Wednesday, 21 March 2018

Jame's story

A short story of James, whom we love and admire:
In the early hours following a warm day in October 2003 this baby was ready to arrive; and within 2 hours was born without a fuss and ready to face the world, certainly more than his mum was prepared for! Whisked away I was left facing a young, unemotional consultant who suggested that my son had Trisomy 21. Trisomy 21? I hadn’t heard of that before. Comically the first thing that entered my head was that this boy was going to be a scientist or an astronaut! It must have been the euphoria of the birth!
Reality struck me in the face when we were told “He might not talk; he will have learning difficulties; he may not live as long as you; he will need more care …. blah, blah blah”. We called him James. He was a fighter from the start and the first few weeks of his life were spent in Special Care Baby Unit rigged up to this, that and the other. No one knew what was wrong. But then he got better and no one knew why.  
James thrived and put on weight and did all the baby things a baby does except for the continual vomiting. No one knew why because he looked so well - “Very well for a baby with Trisomy 21 you know”. Less than a year later James had 4 hours of surgery for a duodenal atresia and the vomiting stopped.
A spate of upper respiratory infections resulted in many an overnight stay in hospital. Then there was the big one. The one where countless medical staff rallied around him; where we watched on helpless and in fear as our tiny little boy was resuscitated on a great big emergency bed; we couldn’t keep up with the blue light of the ambulance as it sped him to the specialist facilities of a bigger hospital. We were told it was touch and go.
Fast forward a few years, we watched James giggle and laugh through nursery and primary school open to trying out anything that was put his way. Walking at 2, dry at night by 3, signing age 4, climbing volcanoes in Lanzarote aged 5, counting age 6, getting a sister aged 7, reading age 8, riding a bike by 9, his first trip away from home age 10, able to swim aged 11, camping with his friends age 12. His life is like other kids’ lives just delayed in some areas. James is extremely sociable, fun, a bit of a joker and has an amazing zest for life.’ He has a busy social life and enjoys his weekly clubs including drama, basketball, and sports club but mostly he just loves doing things, anything, with his friends. He loves music especially Jake Bugg and Mark Ronson. He loves films, particularly those from the Marvel Studios. He enjoys comedy, picnics, nights away, entertaining and being entertained. James is a teenager in every way!
James is now in year 9 at secondary school where he is described as kind, polite, fun and a cheeky sense of humour! He has represented Hackney in the London Youth Games and the Panathlon multisport East London championship. James is currently studying science and learning about the universe and solar system. We always knew James would take the first steps to become a scientist or perhaps even an astronaut!

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