him. If his neurologist allowed him to play, I would not stand in the way.

When we went to see the neurologist for his yearly checkup he asked if he could play, and needless to say the neurologist gave him the clearance to play. I believe I spent most of the games with my hands covering my face terrified every time that he ended under a pile of players or was tackled. He on the other hand, would always get up and continue playing as if nothing had happened. He even told me, “mom if you are that scared, just stay at home. I will be alright”. He did have a great year in football and in other sports.

His eighth grade started well, but close to the end he underwent eight different shunt replacements in a period of about four months. We spent the majority of the summer and the beginning of his ninth grade in and out of the hospital. It was a very hard time for the whole family, but Roberto stayed strong. He would always smile at me after waking up from surgery and would tell me that everything would be okay. He gave us the strength that we needed to keep going.

That year he did not get to participate in football. He was only allowed to go to the practices and watch. As soon as the neurologist cleared him for participating, he went out there giving it his all.

He has not had any shunt replacements since then. He continues to see the neurologist every year for his checkup and to get clearance to play sports.

Although he sometimes struggles to keep up with the other players, he has never used his condition as an excuse to get out of doing something that he does not like. Roberto has always accepted that this is his journey and he has walked it with courage. I am proud to call him my son.