My Thoughts About 2020, James’ Health, and Christmas

  • Post category:Holidays / Illness
  • Reading time:7 mins read

James lies on a patterned pillow covered in colorful dots. He wears sunglasses that reflect bright flame shapes, and a plush dog toy rests around his neck like a soft collar. His mouth is open, giving the scene a playful, expressive look. At the top of the image, a festive overlay reads “HAPPY New Year” in gold decorative lettering with small star accents.

 

Welcome to 2021. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I was ready to kiss 2020 goodbye. As you can see from the pic above, James wants to burn it to the ground and start over. Unfortunately, we can’t do that. We can’t just throw a match on it, or hit the delete key, or ask for a do over. About all we can do is look back and reflect.

My thoughts about 2020?  It threw us all a bit of a curveball. Some of us got bruised and scarred. Some of us lost something that we can never get back. Some of us didn’t make it. If there is one thing that I’ve learned over the past year is that things can and will change in an instant, and we just can’t stop it. I’ve spent some time assessing where I am in my life and what I would like to change. I have already started carving out a path to make those changes. For 2021 I will continue on that path and see where it leads…one step at a time.

I’m not calling them resolutions because let’s face it, resolutions are doomed to fail. How many New Years resolutions have you made that you actually stuck with? I read a statistic somewhere, and I can’t remember the actual number, but I think it was something like only 25% of people who make resolutions stick with them after 30 days. And that number dwindles as the year goes on. That’s why I am not calling them resolutions. I don’t have a word for it. Goals? Aspirations? I don’t know. I just have some things I want to accomplish before I die. This past year has really shown me that we just don’t know when our time will be up. I need to buckle down and put in a little bit of time each and every day working towards those things. I don’t want to wake up one day in the afterlife with a lot of regrets.

 

 

James’ Health

James lies on his cushioned recliner covered with a polka‑dotted sheet. He wears dark pajamas with colorful patterns and has a nasal oxygen tube in place. A small stuffed dog rests close against his chest. A white drool cloth is on his shoulder, and a yellow pillow decorated with animal illustrations is positioned nearby. The setting appears calm and homey, with soft indoor lighting.

 

I think that’s enough of looking back at the past and forward to the future. Let’s come back to the present, starting with James’ health. James has been having respiratory issues since the end of November. It’s not uncommon for him to get pneumonia around Thanksgiving, but this time it seemed different than it had in the past. The palliative nurse stopped by in early December and while he wasn’t moving air like he should, he didn’t have the signature sound of pneumonia. I haven’t heard it myself, but somebody told us once that when someone has pneumonia and you listen to their lungs, it sounds like crumpling up a piece of paper. The nurse didn’t hear that sound, so she didn’t think this was pneumonia.

The other thing that was different was that he needed different amounts of oxygen throughout the day to keep his sats up. If he was just in his Nap Nanny watching TV or in school, he we need 1 or 1.5 liters of oxygen. In the mornings after he gets up and before breakfast, he gets a percussion vest treatment. There have been times Stacy has had to crank the oxygen concentrator up to 3 liters during the morning vest treatment. During the night when he is in bed, he has these spells where his sats would drop and it didn’t seem to matter how much oxygen we gave him, his numbers just wouldn’t come up. After some suctioning, and repositioning, his numbers would finally come back up, but this was far from normal…even for James.

We didn’t take James to the ER because nobody thought this was pneumonia and we didn’t want to risk sending him to the ER for a chest x-ray and catching covid. We ruled out covid, too, because he didn’t have a fever which is one of the main symptoms. So, what the hell was it? We thought about any recent changes that could have brought this on.

We thought about any recent changes that could have brought this on. There weren’t any formula or med changes so that wasn’t it. He started the school year in a hybrid format (at school Monday and Tuesday, and virtual the rest of the week), and then went completely virtual on November 9th, which was almost three weeks before the respiratory issues started. The only other thing that changed was that we got Maggie in mid-October, about six weeks prior to the breathing issues.

The pediatrician recommended we get some bloodwork done to see if there was an allergy that was causing the respiratory issues. We waited almost a week for those results to come back, and we prayed every day that it wasn’t the dog. When the blood test results came back it showed slightly elevated dog, milk, and dust mites, along with a higher maple tree.

Well, we do have a maple tree in our back yard, and our next-door neighbor has one in her front yard, but those have been there for years. His formula has a little bit of milk in it, but again, he has been taking the same formula for years. Why would these all of a sudden be causing a problem? That left us with dust mites and the dog.

Stacy spoke with the pediatrician and none of us are convinced it is the dog. We’re not completely ruling it out, but Stacy’s brother has a dog and if James spends enough time at his house, he gets very gunky and has red, bloodshot eyes. He doesn’t have that with Maggie. The pediatrician recommended starting James on an allergy med and to make an appointment with an allergist to see what they think.

We had a virtual appointment with an allergist, and she is also not convinced it’s the dog, but did recommend trying a different allergy med than what the pediatrician recommended. Unfortunately, the one that the allergist recommended causes dryness, so we probably won’t use it. Having James too dry also causes him to have respiratory issues.

As far as the dust mites go, Stacy and I spent almost an entire weekend cleaning and vacuuming. We don’t have that big of a house, but James has a lot of stuff. There was a lot of moving stuff around, vacuuming and dusting, and then moving the stuff back. Believe it or not, we think the dust may have been the cause of his respiratory issues. About a week after we gave our house a good cleaning, James went almost an entire day without needing oxygen. That was about a week ago, and he still needs oxygen here and there, but he’s been needing it less and less every day.

