Proud moment for JP Abreu, the ‘Miracle Boy’
Springs resident Jean-Pierre 'JP' Abreu (21) passed matric and is looking at studying sport management part-time after his late father, Phillip de Silva Abreu, shot JP and them himself in March 2012.
This Murial Brand School learner is proud to be part of the 70.7% national matric pass rate.
His life changed completely when he was 17-years-old.
His late father, Phillip de Silva Abreu, shot JP and them himself in March 2012.
Taking the long road to recovery and being hospitalised for months, JP finally recovered well enough to go back to school in 2013.
His story made headlines nationally and internationally and send shock waves across South Africa.
His mother, Mary-Ann McCarter, says JP battled to come to terms with what happened to him,
“He is trying to cope with the new JP as the old one has gone,” she says.
He celebrated his 21st birthday with his friends and family just after the completion of his final matric exam.
Mary-Ann says at the celebration food was collected for a children’s home and JP thought it best to be part of giving back and to be thankful for what he has.
Receiving his results brought tears to his mother’s eyes.
She says it was a very proud moment for her, however, JP didn’t know exactly how to feel or how to react.
“The first thing he did was thank the Lord for being with him every step of the way,” she says.
He believes his faith has brought him thus far.
“I am so proud of him and he tells me every day ‘I has made it’ and it feels good,” she says.
JP was a Veritas College student, but had to go to Murial Brand School after he recovered from the shooting incident.
“Trying to fit in with a new school and environment was a challenge that only he could take,” says his mother.
She claims the first term was a concern for the teachers.
“He always wandered off, roaming the school premises without anybody’s knowledge,” she says.
One of the teachers at the school felt he should not be placed in a special class and that he must prove himself.
Soon JP settled down and started enjoying the friends at school and formed a special bond with them.
JP underwent an operation on October 10, 2014, to replace the specially made prosthetic bone in his head, which was ordered from Switzerland.
Within a week after the operation JP went back to school, stitches and all, eager to start with exams.
His mother says he has also received various awards over the last three years at the school.
“There is not a lot of resources available for people with disabilities, therefore we will take one next step at a time,” she says, “but for now we are celebrating what once seemed impossible.”
