It was a quick trip...we got back home Friday evening. The news was about what we expected (maybe not what I hoped for but what we expected)...his surgical site is healing well but there is still some swelling from the previous surgery. This just means he needs more time and that hopefully this next time the swelling will be totally gone and we can move forward with the decannulation (aka getting the trach out) process which will most likely include a capped sleep study.
We will return in 6 months for another MLB ('scope'). They did say that his airway was sized at 5.5 mm which is improved from 5.0mm. This means we are moving in the right direction. (They said 6.0 mm is sufficient -although not normal- for an adult.) Dr. Cotton will be retired by our next appointment but we did get a chance to tell him how much we appreciate all he has done for Carson (& for kids in general). He normally just gives elbow bumps (avoiding germs) but this time Preston got a handshake and I got a hug from him! <3 I would have loved for Dr. Cotton to see Carson get his trach out but he assured us he would keep up with Carson's case when he has breakfast with Dr. Smith. : )
The miracle of this trip for me was in the anesthesia induction process. Like I said, this is the part that causes Carson the most anxiety. We had talked about the different possibilities with Carson beforehand and he chose to try an IV so he didn't have the air hooked up to his trach. My prayer was for the best person to put in the IV (last time we tried this, I just remember it took two tries, there were tears, and there seemed to be alot of blood that added to the traumatic experience). Anyway, Christine put the IV in and she did it in about 5 seconds and on the first try! Praise the Lord....she was my answered prayer(& I told her)!!! Carson was just a little nervous since he wasn't sure what it was like with an IV but NOTHING like normal. No crying, no covering up his trach so we can't hook the air up and no throwing up from nerves. Seriously, I was so happy! Hopefully, it means a whole new experience for future visits!
Hopefully we will get to return in 6 months and C will be healthy [that will be right in the middle of flu season again]. Thank you all for the many prayers!!
One other prayer request...Carson's nurse/aide at school from the past two years is not going to be able to be his nurse again this year so he will have a new nurse (or aide) at school. Praying for a wonderful person that is trainable, calm, and a good problem solver and also fits in well with the other staff at school.