 

James lies on his cushioned recliner wearing a red shirt featuring a blue dinosaur snowboarding among trees and mountains, with the text “’Tis The Season For Fun.” A plush dog rests around James' neck. Nearby are a couch, a blue oxygen concentrator, and part of a blanket decorated with dog illustrations. The scene feels relaxed and festive, blending comfort with playful holiday imagery.
Hasn’t needed oxygen as much since we cleaned the house

 

He had been on oxygen for almost five weeks and you’re telling me that all we had to do was clean?! I guess now we’ll be doing it more often. Especially now that we have Maggie.

 

 

Christmas

A Christmas card features three family photographs framed by greenery with pinecones and red berries. The top text reads “A VERY Merry Christmas.” The photos show Jeff, Stacy, James outdoors in coordinated red and plaid clothing, sitting on grass near trees, with a dog included in one of the images. At the bottom, printed text reads “THE FULKERSON FAMILY Stacy, Jeff, James and Maggie 2020.” The design blends festive holiday elements with personal outdoor portraits.

 

Just like Thanksgiving, Christmas was pretty much cancelled. Every year our township’s Disability Services department hosts a Christmas party for disabled kids that live within the township. Although the party was cancelled this year, they did send Santa and Mrs. Claus to our house to drop off gifts for James.

 

Two people dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus stand outside a glass door, looking into a home. Inside, James lies on his cushioned recliner, wearing glasses and dark blue Christmas themed pajamas. A stuffed animal rests near his head, and a dog nearby looks toward the door. The scene feels like a festive holiday visit, with Santa and Mrs. Claus bringing cheer from outside.
Santa and Mrs. Claus dropped off some gifts for James

 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day it was just the four of us. We didn’t see any of our families, but we did call them to wish them a Merry Christmas.

 

A living room is filled with Jeff, Stacy and James resting on couches and the floor, each covered with blankets. Maggie, the dog, lies on one of the couches. A coffee table in the center holds various items, including medical supplies and James' pulse oximeter displaying his oxygen saturation and heart rate. In the background, a decorated Christmas tree stands near several boxes. The image is framed with a decorative border of green leaves, with “MERRY CHRISTMAS” at the top and “2020” at the bottom, giving the scene a festive holiday feel.

 

That pic was taken before we opened gifts. Can you tell how excited we all were? James got some shirts (shocking, I know), an ornament, a movie, and a cool light show projector; Stacy got some cozy socks and some water bottles; Maggie got some yummy treats; and I got socks and gift cards.

 

James lies on his cushioned recliner while several brightly colored T‑shirts are spread across his torso. One shirt features superhero logos with the words “BE A HERO,” another shows a shark with the text “HANGRY SHARK,” and others display various printed designs. The room has a carpeted floor, a couch nearby, and a dog lying in the background. The overall scene feels casual and homey, with the shirts creating a playful burst of color.
More shirts for James!

 

A hand holds a round Christmas ornament with the text “2020 stink stank stunk,” with each word in alternating red and green. Beside the text, a green cartoonish hand in a Santa sleeve pinches a blue face mask. The ornament blends holiday humor with a nod to the year’s challenges.
The perfect ornament

 

James lies on his cushioned recliner, with a stuffed dog toy resting on his shoulder. In the foreground, a hand holds a box labeled “Starry Night Light Projector,” showing images of the device casting star‑filled light effects on walls and ceilings, along with a picture of the projector and its remote. The room has carpeted flooring, nearby furniture, and a calm, cozy atmosphere.
Light show projector

 

A pair of fuzzy socks designed like polar bears wearing small golden crowns and buttons rests over pajama pants decorated with sloths hanging from colorful Christmas lights. On the pajama pants sit two Beautycounter products: a small tube labeled “THE JELLIES” and a larger maroon tube labeled “HAND CREAM.” The scene feels playful and festive, mixing winter‑themed clothing with skincare items in a relaxed indoor setting.
Stacy got some cozy socks…

 

Two reusable water bottles sit on a carpeted floor. The bottle on the left is a purple Nalgene with a white screw‑on cap and loop handle. The bottle on the right is a teal BlenderBottle with a pink lid and a yellow flip cap. Nearby are bits of packaging, a snack wrapper, and part of a wooden piece of furniture. The scene feels casual and lived‑in, showing two brightly colored bottles side by side.
…and a couple of water bottles

 

Two packages of dog treats rest on a carpeted floor. On the right is a brightly colored Hartz Oinkies bag showing smoked pig‑skin twists wrapped in bacon flavoring, with an image of a white dog on the front. On the left is a clear bag of long, thin chew sticks with a black and red label. Behind the treats sits a gray patterned bag or container and part of a wooden piece of furniture. The scene feels casual and practical, showing two different treat options side by side.
Treats for Maggie

 

A large clear plastic package of Hanes men’s crew socks sits on a carpeted floor. The label is black with red and yellow accents and reads “20 Men’s Crew Socks” and “20 Super Value Pack,” with additional notes about cushioning, durability, and moisture‑wicking fabric. Multiple pairs of white crew socks are visible inside. Nearby are small bits of packaging and part of a wooden piece of furniture. The scene feels practical and homey, showing a bulk pack of basic clothing essentials.
Socks for me

 

Even though we couldn’t be with our families, we are thankful that everyone is remaining healthy. Now that there is a Covid-19 vaccine available, hopefully things will get better in 2021 and we’ll be able to get back to some sort of normalcy.