Welcome to my blog. I write about life as a Christian wife, mother of eight children, and grandmother.
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All in Airway and Respiratory
We arrived in Cincinnati yesterday afternoon, and Nathaniel had Laryngotracheal Separation surgery today at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Four years ago this month, I wrote a three part blog series on the cost of homeschooling. It makes sense that I wrote that series in January. January is when I start to think about the next school year.
For almost two decades now, we've deposited that spring (IRS) check in a special savings account earmarked for school costs. Some years we haven't needed all of it, some years we have. Many years, the doldrums of winter were chased away by browsing curriculum catalogs, comparing programs, making wish lists, and dreaming of next year's fun. The Cost of Homeschooling, Part 1
Nathaniel's airway surgery is about a month away. Now that Christmas and New Year's is over, it seems close. We wanted to share our plans and the needs our family has as the date approaches.
Both Rich and I will go to Cincinnati for the surgery. We have been told to expect a five hour surgery and for Nathaniel to spend a week in the Critical Airway ICU afterwards. Nathaniel will have a new stoma and possibly medical new care routines that we will learn before his discharge. We have been asked to stay in the Cincinnati area for a second week to be close to the surgeon and hospital in the event of complications. There are three different ways you can help our family now.
A friend sent me this photo on Christmas Eve. "Baby Jesus has a trach this year," her text said.
Doll baby Jesus' mother is six-year old Maggie. Maggie's mother is a medic who spends her days training first responders in tracheostomy emergencies. Maggie's grandmother is a Sunday School director. Maggie's grandfather had a trach. Blend it all together and it is logical that when a baby was needed for the Family Service nativity at church that Maggie's trached baby doll was cast for the leading role.
The baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the feeding trough had a tracheostomy.
About a month ago, I offered my layman's understanding on the functions of the larynx - it provides a passageway for breathing, it protects the lungs, it contains the vocal cords aiding in sound production, and it helps with eating. I mentioned in that post that having all four functions is not possible for Nathaniel. Tests during our last trip to Cincinnati Children's showed that Nathaniel still aspirates - his airway is unprotected - and that condition is unlikely to change with more time. The news we received in November was more brutal than hearing all four functions of the larynx could not be saved. Because Nathaniel's airway is not protected, it is not in his best interest to restore any larynx function.
The larynx does a number of things for the human body. Its most important role is providing a passageway for breathing. Second and almost equal in importance, the larynx protects. The coordination of nerves, muscles, and cartilage work together to prevent foreign objects, including spit, from entering the lungs. We are all familiar with this process. Something starts to go down "the wrong pipe" and we cough it out. That is your larynx doing its job. Another function of the larynx is to produce sound or our audible voice. A fourth function is to help move food and drink toward our esophagus and stomach. Four things: breathing passageway, protection, sound production, and aid in the eating process. We learned last week that having all four is not an attainable goal for Nathaniel.
