11.15.09 - The Tube...

So tonight we had our first experience inserting the tube all on our own.  Since the tube is only good for 30 days, we decided to go ahead and change it out since Liam will haveto have one in another 6 weeks.   It took three tries, but we finally got it down.  I tried the first two times and couldn't get it - the first time the tube was coming back out of his mouth (scary...but the nurses told me it could happen and it was no big deal, just to try again if it happened) and the second time, I could not get the thing to go any further than his nasal passage.  Dustin tried the third time and got it to go down.  But, being the first time we had done this and me still being a little unsure about a lot of things to do with Liam, we went to the ER to get an x-ray to make sure it was placed right.  We had a couple reasons why we wanted to double check though (if not just for pure sanity reasons and peace of mind).  Liam was coughing a lot as we inserted the tube and it says on the instructions that coughing could mean it went down his trachea into his lungs.  We also tried to aspirate a syringe to pull back fluid from his stomach, which we did not get anything out of at first.  Normally when we pulled back the syringe before, we also got a couple cc's of fluid from his tummy.  We were just feeling a little uncertain and decided we should just get it checked to be sure.  So we took him over to Children's Hospital in Plano (our second trip there I should add - never did a post on that one...another "peace of mind" trip though) to the ER to have them do an x-ray.  Thankfully we were successful and the x-ray showed the tube was in a good spot. Whew...we just got home a little while ago...we will have to plan that better next time!

Dustin and I are getting a lot of opportunities to work together and grow as a couple through this journey with Liam.  I was thinking tonight that this experience has magnified some of the areas we need to work on and also the areas where we are strong in our marriage.  It is interesting to be learning how we both cope with difficult times and challenges that arise.  It is something I had never thought about much before, but is so important to know about the other person.  I want to be sensitive to how Dustin responds and reacts as I know he tries to be for me.  I truly beleive our faith is what binds us together and is our foundation for being able to recognize these things about eachother.  Our faith in the Lord as King in our life is also what teaches us to trust one another and love unconditionally.  Needless to say, Dustin and I are growing closer and closer every day and I truly could not do this without him.

Praise God too for my mom being able to watch Liam this morning so we could go to church for the first time in a couple months.  It was so good to be back in our "home" around the people we love and consider to be part of our family.  Our church has been a major support in our life, especially now.  And today's message was about Radical Faith...how perfect is that!