Dominic's day starts early (unless it's Saturday, in which case he's been known to sleep til' noon) to get ready for a full morning of therapies. His wonderful nurse (whom without I would certainly go crazy, or at least be more cranky!) gets him dressed, fed, trach and g-button cares done, and ready for the day. Here he is during his first therapy of the day with one of his visual impairment teachers, a sweet lady who loves Dominic almost as much as we do.
There is no rest for the weary! Therapies are normally separated only by a short break. Therapy two this day was his speech therapist who works on feeding. Please excuse the home made ghetto tray I have going there... :/
Every day he has either PT or OT, both of which really wear him out. Here you can see how well he is doing, and how hard he works- to the point of collapsing. I tell you what, those PT's and OT's and ruthless. (FYI- I'm a PT, so I can say that;)
After a little rest it's time to go plant our Mary garden for the year. Dominic doesn't like bright lights so anytime he goes outside he wears his super-cool shades.
"Later Skater"
So happy being out with the family!
The kids are so proud of their hard work.
At long last, nap time! Dominic sleeps anywhere from 1-4 hours a day and this is normally the time we finish up his required time on the vent. Here is our afternoon set-up: vent, cardiac apnea monitor, pulse oximeter, trachs, ambu bag, oxygen, and stuffed bear on his head... just keepin' it real for y'all :/
After nap time, it was boy time! Here are the boys taking a break from shooting the bow and arrow to watch some instructional videos (always a good idea). And yes, the boys have a bow and arrow... Mike did the birthday shopping this year.
Dominic's day is peppered with Mary-lovin'. Throughout the day he gets pats, squeezes, kisses, hugs, holds, and even sometimes some trach blockage... sigh.
After a hard day's work it's finally bed time! Here Dominic is watching his feeding tubes being washed and (presumably) is excited at the thought of eating again soon!
How I wish I could show you all of what you can't see in these pictures! I wish you could see the many pats, kisses, and hugs he gets throughout the day by whomever passes. I wish you could see the level of spoiled this child is by his day nurse who rocks him to sleep and most often holds him during his naps. I wish you could be here to see the real, hard work that goes into his real food and med preparation. I wish you could see him squeal with delight at family meals and prayer. I wish you could see his perfect smile when he takes turns cuddling each of his siblings at night for our family rosary. Alas, a camera can only capture moments, not love... you need real life for that.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
-his mom
