Waiting for Wednessday

Wednesday is going be the big day. We've been waiting for it for more than a month and a half now. We're hoping for things to go on well. If everything works out in our favor, my son would be getting rid of his tracheostomy on Wednessday. Doctor would first be conducting a bronchoscopy to see if the swelling in the tracheal passage is gone before removing the tracheostomy tube.

True, that tracheostomy has helped my son in a lot of ways. When my son couldn't be extubated, tracheostomy seemed like a boon. Because, it put an end to a lot of things. An end to the pain that he was undergoing due to prolonged ventilation, an end to being sedated for more two weeks, an end to not being fed anything orally, an end to him being confined to bed when he should be enjoying his life without any problems to worry about like any other 7 month old.

But, it had its own disadvantages too. As long as the tube stayed, we would not be able to hear his voice (we terribly miss his cute babbles which we are hoping to enjoy from Wednessday). Also, he requires frequent suctioning - about once in 15 minutes to half hour when he is awake and about once every hour or two at nights. Its really tiring us. More than us, it is causing my son a lot of discomfort and he has started to cry and push us off when we try to suction. And most of all, although he has freedom of movement some extent, we can't let him roll to his tummy with the trach tube since he hasn't gained head control yet. Also, we are unable to take him out except for his hospital visits and short walks in the terrace because he needs frequent suctioning and it is difficult to carry the suction machine wherever we go.

So, an end to all these discomforts is just a day and a half away. I'm feeling like a school girl about to take my board exams. I'm sure it would soon be Wednessday afternoon and we would be eagerly waiting for the doctor to complete the procedure and give us the good news. Till then, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and being optimistic. Hopefully, next week I would be happily narrating about my son's successful decannulation in my next blog. Until then, good bye!