Tomorrow morning we take Gracie to Phoenix Children's out-patient facility to have her last procedure to help close her stoma (aka hole in her neck). I am a nervous wreck, to be honest. I hate that she has to go through this but I know that it will ultimately help her. But it still stinks!! We are very confident in our ENT, but as traumatized parents who don't have the best track record with our child being intubated, I don't see much sleep in my future tonight. So I started trolling my trusty chat sites to get a better idea of what to expect. That usually helps me prepare myself and then I can be calm for Gracie. So what I found was right in line with what our doctor (aka "the airway guy" of Arizona) described. Below is a link with another family's experience. It's actually pretty straight forward and this is exactly what Gracie will have done. (I just want to warn the faint of heart that there is a picture of a kiddo right after surgery):
http://tracheostomy.com/resources/surgery/stoma_closure.htm
Incidentally, http://www.tracheostomy.com/ is a brilliant site. Aaron and his family are an inspiration and have helped us and so many others.
So I know that compared to what we have already been though, this is not the hugest deal ever, but it sure feels like it. Ramsey and I just keep saying, "One more. One more, and then she's done. Once she has healed from this, she will be able to go swimming and play in sand and do normal things." So if everyone could send us some love tomorrow, that would be awesome :) We already know that Gracie is an old pro with stuff like this, so our job is to support her through this final hurdle. This is it- the end of our medical journey and the beginning of a tube-free life! Bring it on :)
http://tracheostomy.com/resources/surgery/stoma_closure.htm
Incidentally, http://www.tracheostomy.com/ is a brilliant site. Aaron and his family are an inspiration and have helped us and so many others.
So I know that compared to what we have already been though, this is not the hugest deal ever, but it sure feels like it. Ramsey and I just keep saying, "One more. One more, and then she's done. Once she has healed from this, she will be able to go swimming and play in sand and do normal things." So if everyone could send us some love tomorrow, that would be awesome :) We already know that Gracie is an old pro with stuff like this, so our job is to support her through this final hurdle. This is it- the end of our medical journey and the beginning of a tube-free life! Bring it on :)