Illness Update and Mother’s Day 2013

  • Post category:Holidays / Illness
  • Reading time:2 mins read

James was doing so-so after our trip to the doctor’s house last Sunday, so we decided to keep him home from school on Monday. I think he likes being home with his mommy because he stayed home on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. We’re really just trying to keep him healthy. We don’t think he’s immunocompromised, but maybe his body just has a harder time dealing with the germs in the world.

Hopefully someday his immune system will be stronger, and he’ll be able to enjoy more of what life has to offer. In the meantime, we’ll just keep doing whatever it takes to keep this kid healthy. Sometimes that means getting a little creative. Because James can’t swallow and manage his own secretions, we put him on his belly multiple times a day to let gravity help drain some of his secretions. So what do you do when your kid’s belly time area is too far away from the oxygen concentrator, he needs a little boost of oxygen, and the nasal canula isn’t long enough to reach? If you’re Stacy, you assess the situation, see what you have available, and find out that the tubing for his nebulizer (breathing treatments) is long enough to reach. Stacy connected the nebulizer tubing to the concentrator and taped the other end down right in front of James’ nose to give that little boost of oxygen that he needed.

 

James resting on a blanket and pillow setup on the living‑room floor with home medical equipment nearby, including an oxygen concentrator and an IV pole, surrounded by household items in a lived‑in family space.
Using the nebulizer tubing for the oxygen concentrator

 

Stacy felt that he was well enough to go back to school on Thursday, which was “Necktie Day”.

 

James lying on a cushioned surface wearing glasses, a white collared shirt, a purple tie, and dark jeans, resting with arms outstretched beside a pillow and a plush Chicago Bears item in a cozy indoor setting.
Necktie Day at school

 

Friday James came home from school with a special award:

 

Colorful classroom certificate surrounded by cartoon children, celebrating James for doing a great job learning to be respectful, responsible, and make right choices.
Learning how to be respectful, responsible, and make the right choices

 

Yesterday Stacy put up the first of what we hope will be many of James’ school photos on the wall outside his bedroom. We’re going to keep the pregnancy pictures up for now but may take them down if and when the wall starts filling up with his school photos.

 

Wall display featuring large decorative letters spelling “JAMES” above framed photos, including a child’s portrait, close‑ups of hands holding small items and a gift tag, and a jersey‑style image labeled “FLUKE 02,” creating a personalized, memory‑focused arrangement.
James first school photo on the wall outside his bedroom

 

Sunday was Mother’s Day and James gave mommy a special gift he made at school. It made Stacy cry.

 

Handmade Mother’s Day card with pink patterned background, the word “MOM” spelled in green and yellow craft sticks with a circular photo of James wearing sunglasses as the “O,” a printed poem below, green handprints on each side, and a label reading “Happy Mother’s Day 2013.”
James’ Mother’s Day gift to his mommy

 

It may be a bit hard to read, so here is a closeup of what it says:

 

James' craft project with a photo of his face framed by colorful paper petals on a pink patterned background, with a printed Mother’s Day poem displayed below in a stem‑shaped layout.
Closeup of the poem James gave to his mommy

 

We went to a Mother’s Day brunch at Stacy’s brother’s house and James got to hang out with his cousins for a bit.

 

James and his cousins gathered on a hardwood floor in a living room, with James lying on a white blanket and his cousins sitting nearby as they watch a tablet playing an animated show, surrounded by toys, bags, and cables near a brick fireplace and a cabinet with a fish tank.
Watching cartoons with his cousins