Update

      Things around the home front here have been somewhat uneventful.  In our lives that is a positive thing!!  Jacob is requiring less oxygen than a week ago, so we feel his lungs are in the healing process.  
      Things with Jacob always seem to somewhat change.  Very seldom do we notice that things are staying exactly the same.  We're so often faced with a new development and trying to decipher if it's something to be concerned about or not.  Jacob has developed a new breathing sound, which we'll have to get checked out, as it only seems to be getting worse.   We can tell that at times it hurts him - to have discomfort breathing is constant discomfort.  He suffers so much!!
     On a positive note, we visited the snoezelen room again :)  I love that place.  Jacob responded so well with the bubble column.  I had him positioned about 8 - 10 inches away from it, and he kept fixing his eyes on it.   He would fix his eyes on the column for anywhere from 2 - 10 seconds then lose it.  Within seconds he would find it again.    It was thrilling.    The room was very dark, so he had no other visual distractions.  It seems like there is something with his vision that we can work with.



Bubble Column with changing colours

Jacob with crystal clear eyes looking at the bubble column.  Indeed a great break through!

At one of the homes that Jacob goes regularly, they really work with development.  They experimented this time with a toy that looks similar to this on.  After consulting our therapists, they gave some instructions and away I went - buying all sorts of sensory items.  He LOVES it!  When he is content and fully awake, he responds beautifully with it.  I just have to buy more bright, glittery objects, as that seems to be what he visually responds to.  We have some noisy 'toys', hoping that he will learn that it is a positive thing to move. 

     Yesterday I was busy with Sheryl when suddenly Jacob become quite irritable.  We don't like to leave him like that, because it backfires so quickly.  I asked Breanne to tend with him, which she willingly did.  I came into the room several minutes later to this sight - Breanne doing chest physio on her brother.  It melted my heart.  She knows he loves chest physio and has watched us do it repeatedly, so she thought she could do it too.  She did an amazing job.  She's such a huge help!

 

     With Jacob we have fun with certain things, like when he frowns exactly when we are talking about something that's really serious.   Sunday night Paul asked me who our nurse was that night.  I replyed, 'Jennifer, she gets to play with Jacob again.'  Right as I was saying that, Jacob giggled so hard.  We laughed right along with him.  I had to tell the nurse that, she was thrilled.  Sweet moments.  Those are the moments that enable us to carry on with a lighter heart.