Yipppee!! Ernie was released from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center yesterday. The ENT docs showed up about 8 AM to remove his temporary trach tube and insert his permanent tube. The permanent tube is smaller and designed for people who are not totally reliant on their tracheotomy to breath. Although he does not have the Passy Muir speaking valve yet, this allows him talk a little bit--enough that we could dispensed with the notebook he was using to communicate.
Before he could be released, his nurse--Lisa--made me pass both a practical and oral exam. I had to give Ern his meds and food through his mic-key tube. I also had to demonstrate that I could remove, clean, disinfect and reinsert the "inner cannula" of the trach tube. The trach tube is really composed of two tubes. The outer cannula is never removed as it holds the tracheostomy open. The inner cannula goes inside the outer cannula and is removed for cleaning and then locked in place. Once I had demonstrated everything, I had to describe to her, in detail, everything I had done. I guess I did OK as we were soon on our way home.
There is a lot to learn about caring for his new "equipment". Right now it seems to take a lot of time but I can see that by the end of the 4 to 6 week recuperation period it will be routine. We are starting to gain confidence. We have now been home for 24 hours and have successfully completed one full cycle of treatment almost on our own (my sister was here but is now gone). Also, Ernie's John's Hopkins doctor that we had originally chosen to do the surgery called this morning and said all the right things.
Ernie's next step is to get his Passy Muir speaking valve, hopefully tomorrow afternoon, and master it.
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