11/05/2024
It has been 90 days since Jacob's last trach change. I elected to do it today with the help of Mike Walker. Following Dr. DeSilva's advice, I "flushed" the trach prior to making the change.
The flush consists of deflating the inner cuff, while suctioning. Then reinflating the cuff and stop. Repeat this procedure three times. Doing this allows any excess buildup of drainage to run towards the lungs, while suctioning it back out. The whole point of this procedure is to keep Jacob from getting sick. Every time we've done this change, he has had a slight fever, with body aches and chills. He would be lethargic for a couple of days after every tracheostomy change.
Unfortunately, Dr. DeSilva's procedure did not work this time! This change was extremely difficult for Jacob. He was sick throughout the next few days. This could be because he had COVID with this particular device, or 90 days could simply be too long to wait. The manufacturer recommends 30 days, so I think we will try that the next few times and see if he does better.
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