One more step with God's help....

If you haven't heard already, JW is officially in a regular car seat!! What a huge relief. Thanks to you who have prayed for him and especially for the car seat test.

We went to San Antonio on April 21 for the car seat study and to discuss botox injections.

JW passed the car seat test with flying colors!! He did absolutely wonderful, no problems what so ever. This was a huge feat because if he didn't pass, we would have to travel with him in an ambulance, a big inconvenience.

Here is a photo of the big boy in his car seat...

JW officially weighed 14 lbs, 1 oz. at the doctor on Monday.

Unfortunately, we had to take him in to see our family doctor in Uvalde. He had been running a fever since last Wednesday, and was on two different antibiotics that weren't helping. We were afraid he had another bad case of pneumonia or the flu and another possibilty. BUT... all good news, well mostly. He had none of those, just a virus that had to run it's course. Today he is feeling much better. YEAH!! no hospital. We were so relieved when we walked out of the doctor's office.

Today, we also had an occupational therapy consultation. The therapist will be coming twice a month along with physical therapy, so he will be getting something from the professionals once every week.

I just wanted to update on the car seat study and give you an updated photo.

Just for giggles I am adding photos of the other two kids, Tristin and Mitchell.

Tristin relaxing. Mitchell trying to sneak candy.

Appointment day tomorrow...

Tomorrow we have a big day ahead of us. We will be doing a second car seat study to try to get the growing boy into a regular car seat. He is currently in what is called a car bed, just a flat car seat that rides sideways in the vehicle. Please pray that the Lord will give JW the strength to be in the regular car seat, otherwise, it will be an ambulance ride anytime we have to go anywhere. He will have to prove to the doctors that he can handle being at the 45 degree angle for 1 1/2 hours(the time it takes to get to S.A. from Uvalde).

We also have an appointment at the feeding clinic, which will once again assess his ability to handle his extra secretions and swallow. We are praying hard for this one also!

The last two weeks, he has been doing awesome!! Not having to suction as often.

We also see the neurologist for his botox treatment tomorrow, I have very mixed feelings about this procedure. It has done wonders for his tight muscle tone, but we still aren't sure if it caused his respiratory problems shortly after the last injections. I pray God will give me the wisdom to decide what to do in the best interest of JW.

Well, as most of you know, WE HAVE MOVED! Finally, it was a chore getting JW moved. Compared to his stuff, the rest of the house was a breeze. The problem with his stuff, is that you had to know exactly where everything was, but with the help of my mom and dad and our nurse, Albert, we got it done.

We are happily settling into our beautiful home God has blessed us with.

Tristin has adjusted to changing schools near the end of the year very well. She loves it. I am so glad things went smoothly with that.

I am adjusting to being a full time mom at home! Ahhhh! Just kidding, I actually have more time to keep the house clean, wash clothes, all of that good stuff that we love doing. Not to mention more time to spend with the kids.

Occassionally, I have to call my adopted sister Leigh, or make a trip to Brackett to chat it up. I don't get very much socializing in Uvalde yet.

Anyhow, we love where we are at and love being a family again.

Thanks to my parents and my sis Lindy to all they have done to help us during the most hectic time in our lives. love you guys!

Here are some cute pics of JW, now 7 months old!! oh! I almost forgot, We have been home now for ..... I am starting to lose track it has been so long... I think 7 weeks going on 8. Hooray! Praise the Lord.

Thank you for your prayers for our little boy, they are certainly working on this little miracle. We see improvements every day as he grows stronger with love and strength God and his family gives to him.

- Allie

Say Cheese for the Camera!

We have made it 4 weeks without any emergency trips of any kind! Praise the Lord!!!

JW is weighing over 11 pounds and has been doing well on a small percentage of oxygen. We had to bump his oxygen up some for a couple of weeks to maintain his saturation level above 93 percent.

We had an appointment with the eye clinic at santa rosa... good news... JW can see better than me! That was such a blessing.

He is near sighted, just like his mommy and his sight in his left eye is minus 3 and minus 4 in the right eye. He will need to have corrective lenses in the future.

