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Saab Magalona posts video of Pancho successfully using a straw for the first time and it's downright adorable
By GMA Integrated NewsFirst of all, how adorable is Saab Magalona's eldest boy Pancho? He just learned how to successfully use a straw and it looked like he had the best fun while doing so.
On Instagram, the proud mom shared a short video of Pancho showing off his news skill, and in it, it was easy to see how joyful the experience was. The five-year-old Pancho generously flashed everyone his adorable smile.
"This means his Oral Placement Therapy has been working!!" Saab rejoiced in the caption.
According to The Cheats' singer, Pancho learning how to use a straw means having "better control of his oral motor functions."
Saab explains, "For most people, rounding of the lips precisely around a small straw and sucking with control comes naturally at a certain age. For brain-injured kids like Pancho, this takes a lot of practice and patience."
Pancho is Saab and husband Jim Bacarro's "miracle boy." In a 2020 vlog detailing his harrowing birth story, Saab said Pancho wasn't even supposed to last the night.
"The doctors advised Jim to take me to the NICU so that we could say goodbye to Pancho. They said it looked like he wasn't going to last the night. But like a superhero, Pancho fought," Saab said back then.
He suffered many complications — ventriculitis, sepsis, pulmonary hypertension, and grade 4 intraventicular hemorrhage — and had to undergo brain surgery at just 17 days old.
Though Pancho was only able to go home after 58 days in the hospital, he would repeatedly beat the odds and exceed expectations since then.
Thankfully, his mom is generous in sharing his progress, and netizens are more than happy to see their little wins and cheer Pancho on.
In a March 2021 video, Saab proudly showed Pancho pulling himself up to stand and said “Let’s all be reminded that each child has a certain path and as parents, we are just there to guide them the best we can."
Pancho is Saab and Jim Bacarro's eldest boy. They have another younger son named Vito.
— LA, GMA Integrated News