"Feeding tube – we forgot to have a party" 

Excerpt from The "Caring for Monica" by Lisa Jennings

The non-event is a special thing… We’ve been in crisis mode quite enough, thank-you-very-much. Sometimes treating the most extraordinary things as normal, well that’s just what we do. Except for that big party we threw just 8 months before the trach she’d had since birth finally came out. Now that was a BIG event and we celebrated “Trach-Free and Loving It!” with family and friends from all over.   -It was back in June of 2009, at home after an appointment with Monica’s GI doctor. Dr. Hardy told her she could remove the g-tube herself or I could help whenever she felt ready. It didn’t have to be done in the office. So she did it at home, just took it out and threw it away, put a Band-aid on it. It was pretty uneventful. It’s everything else. The fundoplication surgery – whether we couldn’t have done something else. Like the completely liquid feeding tube diet, the formula supplements. Syringes and medical things all around. And it felt good to realize that old stoma site is not obvious the way a feeding tube tends to draw attention. Her scar is so faint and without any typical dimple or scar. And it’s just that who knows what else will happen down the line.

We still do not know if the surgery on Monday will help with the pain... Continuing reading here: http://caringformonica.wordpress.com/