Because of her "anatomical anomalies" (a nicer way of saying disfigurements but a lot more difficult to type) they are anticipating a few problems, but are also taking prelim auctions to minimize them. Since her neck is smaller they have to use a smaller size (circumference) trach, but since her chin is so close to her neck they have to use a little bit longer trach so it doesn't rub under her chin and cause any skin issues. The neck is also a very delicate area to start with so there is usually a little bit of rash or yeast infection with babies, but a higher probability with her because of the way everything is positioned.
There is a respiratory nurse that specializes in trach care so she and I will become close buddies over the next few days (weeks?) until Baby Girl is released. I will be learning how to clean and clear the trach, how to replace it if it gets clogged (!?!?!?), other care information and specialized CPR methods.
The upside to this surgery is that it will actually give us a little bit more freedom. She won't be tethered to an oxygen tank during the day - she'll be on background CPAP support at night to give her lungs a chance to rest while she sleeps. While she's at the hospital they're also going to switch out her g-tube for the button which lays more flat against her stomach instead of having the 6-inch tube to deal with. So soon she'll be our "plug-n-play" Baby - we'll plug her in to eat, plug her in to breath :)
She was happy and smiley today...and back to pulling on her nasal cannula.
3 comments:
Nanny loves you, Lexi Jo!
She looks like a happy girl even with all she's going through..good genes!
I like the g-buttons, they work really well and if it pops out normally an ER doc can pop it back in (ours do), amd as long as you take good care cleaning it (who am I kidding, it's you guys, of course yall will keep great care of her) you dont usually see alotta complications with trachs
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