Not a Happy Camper (a.k.a. You Can't Make Me - Part II)
Emma had another barium swallow study at CHEO today. As I've mentioned before Emma has a paralyzed vocal cord (related to the PDA ligation she had when she was 2 weeks old). One of the potential problems of vocal cord paralysis is that Emma may inhale liquid into her lungs when she swallows. So far, we've been adding a thickener to everything Emma drinks to make it easier for her to swallow and reduce the risk of aspiration. It's possible that as Emma gets older, she will outgrow the problem, so today's study was scheduled to assess her aspiration risk using thin (unthickened) liquids.
As you may recall, Emma's last swallow study did not go so well and I was really hoping for a different outcome at today's test.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Actually, you can go back and read my post from the previous test in March, because we basically had a repeat performance today. Once again, the test was unexpectedly delayed for an hour and Emma (who had not been allowed to eat prior to the test) was HUNGRY! and not a happy camper. Just like the last time, Emma refused to take more than a tiny sip of the barium solution. As before, we all ended up covered in the stuff as we tried to coax her to take in a bit more. Not only did Emma have it from head to toe (everywhere but her mouth!), but she managed to get the radiology technician, occupational therapist, and mom splattered with the barium too. And let's just say that the floor in Radiology Room 3 at CHEO is going to need a heavy duty scrubbing tonight :)
Like last time, because very little of the barium actually got into her mouth (much less her throat), the radiologist wasn't able to see if she was aspirating. We have another appointment with Emma's E.N.T. specialist to discuss the situation in a few weeks, but I expect we'll just continue to thicken her feeds until next spring. I do NOT want to put Emma through another swallow study ordeal again any time soon ... thank goodness she didn't seem at all traumatized afterwards and was her happy, giggling self within minutes of the test.
Emma has another appointment at CHEO next week for a hearing study. Let's hope that test goes more smoothly!
posted by Laurie at 23:00
3 Comments:
awww Poor Emma. Poor You! One thing I know for certain is that you can't make a child eat or drink something if they don't want to. AND they are worse when they are hungry.
Hugs
That sucks. Do they not see that perhaps if they were able to start the test on time, the child may not yet be at that "I am too hungry to even try to cooperate" stage? Anyway, you all did the best you could, and hopefully as she gets older, she will be able to tolerate it better.
I most certainly hope all goes well at her next appt.
Sorry that you had to go through that exact same ordeal again. I just can't stand that it is standard practice to run behind schedule for scheduled appointments. It makes things so difficult, especially for the kids.
Hope the hearing test goes well.
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