Last week Wednesday, about 2:30 in the morning, my night nurse was doing the normal routine of turning me and cleaning around the trach. First, the plugin for my DPS came out of its holder when she turned me. So, she woke me up while the wires were quickly unplugged, put back in place, and plugged in again. About a minute later, she is cleaning around the trach when the outside supports that hold it in place crack in half (top section in picture, photo sourced from Hopkins medicine). In my 30 years of have a trach, this was a first for me.With the DPS, I can breathe perfectly fine without having my trach in, but it's good to keep in for clearing out my lungs and backup for using a vent. So, with one hand holding the broken trach in place, my night nurse uses the other to get everything together to change to another one. It was a good bit of acrobatics, but she managed it very well. When I'm due for a trach change next week, I'll be switching to a newer model. Hopefully it won't have the same trouble.
Yesterday I spoke at a local college, one class of EMS students and another of PTA (Physical Therapy Assistant) students. These were both first time events, but I think they went well. For the EMS class I had them identify what they need to do to get me out of my chair and what to take with me. The second class was looking at equipment I use and to make sure to talk to the person. Hopefully these will become annual visits and I can help more future medical professionals.
Just before I started writing, my day nurse for tomorrow called in sick. I'm scheduled for an evaluation for a new chair, so it looks like dad will be taking off work to take me. I'm thankful for parents that are willing to help me, but it's a common part of the quad life. More learning experiences will come, both planned and unexpected.
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