Finally, things are moving…

After weeks of seemingly no movement in Emma’s treatment even the doctors feels the need to get things moving. Here’s the plan:

Milk Test: tomorrow at 1.30pm Emma will go for this test. As I understand it they will put some liquid in her belly and then track it by x-ray to see if she refluxes it up and if it goes into her lungs.

On Wednesday she will have a swallow study. They will try and get her to drink some barium so they can see her swallow it and then if it goes down her oesophagus, to her belly, or her trachea (windpipe) into her lungs. They actually watch and video the whole time and can make changes to the consistency of the liquid, or stop it ifshe is aspirating into her lungs.

(As you can imagine it is bad if anything but air goes into her lungs.)

Emma will also undergo another sleep study. They did this weeks ago over 24 hours. It will show us if her episodes are from reflux or if they are from an obstruction, like her tongue or secretions.

It sounds like a lot of tests, but they are spread out and most aren’t long. I will even be with her for the swallow study. She’ll be fine throughout and won’t remember any of it.

Once these tests are complete the doctors will know if they can feed her NG (into her stomach) which she needs to be able to come home. Hopefully we will also have a solution to her episodes that will enable her to come home. (She can’t move wards or come home while she drops her heart rate like she does.) The technical term for her episodes is bradycardia, or ‘brady’. Brady will be her nickname I think!

Today Emma had 3 vaccinations. She was not amused to say the least! I was very nervous about getting them, there has been so much bad press for vaccinations, but I have deferred to the doctors on what’s best. I can’t begin to find out enough to make an informed decision.

So, things are moving ahead and hopefully, prayerfully, we will have some more idea of what Emma needs to come home. (I will let you know when that will be ASAP, of course!)