First let me explain Zebulon to those who might be curious as to why we are fighting for his justice. Zebulon Clark Whisler was born on 11/8/1984 in Kodiak, Alaska, the third son of 6 kids. He was born the smallest weighing 6 lbs. 12oz. & 19 inches long. I can hear you asking “What does this have to do with fighting for his justice”?  The fact is this is where it began.

Zebulon at 15 months old had a very high fever of 105.4 for several hours. We almost lost him that night of January 30th, 1986.  Then when he was 3 1/2 on May 13th, 1988 [yes Friday the 13th], I asked him to go outside to play with Daniel his older brother.  Rusty my husband was in the USCG and was sent TAD to Elizabeth City, NC.  So a few minutes later Daniel came rushing into the house to tell me Zebe was bleeding.  I went to the door and all I saw was blood all over Zebe’s face, throat, and chest.  Zebulon was climbing up the ladder of the slide when he slipped and fell. He was carrying a stick in his mouth, so when he fell the stick went through the roof of his mouth. It was serious.  It ended up, that he needed surgery with 8 stitiches in his hard pallet. He just missed by a hair, of the stick going through his soft pallet where all the senses are connected.  The ENT told us we were very lucky.

But after that Zebe developed TICS, which I thought it was do to his injury, but it was a combination. So when Zeb started school I knew he would need extra help in academics. I thought maybe it was because of his high fever, never knowing this precious misunderstood little boy had Klinefelter’s Syndrome.  Had the USCG medical done as they were instructed by Dr. Brenner in Anchorage, and had done a genetic chromoesone test, we would be on a different path. We would have known at age 8 he had Klinefelter’s Syndrome, and become part of a support group like Klinefelter’s Syndrome and Associates.

We would have a “road map” so to speak, and he would have had the guidance and help he needed. Instead what happened was we didn’t know and we had to guess what was the best course for his education and upbringing.  When he was in 1st grade and on the playground he was yelled at for being with the first graders and told he needed to go back with his 6th grade class. He was 7 years old, was a first grader, and taller than anyone in the elementary school. The kids in his class would make up songs,  and lyrics about him, taunt him, and still he was eager to please.  Never held a grudge, kind, always willing to help, and not being able to read “social cues”.   Had we his parents known he had Klinefelter’s Syndrome all of this could have been avoided.  We were clueless, in the dark, just like all the teachers, and people who knew and loved him. He was just a little  boy in a giant sized body, and only wanted what we all long for acceptance.