Surgery #6: Tracheostomy

Here's the thing.  Lynette is not getting better being on her back everyday.  She's not swallowing well and her secretions are out of control.  I am suctioning her nose and mouth every five minutes when she's awake.  The tube in her throat is making her gag way too often.  Riding out one of those episodes is hard to watch.  We are also afraid that keeping a tube in her throat may cause long term damage.  In other words, we're afraid that she may not be able to talk.  She's fine now but we don't want to stand by while her vocal cords are being trashed because she's trying to take her tube out because she's uncomfortable.  Seriously, I'm just now getting use to hearing her cry.  That's a lie.  I haven't heard her cry enough to pick it out of five crying babies.  Why?  Because her vocal cords are always swollen and there's never sound coming out.  Having a trach will also allow her to be mobile.  We can give her a real bath instead of a sponge bath.  She can do tummy time without us having to be careful of whatever tubes and machines she's connected too.  As much as I hate the idea of her going into surgery one more time, I feel like we have to try something else so that she can get better and speed up the process of her coming home.  The tracheostomy is scheduled for tomorrow.