The Zwiebel Family

As told by Andrew & Kate Zwiebel

Jill’s House Weekend Adventure Camp is a place where Jack can be Jack, and we are so grateful that he has a place where he is welcomed and loved!

Jack…is…awesome! He is such a good-humored, curious, and good-natured kid. He makes us laugh a lot, like when he randomly puts on his blow-up dinosaur costume! He will often play jokes on us too, like playing hide-n-seek in construction equipment while we’re on neighborhood walks.

We were married in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, while living in San Francisco, and shortly after our oldest was born, we moved to Seattle, Washington. Although the move to Seattle meant leaving family and starting a new adventure, we felt God’s presence and have continued to feel His presence throughout our family’s journey.

When I was pregnant with Jack, I remember thinking there was something different. When Jack was born, he was unable to pass the infant hearing test while in the hospital. He also had feeding and nervous system issues. We knew that early intervention was very important for Jack, so by the time he was 4 months old, he was undergoing PT, OT, and speech therapy. He also had strabismus and underwent two surgeries to correct his vision. We were hopeful that these interventions would correct his balance and motor issues, but he was still unable to hit some of his milestones.

After a few years of genetic testing and no findings, we were introduced to a new genetic test that ultimately provided us with the answers we had been searching for. Upon receiving the test results, we learned that Jack had a change on the FOXP1 gene. The way it was described to us was that this change is equivalent to having a single misspelled word in a whole set of encyclopedias. We were also told that, at that time, Jack was the only kid on record with this genetic abnormality. We were shocked! Although there was not a lot known about the FOXP1 gene, we were told that the only physician in the world studying it was located near us, at Seattle Children’s Hospital!! Talk about God’s provision for our family.

We were so encouraged and relieved to finally have some answers! We are both athletes, so when we received Jack’s diagnosis, we kept saying he was going to “Varsity FOXP1.”  Soon after, we became involved with The University of Washington’s Haring Center for Inclusive Education and early childhood intervention for children with and without disabilities— ultimately, a community of like-minded families and teachers we have grown to love. This is the community that led us to Jill’s House.

Jill’s House has allowed us to further explore the extension of a community we were already a part of, while offering safe independence for Jack through overnight camp experiences. We were pleased to know that Jack would probably attend camp with friends that he had already made through our involvement with Haring Center, but also be able to make new friends. Additionally, the religious core and mission of Jill’s House were also very important to us.

Jack has been consistently going to camp for 3 years. He loves hanging out with Jill’s House staff for the weekend, and he talks about being able to stay in his own room! At the end of a weekend at camp, he comes home tired, which means he’s also engaging in all the activities!

There are so many dimensions to camp! From archery and horseback riding to paintball and all kinds of games, there are so many great activities for the kids that are, quite frankly, hard to replicate at home. Camp provides Jack with a ton of experiences that help build his confidence and his skills—even an opportunity to show off his blow-up dinosaur costume in the camp talent show!

The first time Jack went to camp, we didn’t know what to expect or how to prepare for our weekend without him. Over time, we have realized how valuable and important respite really is, to spend time with our other children and with each other. We all look forward to those weekends now!

There have been so many God-moments throughout our journey. Jill’s House Weekend Adventure Camp is an important part of our journey and a place where Jack truly belongs.