Lisa Bicknell, Columnist
I think nearly everyone is enjoying the gorgeous fall-like weather of the past few days. The good soaking rains we had last week were just what our greens and turnip patch needed, but to all that stuffy humidity, I say “Good riddance!”
I like to walk regularly for health benefits, but when the air is thick with humidity, walking becomes so much more of a chore.
The past few days, though, it has been a pleasure. The air feels nice and crisp and the September sky is a perfect shade of blue. Fall wildflowers are blooming at their peak, providing a treat for the eyes.
There’s more to be loving about life than the latest weather, however.
Our little grandson Clay is continuing to do very well at home. The past couple of months have simply flown by, but during that time our boy has managed to gain about seven pounds and has grown several inches longer. In fact, he’s now “off the charts” as far as his height is concerned, and he’s at about 95 percentile for his weight. Our sweet baby Clay is looking less like a baby every day, and more like a great big boy.
He’s had a couple of appointments with his doctors from UK lately, and it appears that not only is our boy growing fast on the outside, but his lungs are continuing to grow and develop. His pulmonologist thinks Clay is ready for some trial runs off the ventilator.
That means yet another piece of equipment was delivered to the house, this one with one hose instead of two. The machine will provide just a small amount of humidity and a tiny bit of extra oxygen.
The doctor recommended that Clay have trials off the ventilator for 30 minutes twice per day with those sessions to be lengthened as he tolerates them or until he’s completely off the ventilator when he’s awake.
Although these steps are small and cautious, they are still exciting steps toward him being able to breathe on his own. Our boy is making progress, and we are thankful for every bit of growth and change in the right direction.
Clay is still being fed entirely through the G-J tube and will most likely continue to be until he’s at least a year old. That’s OK–we’ll work on one thing at a time.
These are just some of the physical changes that are taking place. While our boy is growing, he’s also becoming more and more fun to be around. He loves to play peek-a-boo and be read to. He likes to smile and make faces at himself in the mirror.
Being that seriously cute, is it any wonder?
Clay waves “bye-bye” at visitors, and he has also learned that Mommy will come running if he coughs a little.
A lady from First Steps came to evaluate him for their program the other day, and she seemed amazed at how observant Clay is and how he interacts with others socially. She said she didn’t think she’d ever seen a baby with a more expressive face.
I suppose that comes from all the time he was unable to do anything but study the faces of those who hovered near his bedside—family, nurses and other medical staff. We still stand around him a lot, gawking and grinning like a bunch of apes.
We’re just really glad to have him home.