(WXYZ) — It’s been five months since I first sat down with survivors of the mass shooting at the Rochester Hills splash pad last June, and I’m happy to share the remarkable progress they’ve made and highlight the help coming in from all over the world.
Related Video: Family continues healing after their 8-year-old loses eyesight
“I feel happy in how good I’ve been doing. Sort of maybe a little bit proud,” said Janek Bebout.
At just 8 years old, Janek has overcome so much.
The survivor of the shooting last summer, he’s navigating his way through life after a gunshot wound took away his eyesight.
Janek’s parents Joshua and Johanna invited me to their home to show me the steps Janek is now taking to learn echolocation.
It’s a way of processing what’s around him by measuring sound coming back through clicks; he calls it “click training.”
Janek’s teachers are both living without their vision. Juan and Daniel traveled by plane from Vienna and Australia after they saw his story.
“When I contacted Juan, I sent them the story and it gave them the whole picture. That really connected us. The story helped big time not only in this but in different ways,” said Johanna.
“I’m really happy and excited because I’m going to learn click training and it’s going to be really cool,” said Janek.
He said, “Everything sounds different. You need to learn what things sound like. If you click in front of the fridge, it would sound different than if you clicked in front of the stove.”
I asked him what are some of the things he is doing now that he couldn’t before.
“At the very beginning I couldn’t walk, now I can walk,” said Janek.
“I like to go outside and play in the snow when it snows,” he said. “I’m doing really good at my cane. I’m doing really good at braille and stuff.”
Emotions of the past few months have run the gambit, from sadness to joy,
Johanna tells me she’s never been more proud of her youngest Julen and Janek for not letting a horrific experience define them.
“He moves around the house as if nothing ever happened. He used the bathroom. Feeds himself. Goes upstairs with his brother in the playroom. They play independently without me,” said Johanna.
Daniel and Juan echoed that message as they let us follow along both inside.
And outside their home, Janek is beginning to feel out and identify trees, mailboxes and trash bins along his own street, all with his hearing ability.
With each click, another glimpse of freedom and independence.
“I’m learning how to do it. It’s not a thing you can do immediately but you need to learn it,” said Janek.
He added, “you can ride your bike and go hiking in the mountains, when you click you can know what’s in front of you.”
Josh said it’s been a whirlwind.
“Changing of thoughts and how we live our life, how we organize our life and set up a successful pathway,” he said.
Supporting one another, this family is sharing their sense of feeling empowered now with optimism for what’s ahead.
“Echolocation is like seeing but using sound instead of light,” said Daniel. “It completely transforms people’s confidence, sense of surroundings, people’s ability to navigate comfortably.”
Planning a future centered around being free from fear or limitations is a goal trainers Daniel and Juan say Janek is already starting to achieve.
“It gives you a perceptual radius much wider than your cane does. Essentially, you are able to detect objects as much as 300 meters away, like a building or something like that,” said Juan.
He added, “as a blind person you have to be a problem solver.”
“He’s highly, highly adaptable. Creative, ingenious and a pleasure to work with,” said Daniel.
Since the splash pad shooting, Joshua also says Janek has learned just how much the community has rallied around him and his family.
“People reach out, send cards, ask to bring over food. ‘Can I help in any way?’” said Johanna.
Josh said, “it’s so nice to have you now in our home, talking about such a position development in this story. I’m so happy to have this day with everybody here.”
Janek’s appearance is also different since we first spoke, another major milestone that’s part of recovery.
“He had to wear the helmet you saw on the last interview and he had that removed Dec. 5th. The bone flap removed from the side of his skull has been replaced,” said Josh.
He added, “that is completely healed and his hair grows back, you won’t even see the scar any longer. No matter what life throws at him, he goes through it with a grace. I’m not sure where he gets it.”
Daniel said, “it’s not about what we see, it’s about who we are, how we feel and what we do.”
Along with his immense courage and profound strength, Janek recognizes recovery is a long road. He believes additional research will lead to the ability to repair his optic nerves one day.
“One thing that I want to be able to do and I know it’s going to happen, is that I’m going to be able to see again,” said Janek.
When asked what helps him be strong, he said: “I have so many people that love me and I get supported.”
Josh adds, “he is such a positive person. Even this shooting, tragedy and loss of eyesight, and yet he’s laughing. It’s like it doesn’t bother him sometimes.”
Both his younger brother Julen and Johanna are also healing from their own gunshot wounds.
This family’s path forward, a shining symbol of overcoming unthinkable adversity.
“That day back in June took more than his vision, it stole some of his freedom. He was thrown into a world he wasn’t familiar with. Now, with Daniel and Juan, he’s getting tools he can use to be a successful person,” said Josh. “To take your child who was robbed of his vision, and have a tool to give him some freedom over his own life, and to be able to navigate through the world as a non-sighted person is remarkable.”
Janek’s parents tell me he’s scheduled to undergo surgery again to regain control of his eyelid, part of a journey that continues to showcase his strength.
