Celebrating the “inch stones” with James
Following his brain injury, James’ family learned to celebrate the seemingly small achievements, honouring how every child grows at their own pace.
For James, a walk in the park is not just a walk in the park. Every step is an “inch stone”— a sign of progress in the two-and-a-half-year-old’s recovery from hemispherectomy surgery.
While in utero, James had a stroke on the left side of his brain, resulting in daily seizures. A hemispherectomy in December 2023, when James was one, stopped the seizures, greatly improving his quality of life.
During his recovery from this brain surgery, James stayed at Holland Bloorview as an inpatient, where his mom, Amanda, was pleasantly surprised by the joyous atmosphere.
“Holland Bloorview was like no other hospital because the overall morale was always positive, and it was obvious wherever you looked—from the nurses, doctors, therapists, kitchen and custodial staff, to most notably the young inpatients themselves,” says Amanda.
“It was a happy, positive environment, and that made our time there much easier,” she adds.
That positivity extended to James’ therapy, where his care team made the exercises fun, playing with different toys and music during sessions. Amanda loved how James made personal connections with each of his therapists, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists.
Amanda also loved watching James enjoy the warm waters of the therapy pool after two months of healing.
“James had so much fun splashing around,” Amanda recalls.
For James, the fun continued every evening in the therapeutic playroom, where he got to try out new toys and interact with other kids.
When he wasn’t in the playroom, he relaxed in the Snoezelen room, a multi-sensory environment with different lights, colours, textures and sounds that is designed to help kids and youth regulate their emotions. James’ favourite part of the Snoezelen room was the tall, plastic tubes of bubbles that came up from the floor and could be lit up in different colours.
Another highlight for James was music therapy. Banging on drums and playing with bells and shakers offered him the chance to express himself and nurtured his love of music.
As James continued to play and recover, Amanda leaned on her support system, including family, friends and staff at Holland Bloorview.
“As a parent with a child recovering from brain surgery, I found myself overwhelmed and in constant survival mode, but with the help of my loved ones I was able to get through this journey much easier,” she says.
“We also had a wonderful social worker at Holland Bloorview, who was so helpful and directed us to services in the community we otherwise would not have known about or had time to research.”
Today, James attends preschool in the community and continues to receive physiotherapy and occupational therapy as an outpatient at Holland Bloorview. He loves going to the park to practice walking, swinging on the swings, making music and playing with his favourite yellow school bus.
For her part, Amanda loves watching James grow, and celebrates how Holland Bloorview helps her son achieve new “inch stones” all the time.
“We are so thankful for the level of care James received during his rehabilitation at the hospital. We will forever be grateful for the support we have received during this challenging journey,” she says.
