Friday, December 17, 2010

The swallow test

The swallow test was pretty neat. It was a continuous x-ray of James's throat as he swallowed liquids of different consistencies. We found out that he does aspirate some of his food (meaning it goes into his lungs) even though he doesn't cough or show other signs of it most of the time. The liquid just kind of swishes around his mouth and even a little into his nasal passages; it doesn't clear very well. It went much better with the thicker liquid, so we will start adding "honey" into his milk. It's not really honey, but looks like clear hair gel, and is about that same consistency. As he grows, we'll add the thickener to any other liquids (medicines, juice, etc.), and add extra rice cereal into his foods so they're nice and thick. The swallow test will be re-conducted at about a year of age to see how he's doing. Because he doesn't clear his passages very well when he eats, we have to be sure and feed him upright and then we give him a paci to encourage a few "dry swallows" during feeding, so he'll swallow it all down. We were also given some methods of massaging James's cheeks that should help improve his muscle tone there, which will improve his ability to keep a good suction on a bottle.

His feeding is getting more complicated, but hopefully it will encourage him to eat!

We're still on track for leaving on Tuesday, though the wait is mainly for the purpose of getting James off antibiotics and making sure there is no more fever. Hopefully that means that things will be a little slower. Jon and I both got to rest a little today, so that has been nice. Maybe I can finally get to that knitting....

3 comments:

  1. don't think my first comment went through - you know me and technology - anyway - glad to hear James is continuing to progress - sounds like they are addressing a couple things - most important is that they will not release him until they are certain he is ready to come home - even if that is Tuesday - everyone, and i mean everyone continues to ask for updates - continued prayers and hugs to everyone

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  2. Glad you are getting some answers! And, can't wait to see this cheek massage thing! Sounds like something they would do on My Fair Lady!

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  3. Hey Guys just reminding you of continued prayers and love. Know that I'll be
    available for you when you get home. Thankful to hear of his tests and resolving of some of his issues that would be a problem later. Hugs!

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