Jayzon’s mom calls him “Champ” for good reason.
Born weighing only thirteen ounces a little more than a year ago, this special preemie has gone through quite a fight in his short life. He has chronic lung disease, which led to his quickly getting a tracheostomy and G-tube. “The odds were totally against him,” says his mom.
The family started care in Toledo and ended up at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, becoming frequent visitors of our Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) Clinic. Jayzon’s mom appreciates the way they are treated by hospital staff as family and true partners in her son’s care. “It’s awesome. The nurses are good. The doctors, therapists…they include me and don’t leave me out of anything. Before they make a drastic decision, they make sure that I’m on board, my husband is on board, and we’re just okay with it. I love it.”
Jayzon is still on a ventilator and is Lasix and steroid-dependent, but his mom says that they’re weaning him off of that and he’s doing excellently. Preemie lungs aren’t fully developed, so much of what patients need is time for those lungs to grow and start working at the intended level of performance for their age. The next step for Jayzon is to get him off the ventilator, which will happen in due time.
His mom describes their family’s experience much like a roller coaster. “The low parts (of this journey) have been him being sick and in the hospital. The high parts? We’re getting the best care at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.” Her goal is simple: she just wants her son to come home healthy and stay that way. She’s been through this before, too; each of her children (her oldest is seventeen) had birth weights of less than two pounds. Seeing technology that assists in getting preemies strong and healthy improve dramatically over the years has been a joy for her. She has some advice for other parents of preemies: “Don’t give up! Stay strong. You’re going to have your downfalls and there will be crying, but know at the end it’s all joyful.”
Today, Jayzon is a year old and weighs seventeen pounds. He is loving, smiley, and playful. His mom says that he’s no different from any other child his age except that he has a trach; he’s not limited. “Jayzon is my blessing. He is my miracle baby. He really has fought through this whole thing and has never given up.”
Quite the Champ, don’t you think?
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