The evaporative cooling vests turned out to be amazing. “Activated” with some cool water, they kept Tav & Adrien cool enough to ride their balance bikes on the bike path for 20 minutes before resting- in 85 degree F heat. SO happy we have a tool to help with this. The fearsome 3some had a GREAT time.
This week my twins’ ORL took a look inside their airways during a bronchoscopy. The pictures were remarkable in their differences from last year. Last year’s view of the airways included irregular raised bumps all over the inside of the airway- completely gone now. The upper regions of the lower airway now are smooth & pink-colored. No more red, raised inflammation is present anywhere high along the larynx. I have never seen this on any previous viewing.
It makes me wonder what the culprit has been in the past. What “poison” [to their system] was I feeding them for 4 years that has been removed on the “specific carbohydrate diet” we now follow? There are SO many things we have removed, SO many food changes we have made- what is the one that has helped clear the irritation in this airway region? WHY are there “no allergy” results on their allergy panels that have been run? CLEARLY there was something producing this irritated, red surface view of the past- and it is now gone.
Just one aspect of the multiple questions raised during our medical tour this week…
Some days in our family are completely caught up in the managing of medical care & health-related events. On June 1 2011, we changed the focus completely and journeyed out to enjoy a long-standing family tradition. For generations our family have followed the RedSox and finally the Fearsome Threesome was able to take in their first game at Fenway!
Before the game, we achieved parking magic thanks to some connections with the local police. As we entered the park, I became nostalgic, breathing deeply in the atmosphere of this monumental event for my family. I paused a moment, adjusting the suction bag, oxygen tank and preschooler, and took a second to remember the children who I brought with us in spirit. Being in this place brought them close to me again, renewed my resolve to enjoy whatever part of this event that we were able to attend, and brought tears near the surface at the enormity of this moment.
I am so very thankful my children were well enough to make the trip. I am thankful we had a nurse who could come with us and help out with monitoring the twins’ reaction to the heat. I am thankful to have experienced the RedSox game with all 4 of my children. Sitting there, looking over at the four of them living this experience, I realized that, regardless of future events, they will ALWAYS have this moment together- I will always have this moment. The RedSox were not able to overcome their opponent during this outing, but WE, family of 5 including 2 micro-preemies with trachs and a newly minted adult, overcame some truly remarkable opponents and lived this experience together.
Our family's first RedSox game at Fenway Park
It’s a memory long gone, distant, nearly a “wives’ tale” in my history. Each day, multiple times, I run small compressors that nebulize medications into particles small enough to inhale. All night long I listen to the hiss and rumble of compressors as they neb water into mist to moisturize the air my twins breathe through their trachs. Alarms sound when heart rates plummet or rise and when oxygen saturation levels drop below a minimum acceptable level….
Throughout the day, when the heat is not running and I am standing far from the fridge, I remember the sounds of the world without motors running in the background. It is those times I hear clearly the laughter, the songs, the joy. The times my children add their voice to the cacophony, it endears all those other sounds to me; the harsh tones which allow my children to breathe & craft their own noise.
Decline is a word I hate to use to describe any health behavior in my children. It is a terrifying word implying “active change for the worse”. It is the word I am now using to describe my son’s respiratory status- and I want a different word, a different experience. I am DONE with “decline”- I will settle for “plateau”… can anyone give me a “plateau”?
Since last summer, Tavi has gone from being mostly clear, rarely suctioned, rarely secretions thickening in the trach to a kid who needs suction almost daily and does worse with any level of activity- even when cool. He regularly needs saline nebs every 2 hours when off his trach mist color- and sometimes needs them in addition to the mist. He has declined throughout the winter to having more secretions outside the typical activities where I saw them previously. Outdoor temps have not even begun to rise and he fatigues regularly during low intensity Physical Therapy sessions in the cool playroom.
Since September, Tavi has required a saline neb during each PT session. Since early February he has required oxygen- typically 2L every night, but sometimes as much as 4L. For 4yrs 11mos of life with a trach, Tavish required no oxygen on sleeping unless he was actively ill. He has yet to develop an active illness since the oxygen requirement began. As we head to the sleep pulmonologist appointment next week, I fell like I need to get familiar with forming this word in my mouth as part of the description. HOPING it is just a temporary problem. Tav’s sleep study cannot come quickly enough for me.
Basekamp Laundry Mountain 