An Amazing Feat

Today we had Vignesh's tracheostomy tube changed since the previous one was getting dirty. It was done by the ENT who had done tracheostomy for Vignesh 5 months ago. I told him about how Vignesh was breathing through his nose these days. The doctor confirmed it. Later, I asked him about the speaking valve (not sure of the exact term) and if I would be able to get one for Vignesh in Chennai. He felt it was highly improbable. Instead, he wanted us to close the trach opening for short intervals and encourage him to speak. This is one thing I'm extremely scared of and uncomfortable with. Every time I close his trach I feel guilty. I feel like I'm harming him deliberately. I just told the doctor that I was scared of doing this. That is when it happened.

The doctor kept a gauze piece over Vignesh's tracheostomy opening and closed it with his finger. We were simultaneously monitoring his stats. Once he closed the opening, I was expecting the stats to fall because in March he wasn't able to breathe without the tube support even for a few seconds. It was a complete miracle. Vignesh maintained his stats between 94 - 96% with the trach tube closed. And, the doctor had the opening closed for about 8 to 10 minutes. He might have even continued for a longer time if we had continued the exercise. Except for a slightly increased effort, Vignesh breathed beautifully on his own. It has given us something to cheer about and filled us with new hope. Way to go big boy!