Posted by Angela
on 5/17/2009, 7:28 pm, in reply to "Trach"
173.54.57.225
Maria, I'm sorry it's come to this. I was so hoping her bronch would show better things. With that said, my own daughter was trached (after struggling to breathe for 7 weeks) and we saw a change in her almost immediately. She was a happy, smiling baby and it was bliss to see her like that. Your daughter will be able to breathe and it will make all the difference.
My Kate was trached at 7 weeks and home at 11 weeks. It can take a bit for you and your husband to learn what you need to know, get things set up and get nursing. We pushed things along to get home quicker and in the end, lack of nursing care didn't hold us back.
As for your son, he'll deal with it. Kids are incredibly resilient and even though his sister isn't coming home the way he expected, she's still his sister and he will adore her. My sons were 9, 7 and 5 when Kate was born. It was so hard at first because nothing happened the way I'd told them it would. Our local NICU wouldn't let them in to see her and when she was transfered to CHOP, they still waited another week. She was 5 weeks old before they saw her and of course by then they knew things were different. Ultimately, they were princes, and they just accepted that she had a trach and they were not to touch it -- ever. We never "trained" them to suction or take note of anything, but they were aware enough to watch her more closely and be somewhat conscious of changes. Kate was trached for 601 days, so by the end, my middle guy was helping me with her feeding tube and trach tie changes, my oldest helped me change her trach a few times and my youngest helped distract her during "maintenance". Child Life in your hospital can help you with this. The specialist in CHOP gave my 5 yr old a trached baby doll to help him deal.
Best of luck. It's not the road you wanted to be on, but you'll be ok and so will she. Please feel free to email me if you want. My Kate was decannulated last summer and she's perfectly typical and healthy now. Also, check out her blog. There's lots on there about her journey and how we dealt with her challenges.
www.pieceofkateb.blogspot.com
Angela
--Previous Message--
: We were told today that our daughter would be
: having a trach placed on Monday. We were
: very scarred and worried this morning. The
: more we talk to the nurses and DR we are
: feeling a little better. We were told she
: could be home in as early as a month as long
: as we can get nursing set up. Does anyone
: have any advice? Also any advice on how to
: explain this to her 3 year old brother?
:
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