The Journey of James Weston

Monday, August 15th, 2022 James didn't last very long in his new Captain America t-shirt that Mom got him at Target. Between the G-tube leaking and peeing out the diaper there are a lot of outfit changes. 🤦🏻‍♀️🧺 This week we would not have any out of the house appointments; however it would be one of the busiest work weeks for Dad. 🤳 👨🏻‍💻  James has been really improving his eye contact. Within the last few weeks he has been making eye contact when playing, rolling balls back and forth, and reading books. Sometimes he is looking for approval before doing something and other times he is really just trying to to engage in communication. These are huge improvements! With James being in the hospital for so long there are so many things like this that we have to work on a little bit harder than someone else would. In actuality most parents wouldn't even know that a developmental milestones would be focusing on eye contact when rolling a ball back and forth. James self soothin...

Sunday, August 14th, 2022 James had his first long walk. We walked to shopping center about 2 blocks away. Round trip was about a mile and a half. We were concerned that it was getting gloomy and it called for rain within the hour. 🌦️ However the temperature was in the low 80s which would be the coolest it would ever be for a while. Plus in Florida it only rains for a few minutes. We figured worst case scenario Mom would take him into a store and Dad could walk home in the rain and get the car. Our main concern was getting the ventilator wet. We haven't tested it and don't plan to.  We first stopped at the Dollar Store for bread so we could feed the ducks 🦆 at the nearby lake. James threw as far as he could to reach the ducks but him just trying was cute enough. Then we walked over to Marshalls which was at the opposite end. You never know what you're going to find at Marshalls! 😆 We took James through the home goods section, the random snack aisle, and to look at the to...

Saturday, August 13th, 2022 Dad recorded James playing with the balls in his crib. As you can see James is becoming more and more like a toddler. He is rolling around, going upside down, and is moving fast. James has been getting himself wrapped up in his cords too. Yes, James is more stable but he is also now more likely to pull his trach out or disconnect himself from the ventilator. So as he gets older the more eyes we need on him all the time! Today Mom got out of the house and ran some errands but was back in time for trach care. P.S. You can email James your love and support as often as you’d like. Mom and Dad read these email to James as they come in. We all love them! JamesWestonAbramowitz@gmail.com

Friday, August 12th, 2022 James started out the morning opening a box of baby wipes.  Not taking them out one by one, instead he found a more efficient way of getting them all out at once. He enjoyed some looney tunes while in his chair.  In the afternoon, Mom performed a full circuit change and recorded for educational purposes. We were not trained how to setup a circuit and had to figure it out ourselves when we got home. Where I think the ball was dropped was that the hospital thought the respiratory therapist from the DME would train us and they didn't. Hopefully the video can help someone! ❤️ P.S. You can email James your love and support as often as you’d like. Mom and Dad read these email to James as they come in. We all love them! JamesWestonAbramowitz@gmail.com

Thursday, August 11th, 2022 💉 We found out that James' blood work came back in normal range. Mom saw the results on the portal on Monday but it took an additional 4 days for the office to get the results and call us with direction. Last week he was checked for Calcium Ionized level. The normal reference range is between 1.10 mmol/L - 1.30 mmol/L. James' results came back at 1.3 which is at the high end but still within range. We will need to get another one done in a few months to make sure he doesn't get any kidney stones.  Uncle Dr. David stopped by again since he was in the area and this time James was awake! He really is very social and lights up with smiles whenever someone is talking to him. 😁 In the evening, Dad played guitar and James joined with his shaker. It probably would have made sense to get a video so you could actually hear it. James danced to his James Weston Lullaby which is still his favorite song. Twinkle twinkle comes in at a close second. ✨ Prince J...