Mar 5, 2010

A Very Unwelcome Bathroom Interruption

Our neighborhood Hollywood Video is going out of business. Bummer, but the good is that the majority of movies are 3 for $12. So I was stockpiling so we can stop arguing over what to watch on Friday Family Movie Night. We were there so long Adrian had to use the bathroom so while I'm there I figure I'll go too. It was one of those single room type so I just left the big kids to watch Ainsley outside the door 3 feet away. I was in there 30 seconds when there was a very loud urgent banging on the door. I'm thinking "Patience patience, Geez!" but I was done and as I open the door my oldest child is holding up something in her hand and yells, "Mommy, mommy Ainsley pulled out her trach!!!" I squint. Sure enough that's the trach. Gulp! Ainsley looks totally calm and fine. I shove it back in without any lubricant or obturator I forgot to check it for dirt and hair. I just wanted her to have her airway back. Luckily the days when she turned blue in literally 3 seconds are passed. She can actually breath without the trach for quite awhile, but don't get too excited, we don't know how she would do when she sleeps or if she cried. Those times are riskier so this doesn't mean she's ready to get the trach out yet, plus we still have surgeries that have to happen first.

The funny thing is that her ties were pulling up earlier today so I put a brand new tie on right before I left for the store because I was worried about it coming loose. I have noticed the velcro on this batch is sometimes a little less sticky but it seemed secure. Scary. I think she was pulling on it to get the PMV off. Thankfully we weren't in the car at the time. Everything was over so quickly and she was fine but it took me awhile to shake off the weirdness. You know when you have a child that is trached that it's just a matter of time before it happens so you're always on guard but it's still surprising when the trach actually comes out. In three and a half years this is the 3rd time but the first time it was completely out. Evie and Adrian were so brave and knew just what to do. There was a lady there and she was a little freaked out asking "Is she okay, is she okay? Are you sure?!!!" She noticed how great the older kids handled it. I was so proud of them! The best big sister and brother in the world!!!

7 comments:

  1. Still hasn't happened yet!
    I'm a knockin on wood!

    Go figure, the blink of an eye well in your case a flush of a toilet, that's how fast it can happen. Crazy!!!

    Brave calm children, see how well you parent, it reflects by their actions. Awesome!

    Hugs,
    Lisa

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  2. Oh! That sounds scary. And, Ainsley has got nice big brother and sister who have handled it well. I agree with Lisa. It reflects on your parenting.

    When my son was in hospital in December, he pulled out the trach tube. And, you know what I did? Just freaked out, shouted for help and ran for the doctor. Luckily, we were in the high dependency unit and the head nurse was present there. She put the trach back in immediately. I'm probably the worst mom but really I couldn't see my son panting for breathe.

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  3. You definitely have 2 awesome kids Susan!! Glad things turned out OK. Last time you allow yourself a bathroom break hu?? lol :)

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  4. Hi Susan,
    You know, this same thing happened to us right after Christmas. The velcro on our ties is not the same quality that it was in previous batches- my 2 oldest were playing with our "fragile" son, and my oldest son alerted me that the trach had come out. I now put a small piece of paper tape over the ends of the velcro to make sure it doesn't curl up and get snagged on Aubrey's clothes (which is my best guess as to what happened). My son is trached for airway issues (not pulmonary) and this event would have quickly ended in disaster if my son had not alerted me. I now try my best to not have Aubrey alone- this is so hard to do. We also restarted using continuous pulse ox at night (even though I hate all the false alarms we get with it). Anyway, I guess this is all to say that I'm sorry this happened with Ainsley, and I'm so mad that Dale seems to be sending out cheap quality ties. Hope you can come up with a solution that will work with your family. Some pulmonary kids might be able to last longer with an accidental decannulation, but not the airway kids.It's very upsetting. Anyway, I enjoy your blog from afar! Blessings from CO, Darcie (COMommyto4)

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  5. And that is why if no one else is here I take Austin into the bathroom with me!

    Kudos to Evie & Adrian for handling that so well!!

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  6. So glad all worked out well!!!!

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  7. My Madeline just decannulated herself a couple of weeks ago... it almost takes that to reallize that *I can do this* as a parent. We all survived and moved on. BTW, Ainsley's got a great big brother!

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