Trachs, babies, pets and other things.......

[Guest guest]

My son had a trach for his whole short life (he did not die due to

trach problems it was because of his heart)

His ENT people looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if

the pets had to go, they asked if they bit LOL ....They said keep them

unless they become a problem...

came home to a very small two bed room trailer with two

dogs, one large very furry Australian shepard ,a miniature pincher and

TWO large parrots (a huge no no according to the books) Guess what?? he

never had a problem with them...Yes we suctioned dog hair from his trach

once in a while but ALL his doctors just laughed... Oh by the way did I

mention we lived on a horse race track for 16 months and went to the

barn daily?

We then moved to grammas house ...She has a farm and in the

house she has about 30 birds and there was a total of 4 dogs He even

hung out in grammas barn yard ......He was healthier at gammas house

then in the trailer that I could keep cleaner .......He never wore a cap

on his trach (he turned blue if he did)`....You just have to be careful

and watch all the time ....I did suction an ant out once ........

What we did was keep the trach collar on all the time (unhooked

from the tube when needed) Its like someone else said we had more

problems with the stupid dogs running threw the feeding tube then

anything with the trach LOL!!!

Trachs aren't so bad once you get used to them ...I loved and

hated s It was great when he was sick because you can suction their

lungs but how many sickness did the stupid thing cause in the first

place???? They are just so scary till you get used to them...Pretty soon

it will be second nature to you ...

After my second son was born (they are 18 months apart ) I new I

was a success when one day I found myself breastfeeding one, suctioning

the other, writing with the other hand and balancing the phone with my

shoulder.......

If you can get nursing care do it !!!!!!!! especially at night

....s ENT doctor told me that 15 % of all people with trachs will

DIE due to someone not catching a plug in time or some other stupid

mistake, thats why I kept nursing care .........They are a HUGE pain in

the you no what but its your babies life we are talking about....

You really don't want to take these babies out in winter

(especially these that are only a couple months old ) You almost have

to go into isolation .....If I had had an older child that I could keep

home to I would of ....(unfortunately it was his father who brought home

all the sicknesses but someone had to go to work) ......

Another thing we did was make everyone who comes in your house wash

there hands , have hand sanitizer all over the house ,( I hate that

stuff but if works) and tell everyone you know if they suspect they are

gettig sick or someone in their house is sick tell them just stay

away..I also had everyone who came to my house " trained " to call me if

they got sick with in a couple days o being to my house (saves a LOT of

blood work if you know what they have been exposed to) It all sounds to

horrible but it is worth it.....I hope this helps someone.........

Mom to C.H.A.R.G.E.r 9/30/01-8/3/03 and 3/27/03

http://community.webtv.net/maryechick12/

http://community.webtv.net/maryechick12/