Since having her NG tube placed in February of last year (can you believe we've been tube feeding her for a year now??) Bree has always had a feed of formula that ran overnight. We were told this was to help get in her needed calories and volume of liquids. Also, while sleeping children secrete a hormone that promotes growth, and by feeding her at night we are helping to encourage that. The rate and amount of the night feed has always varied and grown as she has grown. The last night feed she had was running at 38 mls/hr for a total of 380.
Wednesday night found me doing my usual ritual of taking a shower before I go to bed. When I got out of the shower, I heard Bree sounding like she was having a bit of reflux. This sounds like little gasps or little burps. I decided to check on her before I settled into bed. (It's about a 50/50 chance I check on her when she is like this as it is very very common). Am I ever glad I did check on her.
When I got into her room she was laying on her side with her tubing wrapped around her belly. I figured I would "unroll" her and get everything right. As soon as I rolled her onto her back I noticed the tubing wrapped tightly around her neck. I quickly unwrapped it and looked at her. She had a red mark on her neck from the tubing and she was very pale in her face. I picked her up and started rubbing her back vigoriously in order to get the blood circulation going again. After a very long minute or two she started squirming and whining. After another minute she started crying and woke up. She seemed fine so I laid her back down in bed and unhooked her night feed.
It will never be hooked back up again. I do not want to lose Bree simply because the doctors tell me she "needs" a night feed. We have re arranged her feeding schedule, and while it is hard to find time to go anywhere (she always seems to need to eat now), it is well worth the effort. I'd rather have her smiling face here with us than have it pale and dead from being strangled from her feeding tube cord.
The nightime ritual of preparing her feed for the night is ended.
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3 comments:
Oh Tasha, that had to be one scary moment. I cannot even imagine the horror when you saw that tube wrapped around her neck. I am so thankful that she was okay. I agree with you 100%, I would never take that chance again....my thoughts and prayers are with you in making the right decision.
You are a good mom. Take care of your child even if the doctors want her on night feeds, is a strong and the right decision. It might make life hard with her new feed schedule, but it will be so worth it in the long run. You are doing everything right!
This is my biggest, biggest fear and a major part of why I still keep Robbie on his Angel Care monitor.
Ugh. Thank God you checked on her.
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