Finally Getting Rid of the NG Tube

Nathan was released from the hospital just a couple of days following the Lumbar Puncture.  It happened to be a Thursday.  As it turns out, he was scheduled to be back in the hospital the following Monday for G-Tube placement.

We had scheduled the surgery nearly three months earlier, long before Nathan had had continuous shunt problems.  And we were more than a little worried that this most recent hospitalization would be cause to postpone the surgery.  Which would have been highly, highly disappointing.

We had been looking forward to this surgery for quite some time.  The NG tube had become quite a annoyance to both of us.  It was frequently getting snagged on things, and Bekah had accidentally pulled it out a time or two when putting Nathan down to nap in his crib.

In addition, it was a pain to replace.  We had to bundle Nathan up in a blanket to keep him from moving around as much as we could.  Then I had to hold his head straight while Bekah worked the tube up his nose and down his throat and into his stomach.  Once in, we had to check to make sure it was in the right place.  And this was supposed to be done every 30 days.

Also, Nathan had recently discovered the tape on his cheek that was holding the tube in place.  And he loved to pick at it.  So we were frequently taping and re-taping the tube to make sure it stayed in place.  Which was also quite the adventure.  One afternoon, I was sitting on the couch and looked down at Nathan who was happily laying/sitting in his bouncy chair, when I noticed that he had gotten the tape loose and the tube was starting to eek its way out of his nose.

With stealthy jungle cat-like reflexes, I launched myself from the couch and across the room to where Nathan was.  Accompanied by a loud "Noooooooo!" I quickly placed my hand on Nathan's cheek to hold the tube in place while I clamored for Bekah to get more tape.  Fortunately we were able to avert a "major disaster" that time.

All in all, it was one of the worst things we had to do in caring for Nathan.  And he hated it too.  All the crying and gagging.  Poor kid.  Poor parents.  I guess one of the only pluses of being at the hospital so much was being able to have the nurse replace the tube for us.  And you better believe that we requested it every time we were in the hospital!

So it was a big relief when Dr. Riva-Cambrin gave the go ahead for the G-Tube surgery in a few days.