Thursday, May 27, 2010

Mya is officially tube free!!!!

We spent the last couple days going to doctor's appointments at Cincinnati and the hospital in Evansville. It was a long couple of days but well worth the trips! We were able to take Mya's feeding tube out on Tuesday!! (I was actually the one that removed it while the doctor held her down!) She did well and is following her growth curve! The doctors would have preferred to leave the tube in another month or two but she has been getting horrible granulation tissue and I couldn't have her go through skin burning for the next month or two. She did have to have it done right before we took it out to clear up the extra skin but so far so good. It is not leaking much at all. We have to change the bandage 2-3 times a day but other than that it should grow shut on it's own. We go back to Cinci at the end of June for them to check it and make sure she is still growing appropriately. If the site is not closed by the end of June she will probably have to have it surgically closed. Let's pray that doesn't happen!!

What a great day!!! She had a feeding tube since she was 4 1/2 months old so what a change!!

We had her evaluated at the Feeding Clinic in Evansville as planned to see if they could help us along with her feeding skills. Don't get me wrong.....Mya is doing great eating compared to 6 months ago but she does lack some of the basic skills of chewing well...lateralizing food.....etc. She takes very small bites so meals take usually 35-45 minutes. (For example a typical child her age would eat a chicken nugget in 4-5 bites and Mya eats it in 15 or so bites.)

Mya is capable of eating and drinking but needs help fine tuning all the skills she didn't use for the first year and a half of her life. We loved the facility in Evansville and think they can really help her take the last step in her eating problems!

We are so excited for a tube free child and are so thankful for all the prayers along the way! We are waiting to hear back about insurance approval for the Evansville program! We'll keep you posted!

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