We also had our last Synagis shot which helps protect him from RSV, a virus that could be deadly should he catch it. It has such a horrible effect on baby's respiratory system and with his not having a strong system anyway, it wouldn't be good.

Thankfully we have been virus free.

On April 9th we will have our follow up appointment with the ortho doctor about his dislocated hips and have some answers to all of our questions in that subject. We will also have an audiology appointment to see how well he hears. We definitely know he hears loud noises. He wakes up from a sound sleep even when I walk into his room talking on the phone. Please say a prayer for those appointments, pray that we have all good news concerning these two issues.

Finally, I have a beautiful photo for you of this cute little boy smiling!!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and for your support and strength you have given our family.

I know I repeat myself on that one, but we are so appreciative of everything everyone has done that I feel I need to say it.

Please continue to pray for this precious little boy and may God continue to heal him from his rough entry into this world.

We have come a long way on God's road, it has been bumpy here and there but thankfully it is smoothing out for now.

Love and Faith,

Allie

Finally...a photo!!!

I know this is what you all have been waiting for.......

James Wilson Taylor

6 months and 2 days old.

Yesterday we had follow up appointments with the gastro interologist, the g-tube surgeon and a follow up from the last hospital visit.

All appointments went well, his biliruben level is getting better, his g-tube site looks wonderful and his lungs sound clear. All good things for this little guy!!

We are gaining weight and starting to move more...God's miracle at work!

I will try to write more later, my brain isn't awake yet, but at least you can see the growing boy!

Allie

Happy, happy 6 month birthday James!

So yesterday was little JW's 6 month birthday! Ahh (a sigh of relief), we have made it this far! Half of the first year down, the other half to go. We have been home just almost exactly two weeks from our last stint in the hospital, yeah, and doing really well. Tomorrow we have a doctor appointment and hopefully all is well with his little lungs. Last I looked, JW weighed 10lbs, 4oz. 

Thanks to all of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers, we appreciate everything that everyone has done for us. Keep up the prayers!! They are working!

More to come soon, I will update after our appointment.

Praise God for His miracles, including JW!

Allie

Home Again, Home Again

Good news!  JW is home from the hospital and doing well.  We are ecstatic that his trip didn't last too long!  I think it was more of a precaution than anything.  He also started to move his left arm more, including his fingers!!!!  This is huge for him.  Hopefully more improvements in his movement will begin to surface as well.  His lack of muscle tone is one of the possible reasons for his respiratory issues.  So, the more he moves and gains muscle strength the better he will continue to do.  Also, someone from ECI came yesterday and worked with him doing therapy.  The person (sorry, can't remember if Allie said it was a man or woman) even sat JW up and Allie said he loved it.  He liked being able to look around...wouldn't you after being in a bed for almost 6 months?  We are still waiting for more answers on JW's hips.  He goes to the doctor, I believe, next week for that appointment.  Please pray that the doctors will have some answers and a plan of attack as it is becoming more apparent that his hips are actually bothering him...and it makes sense why he can't move his legs with his hips dislocated, don't you think?  Hopefully we will have more insight into this issue and what the doctors are planning to do about it.  Please keep those prayers coming...they are working miracles!

Lindy

Late Night Update

JW had been running a periodic fever (very low-grade) for a couple of days, so yesterday afternoon Allie and the nurse on-duty took him over to Uvalde for some chest x-rays to see if the pneumonia was back.  The x-rays looked a little fuzzier (meaning fluid/congestion in the lungs) than usual so the decision was made to take him on to San Antonio as a precaution.  It looks as though the pneumonia was starting up again. :(

I got this news at around 8pm last night on my way home and this was the last I heard.  I should be getting an update sometime this morning and will post more news as soon as I can.

Please be praying for JW...physical strength to overcome this illness for good, wisdom for the doctors to find the root cause of his respiratory issues (he seems to be making headway in all other areas much faster than with his respiratory problems), and for Allie, Mom, the nurse, and the rest of us to do the best we can with what we are dealt and to hold fast to our hope and our sanity.  Thank you for all you do and for all the sweet comments I have gotten in person, via email, etc.  I am glad to know you are reading this and praying for JW!

Lindy