As part of John's weekly therapy to improve his balance and coordination, his therapists use a balloon to aid him. Normally it's just between him and his therapist, but this week his "Bubba J" and the entire family was able to make it. It happened to be on January 1st and everyone was home from work and school. The goals is to simply toss a balloon back and forth while he tries to catch it while standing on a balance beam. Towards the end he started acting a little "silly" and managed to get in some "hammock time"

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About John
John has a very rare genetic condition known as Catel-Manzke syndrome. It resulted in a weakened muscle structure, and a few skeletal deformities in his hands. Due to the weakened muscle structure in his windpipe (trachea), he had to have a tracheotomy performed when he was about 8 months old to allow for a tracheostomy tube or "trach" as it's most often referred to. Prior to this when he was only about 2 months old he had to have a g-tube placed to allow him to eat due to him burning calories much faster than most children his age.

Now:
John is a healthy, happy, child. He eats by mouth but still has his g-tube just in case we ever have complications with his trach. His speech development has been delayed due to the procedure, but he is able to fully understand what we say and is very smart for his age. We're optimistic that within a few years we'll be able to decannulate him which is the medical term for removal of the trach. Decannulation will also allow his doctors to remove his g-tube, also referred to as a g-button.