A Day in the Life

Ever wondered what a little saint does in a day?  Well, you're about to find out!  To give you all a glimpse into Dominic's daily life, I followed him around with a camera recently in hopes to capture his day.  So, here it is, a day in the life of a little saint:

 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