My name is Jonathon Hyjek. I was born in 1978 in a small city in Ontario, Canada
Before I was born, doctors suspected something was wrong but it was not until I made my entrance into the world that it was discovered that I had Spina Bifida – Myelomeningocele to be more specific.
This birth “defect”, affecting the spinal cord, can cause both physical and developmental issues, with the outcome varying from person to person.
From the hospital in Sarnia, on day 2 or 3 of my life, I took a ride to a hospital in London, Ontario, where I spent some time. I don’t remember how long I was there, but my back was patched up and life went on.
At the time of my birth, doctors were not hopeful for a bright future.
Maybe they get accustomed to telling young parents the worst case scenario? The general prognosis was that I would not likely walk and that I would have developmental delays or some type of cognitive impairment.
Fast forward…
I’m now in my 40’s and much has happened between then and now and that’s really the purpose of this blog. (and my YouTube channel, which you can find here.
I have started and owned a number of businesses and continue to make a living owning a few small businesses. I also coach business owners, looking to start or grow their businesses.
I’m married, since 2003, to a wonderful “normal” gal (Joy.) I have a “normal” job (I own a small business in the digital marketing field) and I have 2 cats; Franklin and Ollie. I am a self-admitted crazy cat guy and live in London, Ontario.
We’re in the process of adopting a child who also has some needs that are a little out of the ordinary. You can follow along on that journey through my YouTube channel.
I have the BEST parents a guy could ever ask for – seriously. Their support has been unwavering, even during difficult times. I have one sister, Carla and I could not ask for a better sister either.
When I was 16 years old, I became a Christian. This changed the course of my life more than I could have anticipated.
With a disability and my faith in Jesus Christ, I set out to “Chase the Journey”
One thing – Please check out my disclaimer page for some “legal” stuff. Not really legal, more of an admission that I don’t know what I’m talking about some of the time. 🙂
About “CHASE THE JOURNEY”
Chase the Journey; Seems like 2 opposing things – doesn’t it?
My goal in writing a blog and talking about life as a Christian person with a disability was to point out that there are 2 almost opposing views to explain how life goes.
The word “Chase” can either be a noun or a verb.
In the sense that it’s a noun, it’s defined as “the act of pursuing someone or something.”
In the sense that it’s a verb, it’s defined as “pursue in order to catch or catch up with.”
The word “Journey” can be defined as “an act of travelling from one place to another” or “a long and often difficult process of personal change and development.”
Sounds a lot like life – doesn’t it?
We “chase” things that we want, whether that’s in business, in our personal lives or in our spiritual lives, but at the same time, it’s a journey in the sense that we are going from one place to another in life (both physically and metaphorically,) – going through a process of change, whether we like it or not.
You are not the same person you were 20 years ago.
When I was contemplating my own life, part of it has “happened to me” and I did not have a choice in what unfolded and part of it was defined and was unfolding by the things I was chasing. Some things I chased were good, and some were a complete waste of time.
Life is moving along with or without you. You can choose to sit back and watch life happen to you – take the good with the bad and hope for the best, or you can become an active participant as the journey unfolds and change what you CAN change.
It’s partly passive; But mostly active.
There it is – Chase the Journey!