Jan 19, 2016
patient story
Joy Minor
finding joy
To say that the Minor family are frequent flyers of Dayton Children’s is an understatement.
Blessed with two children, Jay and Joy, Jessica and Paul Minor know the value of having a children’s hospital close to home.
Jay, age 8, first came to the Dayton Children’s audiology department when he was 2 weeks old and was diagnosed with mild to moderate hearing loss. Jay was later diagnosed with chronic croup, which eventually turned into asthma. He now sees pulmonology and audiology annually.
When Jessica became pregnant with her second child she was so excited to learn that it would be a girl. It was not until she actually gave birth that Jessica and Paul learned their baby had Down syndrome.
During Joy’s first year, Dayton Children’s quickly became their second home. Starting with the genetics department to confirm Joy’s diagnosis, the Minor family then began to see specialists in developmental pediatrics, cardiology and audiology. At 4 months old, Joy also became a regular in the rehab department seeing occupational therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy.
“Joy’s physical therapist, Janet Squires (pictured above) pushed Joy toward every milestone,” said Jessica. “Together we laughed, cried and celebrated with every achievement.”
Along with their specialists, both Joy and Jay have become regulars in the emergency department and Joy has been admitted multiple times. “Everywhere we turn at Dayton Children’s we’ve had nurses and doctors supporting us, reassuring us and encouraging us.”
Today Joy is almost 4 and truly does bring joy everywhere she goes. Joy has been featured on national advertisements for children’s toys and both have been featured on local advertisements for Dayton Children’s. Jay is in the third grade at The Miami Valley School and is an avid reader, plays soccer and is in the boys ballet 2 class at the Dayton Ballet School.
Joy continues to visit the Dayton Children’s rehab department on a regular basis and as of this past December, she was officially declared a walker! She also continues to work on her speech and demonstrates over 350 signs in American Sign Language to communicate.
