My name is James Matthew Kinser. My mommy and daddy are James Eric and Amy Suzanne Kinser. I was due to see the world for the first time on October 1, 2003. As you can see, I was too excited and came out 18 weeks early. My mommy had only been pregnant for 22 weeks and 5 days! I am very little (even now). I was 1 pound 8 ounces (675 grams) and 12 1/4 inches long when I was born. But you loose weight after you are born (must be all that hard work during the delivery to get here!) and I got down at one point to 1 pound 5 ounces (595 grams). I am now home and doing really great, something my doctors said would probably never happen (I was given less than a 25% chance of living and less than a 7% chance of living a somewhat normal life.I still have a ways to go, but the doctors say that will my current progress, I have about a 50% chance of living a normal life! My mommy says I am a miracle and that it is because of all of the people who prayed for me!

Old Hospital Updates

Current information as of: 10/6/08

(changes in bold)
  • Actual Age: 5 years and 4 months
  • Corrected Age: 5 years (this is how old I am if I had been born on mommy's due date, Oct. 1 2003)
  • Weight: I still only weigh 31 pounds. I still wear 12 month - 18 month pants in the waist!
  • Length: 41 inches - I was tall enough to ride the Fairly Odd Coaaster (old Beastie) at Kings Island. I LOVE rollercoasters! I was telling everyone for weeks about how big I am!
  • Current Issues my doctors are working on:
    • Lungs:
      While my lungs on X-Ray still look different than "normal lungs," I do not take any treatments or anything any more. If I do get sick with a cold, I even bounce back quicker than my little brother (who was only 5 weeks early).
    • Brain:
      We have no further tests or information on my abnormal head ultrasound that was taken while I was in Riley. However, to date I continue to hit my developmental milestones and my doctors are all very pleased with my process. I am really doing well overall. I know all my letters, numbers, and how to spell my name and a few other words. I even started learning to add & do math when I got into bowling! You have to know how many pins you knocked down and how many are remaining!
    • Eyes:
      Well, so far I don't need glasses! I have not had an ophthalmology visit since 3/05 and they said I see great!
    • Hearing:
      I have about a 30 decibel loss on the high pitches and a 10 decibel loss on the low pitches. So, I can hear normal conversation, but not quiet conversation and some of the hig pitched letters, like "T" and "S". I wear two hearing aids and have a special microphone system (FM System) for teachers to use with me. Recently, I started on ADD medication and my speech took off. I just have to concentrate so hard to hear that being so hyper didn't help me! I talk in full sentences, though I still need speech as my "s" and "sh" and such aren't great. In the spring we will have a full evaluation at the school for the deaf. While we do not believe he will go there (as he is very vocal), we want to make sure we are doing everything possible to help him and this will give us additional information-- like IQ testing.
    • OT/PT:
       I do get an OT to help me learn to write (boy am I a typical boy in writing)! :) I do still have PT once a week as well. But recently I started jumping on 1 foot by myself! So, I might not need PT much longer!

Information as of: 3/6/06

(changes in bold)
  • Actual Age: 2 years and 9 months
  • Corrected Age: 2 months and 5 months (this is how old I am if I had been born on mommy's due date, Oct. 1 2003)
  • Weight: I still only weigh 22 pounds. I still wear 12 month - 18 month pants!
  • Length: 2 feet 4 inches
  • Current Issues my doctors are working on:
    • Lungs:
      I have breathing treatments every night. I still tend to get sick easier or take a little longer to recoup. I also was in the hospital in Bloomington for a few nights this last Fall (2005) for pnuemonia. It is looking like I will have asthma, but we aren't 100% sure yet.
    • Brain:
      We have no further tests or information on my abnormal head ultrasound that was taken while I was in Riley. However, to date I continue to hit my developmental milestones and my doctors are all very pleased with my process. That doesn't mean I may not develop problems in the future, but for now I'm doing great!
    • Eyes:
      Well, so far I don't need glasses! I had an ophthalmology visit on 3/05 and they said I see great! In fact they were so happy about my progress, I only have to come back yearly for a checkup now (rather than every 6 months).
    • Hearing:
      I have about a 30 decibel loss on the high pitches and a 10 decibel loss on the low pitches. So, I can hear normal conversation, but not quiet conversation and some of the hig pitched letters, like "T" and "S". I wear two hearing aids and have a special microphone system (FM System) for teachers to use with me. I have made amazing strides in speech. I am working on learning both speech and sign language. I now have over 150 signs / words.
    • OT/PT:
       I no longer need OT! :) But, I do have PT once a week. I can run and do things like a normal 2 1/2 year old. I still can't jump like I should, but mommy says I can go my whole life without being able to Jump well and it would be okay!