Casey's 1st year:
Casey's entry into this year was unremarkable, in a medical sense anyway. To me, his birth was a miracle! We welcomed Casey into our lives on January 23, 1997. He was 6lb. 12 oz., and beautiful! Now we were a real family!
The first few weeks of his life were the happiest I ever had (I can't speak for Gene, but I'll bet he'd say the same thing).
This is my extraordinary life:
I met all my dad's family 'cause they all live around here.
I have Grandma and Grandpa O'Neill. Aunt Julia, Uncle Paul, Cousins Tim and Jess.
Aunt Peggy, Cousins RJ and Tyler.
Grandma and Grandpa Canosa came up from Florida when I was a week old! Of course,
Aunt Chris was there for my birth.
Easter of '97 my Aunt Brenda, Uncle Bob, and cousins Caitlin and Joe visited us from Long
Island, New York.
Mom, Dad and I visited Grandma and Grandpa in Florida. I had my first airplane
ride. I put my feet in the ocean! (May of '97) I met my 2nd cousin,
Tiffaney, and her fiancée, Steven. They thought I was
big!
I started physical therapy sessions in July of '97. My therapist, Pam, helps me play
with toys. She also helps Mom with special equipment for positioning
comfortably. She also helps me with exercises.
I also got a teacher this summer. Her name is Jennifer. She loves working with
little kids. She comes up with all sorts of ideas and things to do and brings new
things for me to explore, play with, and learn from.
I was baptized into the Catholic Church on July 30, 1997. We had a party
afterwards. I was a very cooperative boy that day! Here's a picture of me,
Mom, Dad, and Father Holland. He married Mom and Dad in
1990.
In August, I was with my mom and dad at mom's doctor's office. I was sitting in my
car seat and I stopped breathing. I guess it happened because of the way I was sitting in
my car seat. I was kind of scrunched in and I wasn't able to take a good breath.
I got rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. I had to go through a bunch of
tests. We ended up staying a week.
At the end of August, I had my second hospitalization due to respiratory distress.
Mom was feeding me some cereal and I choked. There were big changes for me after
this. We stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks. I became enrolled in the High
Tech program as I had a new, special bed to sleep in. It's called a Negative
Pressure Ventilator. It takes the gravity off my chest so that I can breath easier,
and rest better and get my strength up. I also went home with nursing care.
Plus, I had lots of new equipment like suction machines, oxygen saturation monitor,
and oxygen, if I needed it. I also started getting my formula through a tube in my
nose. I was having problems swallowing sometimes.
Despite all that stuff, I had a nice summer. It was especially pleasant weather all
through the summer and into the fall. I loved having my nurses push me around the
yard in my stroller.
On my 9th month birthday I had an operation. The doctor put a g-tube in my belly so
I could get my formula that way now-no more tube in my nose.
I spent Halloween of '97 in the hospital because I was having a hard time breathing
again. They made the settings on my "bed" stronger. It worked.
I was a happy pumpkin that day! Lots of kids and teenagers came to the
hospital and brought lots of books and goodies for all of the kids on the floor. It
was fun to see everybody dressed up!
We celebrated Thanksgiving at home. Mom's friend, Laura, came from N.Y. I
liked her and her dog she brought with her. We didn't see much of Kismet (my cat)
that weekend!
Christmas was lots of fun! It seemed everyone came over and brought presents!
Grandma and Grandpa O'Neill celebrated with us on Christmas Eve. Grandma and Grandpa
Canosa came up from Florida.
On January 23, 1998, we celebrated my 1st birthday! Lots of friends came over
even though we had a huge snowstorm that day!
NEW!
Please take a moment to sign our Guestbook!
You are listening to "Circle of Life"from the Lion King