This is Vanessa (Josh's mom) and Josh. Last summer Josh received pacers in his chest to help him be able to stay off the vent longer. By the Fall he'd built up his body enough to be able to go out and hunt with his dad. We're extremely proud of Josh. He's done a great job.
In late January 2010 Josh spent quite a bit of time in the hospital. Constantly running fevers and having intense chest pains. Multiple CT scans and x-rays. Definitely not a fun way to start off the year.
After all the testing they were finally told he had H1N1 and double pneumonia. Keeping in the hospital for a long time. It's extremely hard when they get sick especially something as horrible as these.
Josh has recovered very well yet is still constantly hit with what "normal" people would call a cold that is entirely different for him. This year he, along with his family, welcomed his new nephew. Baby is just adorable. Josh is an amazing boy and an inspiration to everyone. Love to his family.You can read up on Josh at his site: JOSHUA WOOTEN
http://www.bensfriends.org/
ReplyDeletei wonder if this site might be helpful for you?
best wishes
You should see Josh now. He is 16 years old, 6 foot tall and 260 pounds. He is in high school. Still has nurses who watch over him almost every hour of every day. But he is doing well overall. He has a special kind of pacemaker that helps him breathe during the day and hooks to his ventilator when he sleeps. He takes breathing treatments with a machine called IPV. That machine helped him overcome swine flu and double pneumonia in Jan 2010, and has kept him out of the hospital for the most part since then.
ReplyDeleteI'm his mom, and I've spent the last couple of years in Respiratory school. I will finish up in August and take exams to become a licensed Respiratory Therapist.