The Best......

My sweet little boy...Jairus...

Jairus turned eight in March.......the day he was born was a day filled with mixed emotions.....excitement and concern, all rolled into one. Jairus was born with a disability called Pierre Robin Sequence . This little guy has overcome such tremendous odds in his life.....when he was born he only spent maybe two minutes with his brand new momma before they whisked him off to the NICU where they poked and prodded, stuck needles into his newly birthed body and tubes down his throat...Jairus's tongue could not place properly in his mouth and would fall back in his throat, cutting off his airway. He could not feed like the other babies ....a tiny tube would be snaked down to his tummy by way of his nose.......for the first eight weeks of his life he didn't know that he had a home where his little bed waited for him, where his new mom and dad would learn how to suction his airway and replace his feeding tube when the little fingers would pull it out. He knew about their love for him and the love of his nana and papa, as we were with him everyday......I am his nana...he was my first grandbaby.......I would spend hours rocking him,...putting him into 'the position'......on his tummy , over my forearm, was his favourite and I could always get him to sleep. As he grew, his milestones came slowly.......he didn't sit when he should have sat, he didn't crawl when he should have crawled, he didn't walk when he should have walked....and he didn't eat his food 'normally' until he was a few years old........but most of all he didn't talk.

I always maintained that he was, and is, a smart little guy......all his information that he studiously takes in, just gets locked in there and can't come out. Fortunately, after many occupational therapists, speech therapists and people who love him that never gave up....he's starting to talk.....some words are still difficult to understand but Jairus makes his needs known....and after seven years I heard the best sound ever.....I heard him call me nana......my heart was singing and in my head I was doing cartwheels!

Last week, along with his sisters and mom...he was at our trailer for the week.....at one point...he was very excited to be going somewhere on the campgrounds...I don't even remember where now......he had his bike helmet on, and he paused and turned as he was leaving the trailer...went running over to hubby gave him a hug and a kiss and offered his cheek for papa to kiss...then he came to me and did the same........it was THE BEST MOMENT OF THE WHOLE WEEK!!!!!!!

Hubby and I were both grinning as the tears came close to the surface....it doesn't get any better than that people......uhuh, no sirree.......