Leroy's medical condition

This is a summary of Leroy's medical conditions: 

Leroy suffered HIE III at birth, and his MRI showed global brain damage. This is a summary of his health issues. 

Leroy could not suck or swallow

This had two big implications. One was Leroy's inability to swallow his saliva/secretions. You and I don't notice how many times a day we swallow our saliva (our mouths are very wet places), and since Leroy could not swallow, these secretions had the potential to end up in Leroy's lungs (aspiration) which is a life threatening situation. At the same time these secretions could block his air ways, making it very hard for Leroy to breathe.

The second implication is that Leroy had to be fed through a Nasal Gastric Tube that went down his nose into his stomach. We changed the tube (and changed from one nostril to another) every 3 weeks or so.  Every time we needed to feed Leroy, we need to check that the tube was in the right place and had not gone into his lungs.

To remove Leroy's saliva/mucous/secretions we used a suction catheter.  This is a thin tube that is attached to a pump, and we put it into his mouth/cheek throat to suck it out. Depending on how Leroy was going, this suctioning needed to happen anywhere between 20-35 times every day, and sometimes much more. It was not pleasant for the person doing the suctioning or for Leroy, but it was critical to keep him alive. We also needed to suction his nose, though this was less often, except when he had a cold or runny nose.

Leroy could not regulate his body temperature

The damage to Leroy's brain affected his hypothalamus which helps to regulate temperature. We needed to keep regular track of his temperature to make sure it was in the range of 36.5 to 37.5 degrees Celsius. This means a lot of blankets (and I mean mega layers) in winter, and very quick baths, as he could drop in temperature very quickly.  We had to be absolutely vigilant with this as well.

Hearing

We know there was significant damage to Leroy's hearing in both ears. Tests were done but they were a little inconclusive as he had some fluid in his ears and this prevents accurate tests from being done. We had some hearing aids made for Leroy, but it was difficult to know how effective they were.

Eye Sight

After more than 6 months we finally got a test done, and we weren't given a whole lot of info, except to say that there had been damage to Leroy's optical nerve, and although his eyes responded to light, it is unlikely that he could see very much.

Movement

Leroy had severe damage to his basal ganglia (in his brain) which contains major functions to do with movement. Leroy moved very very little. However with the different therapy and treatments we had been giving Leroy, we saw great improvements, and we were very positive about his sensitivity to physical touch.

Communication

Leroy did not cry. He did make beautiful happy noises and vocalisations, and was very vocal when he didn't liking something or if he was in pain. We are very thankful for this.