A bad way to learn a good thing

This past weekend my mom and step-dad came to visit. We were excited to have them come over to see our new house and to spend some time together. We planned on having a mini-Thanksgiving while they were here since they couldn't come over the holiday. Landon quickly warmed up to them and played with them like they were here everyday. It was good to see that he remembered my mom and he really took to Paul. I've posted some pictures of Landon and my mom that I took while they were playing in his room. They came out pretty cute!



We also had a "Walsh adventure" while they were here. On Sunday we were hanging out at the house spending time together. We put Landon down for his normal naptime after reading him a story. He spent some time in his crib, throwing his toys out and talking to himself. That's normal for him. He eventually makes himself tired and falls asleep. He spent some time doing this and ended up not going to sleep. Over the last week and a half he has had a few days where he hasn't taken a nap, but I leave him in his crib for a couple of hours to at least rest. No big deal. So after he didn't take a nap, we continued on with our day like normal, hanging out some more and having dinner. Landon ate really well at dinner, as he has been doing recently. He spent some time playing after that and then it was time to go to bed. Braydon and I got him ready for bed like we always do and I read him a story. When I put him in his crib to lay down, I noticed that he sounded a little wheezy. I thought maybe his lungs were a little dry like they get sometimes. I decided to check (just in case) to make sure his trach was in place where it should be. Come to find out...Landon had pulled it out!!! We didn't have a clue! I immediately called to Braydon, telling him as I was getting Landon out of the crib, that his trach was out and I wasn't sure when it had came out. Now...we have been trained for situations like this, where all we need to do is try and put it back in. If that doesn't work, then we try a smaller sized trach and if that doesn't work, then we have to put one of the suction catheters in place of the trach. A suction catheter is a long plastic tubing that we use in Landon's trach to suck out any mucus that could be in his lungs with a machine. It is about the diameter of a coffee stirrer...maybe slightly bigger.

Well, needless to say, all that training went out the window the second I saw his trach was out. We did try and put it back in, but the hole where it would normally go was closed up!! So I was a little panicked and was trying the only thing I could think to do. I tried putting it back in several times, but it wasn't working. Meanwhile, Braydon had called 911 and was on the phone with the operator. Braydon came in while I was freaking out crying and told me to calm down because Landon was fine and he was breathing normally. I think up until that point the only thing that I was thinking was that Landon couldn't breathe. After he said that, I started to calm down. I realized that he had been breathing like that for quite some time. (I learned later that the hole where his trach goes can close up completely within a couple of hours, so who knows how long it was out!) The ambulance came and Braydon and I took Landon up to Children's Hospital. Landon slept the whole way there. :) Once we got there, we talked to the doctors and nurses about what the game plan was. They had him hooked up to a oxygen monitor to measure the level of oxygen that was in his blood. He maxed it out at 100%...without a trach!!! Everyone was floored. We were surprised to learn that he was doing so well without it and still doing all the things he always does. It was crazy! Braydon and I were beside ourselves.

Dr. Quinlan wasn't on call that night, so we dealt with one of his partners who was in communication with Dr. Quinlan all night. They were contimplating not putting the trach back in since he was doing so well, but Dr. Quinlan eventually decided that we would need to have it in for a safety precaution next spring when we do Landon's tonsilectomy. At that same time, he wants to resect part of the blood filled sacs that are on Landon's tongue. So, with a heavy sigh, we still have a trach. They had to take him to the OR that night and put it back in. We spent the night in a hospital room on a very uncomfortable little sofa. Dr. Quinlan came in the next morning to see Landon and to make sure we understood why he wanted it back in. After that, we were sent home. Landon has done well ever since then. What a stinker, right??? He almost made me have a heart attack!!!

All in all, we had an eventful weekend and week, but all is well again in the Walsh household. We have now learned that if it happens again, we can just put Landon in the car and take him to the hospital ourselves....no need for panic. :)