Those Who Inspire Me - Joe Deters

I joined the NLP (Next Level Performance) program because of this young man, my son, Joe Deters.  It was within the NLP program that I met Ryan, the trainer who has helped set me on the road to success.  I would not have met Ryan had it not been for Joe.  I’d like to tell you a little bit about Joe and I believe you will see why he inspires me so much.

Me (Patty) and my son Joe - age 17.

I have always loved the record of Joseph in the Bible.  Joseph was the first born son of Isaac and Rachel.  He had 11 brothers. The brothers sensed that their father favored Joseph, so they threw him in a pit and were going to leave him to die, but instead sold him into slavery and then lied to their father - telling him Joseph had died.  Even in this situation Joseph found favor in his master Potiphar's eyes and he was put in charge of Potiphar's household.  Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph and then lied about it, so Joseph was put in prison.  In prison Joseph accurately interpreted the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer and asked them to remember him to Pharoah.  They forgot.  Time passed and Pharoah had a dream and then the cupbearer remembered.  Joseph accurately interprets Pharoah's dream and Pharoah puts Joseph in charge of all Egypt.  I mean the guy went through some trials and tribulations but always came out on top.

Well when we named our firstborn son, Joseph, I certainly didn't think he would have this many obstacles to overcome already in life, but he has; and he has done so with such fortitude.

Joe was born December 23, 1999 (just 8 days shy of the "millenium.")  His delivery was fairly easy.  I think he let out one cry and then was content.  This pretty much describes him still today.

I remember the doctor pointing out to us when Joe was about 2 that his speech was not progressing normally.  We started testing through the state and yes he was behind.  It was recommended to us to check his tonsils.  At three years old that poor little boy had a scope up his nose and down his throat to look at his tonsils on a tv screen.  Joe remembers Jessica (age7) laughing and him crying.  Those tonsils measured at a 3+.  (Note to new parents.  Be clear as to what kind of scale they are referring to.  I thought that was a scale of 1-10.  6 months later I found out the scale was 1-4.  4 meaning there is no more room to breathe.)

 Once they were removed, Joe took part in speech therapy for several years.  When I asked him what he remembered about getting his tonsils and adenoids removed; he said he remembered being wheeled away to the operating room.  And he remembered waking up and being offered a popsicle.  He remembers just wanting ice cream at home (like McDonalds soft ice cream; but we had bought a 1/2 gallon ice cream from the store. It was too hard to eat.)  Both he and I were up almost all night for six nights during recovery.  We watched a lot of Nickelodeon.

Joe pre-tonsil surgery

Joe's tongue was almost always resting outside of his mouth;
the reason for that we found out was when he put it in, it closed off that
space for breathing because the tonsils were so big.  Not being able to position
his tongue correctly in his mouth is what caused the speech delays.

I asked Joe if this was the most challenging experience of his life.  It was not.  Thank goodness some of the childhood memories don't stay with us.

In the spring of 2010, right before Spring Break and a scheduled cruise to Mexico, Joe’s permanent front tooth got knocked out in a schoolyard mishap.  He was as calm as could be and I was a wreck.  I had to call my husband (who dislikes medical situations) to come drive us to the dentist, I was so distraught.   The dentist got the tooth back in and we went on that family vacation.   Joe couldn’t swim or drink from a straw, but he just didn’t let it get him down.  A year later the tooth was pulled, a root canal was done, and he is preparing now for an implant.  He just takes it in stride.

We took this to document the tooth.  The dentist had a wire glued
to five teeth for 16 weeks.  This was taken on the cruise.

I asked Joe if this was his most challenging experience of his life.  It was not.

