AJ got home on November 6th, 2023 and has been home for 5 months now. We’ve gotten into a routine and our life is a lot back to normal but with some daily medical care and equipment for AJ. We got to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and AJ’s 1st Birthday at home which was wonderful! We have nursing help during the daytime hours 4-5 days a week. We have 4 different nurses that come to our house and we absolutely love them all! It’s so nice to have them around to help take care of AJ as I can get things done around the house, run errands, spend time with Will, catch up on rest, etc. We then have our weekday evenings and weekends alone with the boys which is a nice balance. We get out of the house regularly now to go out to eat, go to church, and do activities in town. Will is also back to doing his own extracurricular activities like gymnastics and t-ball. AJ has been very stable and healthy. He weighs 23 pounds, is 30” tall, and has 12 teeth. He rolls over, sits up on his own, crawls, and is working on pulling himself up to stand along furniture. He can wave bye, does an uh-oh gesture, and likes to play “Where’s AJ?” If he didn’t have a trach, he’s just a normal baby. We’ll go back to Mayo later this summer for follow-up appointments. His health is going to be a journey especially these first 5 years. His vocal cords are still paralyzed (reason for the trach), speech is delayed, and he still does not eat orally. The doctors feel cognitively though he’s all there and his motor skill delays are only due to long hospitalization and that he’ll be able to catch up physically. We have certainly seen him already thrive in the home environment and with the help of weekly in-home physical and occupational therapy. We’re hopeful with time things will get better and easier for him. Overall, AJ and our family have been doing very well! We are looking forward to our first summer at home to get outside as a family, take a few daytime trips to the lake, and maybe take a road trip.