Well....... that was fun.
Last night Theodore decannulated himself. Yes, it happened and it scared the **** out of me. There are so many reasons it could have been way worse than it was and I am so thankful that God gave me the urging to look over when He did. I'm happy to say that Theodore is doing just fine and my stomach is back where it belong as opposed to on the floor.
So here's what happened. I put Theodore in bed last night the same way I do every night... off to his dreams so he can try to take over the world. But he had a late nap so he was not falling asleep. He's happily in his bed, I'm on the other side of the room and I can hear and see him sitting up and standing up and playing, etc. At one point I heard a familiar noise. It's hard to describe unless you are familiar with it. But I looked over to make sure that Theodore wasn't blocking his trach with his finger like he so often does. He was standing up and I could clearly see him and his trach collar still in tact so I knew that he wasn't doing what I had suspected. It was back to my little world for me and I left him to his to play until he got tired enough to sleep.
I'm not sure how much time went by it could have been 30 seconds, it could have been several minutes (but not more than 15- which is an eternity in this situation) but I look over at him again just to check and I see him standing up, trach collar in tact, but he's holding his trach over the side of the bed. Yes, folks, his trach. He somehow managed to get it off from under his trach collar. I know that may not make a clear picture to some of you unless you are familiar with his equipment but it's kind of like getting an undershirt off without displacing your long sleeve tee. Possible, but not easy. Needless to say I ran over with my mind running in a thousand different directions but I kept myself calm so as not to miss a step or rush through the process and cause panic to either of us. I laid him back gently (he looked ok by the way), asked God to please please let the trach go back in easily, and took it out of his hand and inserted it back in his trachea where it belongs. Then I got the trach collar back on and checked his sats. They were a little low- nothing to fret over. But I turned his o2 up and then hugged that little boy so tightly.
You know how, especially moms, we can tend to think about what could have happened and get ourselves worked up over something after it's already over. Like, for instance, and I'm not saying this actually happened, but like if a big brother were to pick up his little sister from behind while her hands were tucked inside her shirt and then she were to face plant on a hard wood floor because she couldn't put her hands down to protect herself. And everything ends up fine save for a little bruised cheek and nose and a small concussion. But all you could do, if again this ACTUALLY happened.... which it didn't..... but all you could do is think about how her nose could have broken or she could have knocked out her teeth. That's pretty much what happened to me - I just kept thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't looked over, if indeed he had fallen asleep trach out without my knowledge. And it's not the oxygen I'm that concerned about, he's proving himself to do well without that, but the fact that his trachea collapses without the trach in. Thanks be to God that it wasn't the case and all went well.
I do think I've lost about 2 years of my life though and I definitely lost a good nights sleep last night.
So here's what happened. I put Theodore in bed last night the same way I do every night... off to his dreams so he can try to take over the world. But he had a late nap so he was not falling asleep. He's happily in his bed, I'm on the other side of the room and I can hear and see him sitting up and standing up and playing, etc. At one point I heard a familiar noise. It's hard to describe unless you are familiar with it. But I looked over to make sure that Theodore wasn't blocking his trach with his finger like he so often does. He was standing up and I could clearly see him and his trach collar still in tact so I knew that he wasn't doing what I had suspected. It was back to my little world for me and I left him to his to play until he got tired enough to sleep.
I'm not sure how much time went by it could have been 30 seconds, it could have been several minutes (but not more than 15- which is an eternity in this situation) but I look over at him again just to check and I see him standing up, trach collar in tact, but he's holding his trach over the side of the bed. Yes, folks, his trach. He somehow managed to get it off from under his trach collar. I know that may not make a clear picture to some of you unless you are familiar with his equipment but it's kind of like getting an undershirt off without displacing your long sleeve tee. Possible, but not easy. Needless to say I ran over with my mind running in a thousand different directions but I kept myself calm so as not to miss a step or rush through the process and cause panic to either of us. I laid him back gently (he looked ok by the way), asked God to please please let the trach go back in easily, and took it out of his hand and inserted it back in his trachea where it belongs. Then I got the trach collar back on and checked his sats. They were a little low- nothing to fret over. But I turned his o2 up and then hugged that little boy so tightly.
You know how, especially moms, we can tend to think about what could have happened and get ourselves worked up over something after it's already over. Like, for instance, and I'm not saying this actually happened, but like if a big brother were to pick up his little sister from behind while her hands were tucked inside her shirt and then she were to face plant on a hard wood floor because she couldn't put her hands down to protect herself. And everything ends up fine save for a little bruised cheek and nose and a small concussion. But all you could do, if again this ACTUALLY happened.... which it didn't..... but all you could do is think about how her nose could have broken or she could have knocked out her teeth. That's pretty much what happened to me - I just kept thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't looked over, if indeed he had fallen asleep trach out without my knowledge. And it's not the oxygen I'm that concerned about, he's proving himself to do well without that, but the fact that his trachea collapses without the trach in. Thanks be to God that it wasn't the case and all went well.
I do think I've lost about 2 years of my life though and I definitely lost a good nights sleep last night.
Your hair is probably now ALLLLLL gray, if he hadn't turned it all gray before now. So, so glad that he is okay. You are such a good mommy. Thanking God he's doing well and that it wasn't too sticky a situation.
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