But the mother of them all would be when in the fall of 2014, Joe was diagnosed with scoliosis.  His back pain had begun in 2012 and we had been seeking chiropractic care weekly since then.  When an x-ray was finally taken the curvitures (yes two curves) were 54 degrees and  31 degrees.   We went to Children’s Hospital in Denver for the surgery, December 10, 2014.   He now has a rod in his back from T4 to L4.   This was a very difficult recovery and Joe was in the hospital for 5 days.   The surgeon told him he needed the full 6 months recovery.  After 6 months, he could go to the gym, etc.  The surgeon said, “Just because I am doing surgery, does not mean you will be pain free the rest of your life.  You should maintain a strong core.  That will really help you the rest of your life.” 

Joe's back before and after; and Joe's x-rays before

Picture on the right was less than 24 hours after surgery, getting Joe up.
Picture on top left was therapy dog- that perked Joe up.
Bottom left - his sister Jessica was a huge help.  Here she
is walking the hallway with him.  He had to walk several times every day.

I asked Joe if he was nervous about the back surgery.  He said he had run the statistics through his mind and was convinced that there was a very slim chance anything would go wrong.  He did however feel nervous when they rolled him into the surgery room and stuck a needle into his arm.  Regarding recovery, he said I remember waking up to eat and waking up to walk.  I asked Joe if this was his most challenging experience of his life.  This was not.

(Joe wrote this for Literacy if you would like his point of view. http://detersdynamics.blogspot.com/2016/01/learning-how-to-walk-again.html

Joe states that when he was 6 months out from surgery and he could walk again and he was cleared to exercise, he stepped on the scale and saw that he was 260 pounds.  He said "enough is enough."  Well that's not what he said, but I can't print what he said.  He asked me to take him back to Golds gym.     Joe trained with Zach two times a week.  Zach ended up moving away and Joe began training with Mana.  Trainer sessions were breaking the bank and we were told about NLP.  The Director of Fitness added some semi-private sessions with Mana at the helm so that Joe could still train with Mana.  Joe states that Mana pushed him to get to the gym more often - every day if he could.  Mana and Joe made great strides together.  Joe is now training with Semaj (because Mana has left Golds).  Semaj is able to help Joe build a lot of strength.  The entire process has been nothing short of miraculous for me to watch.

Joe was 15 years old when he joined NLP.  Well when you are 15, you cannot drive yourself.  So I would drive him and then stay and exercise on the elliptical while Joe trained.  Once Joe joined NLP, I was like "I should just do this with him, since I have to be here anyway."  That is what got me through the door to the "Fun Room."  (That's what we call the room where a lot of the NLP classes are held.)  I asked Joe what he liked most about NLP.  He replied, "I like the semi-private sessions.  I find them to be the most beneficial for me because I get to make a relationship with the trainer and because the sessions are more strength based.  I like being strong."  

He looks pretty strong to me!

Joe is now 17 and a junior at Central High School.  He has applied to graduate high school at the end of this his junior year and Central has approved that.  He has an application in at Colorado School of Mines and we are waiting to hear if he will be accepted for the Fall of 2017.  His goal is to be an astrophysicist.  He would like to be able to help with a Mars Mission or with an asteroid mining company.  These are two careers that are up and coming in the future.  Right now he would be thrilled to work with Space X and their project of working on reusable rockets.  He's passionate about school and about learning more about space.  

I am not thankful he ended up with scoliosis, but I am thankful that he needed a ride to the gym back in May of 2015 and that I was that ride.  I'm thankful he joined NLP and then so did I.  Joe's ability to meet every challenge in life with tenacity and to stare down those challenges and to overcome is inspiring to me daily.   He helps to keep me grounded with his calm demeanor and his easy going character.  At school his teachers call him "Above-average Joe."  and at the gym you will hear "over-achiever Deters."  He's just a great kid.

What is Joe's biggest challenge in life?  This is his reply.  "Talking to people."  So you all that know him, know that he is pretty quiet.  However he has been talking more lately at our semi-private sessions.  And finally one of Joe's goals is to be the first person to pop up when you search Joseph Deters on Google.  Right now it's a politician that pops up first.  Well Joe, I have no doubt in my mind that you will meet your goal!