A new week, a new trach!

       Even as of yesterday they still hadn't decided when they would replace the new trach.   But this morning when the ENT team did their morning rounds they said it had been decided that they were going to do it today.   Dr Smith had rounds at Primary but he and Dr Sowder came over in the afternoon.   The replaced the trach in our room and it's amazing how simple it was.   They first cut out the sutures that were holding the previous one in place.   Then once it was loose, they removed the old and replaced the new.  They took it out once more to look around with the scope, then put it back in.   It was also nice to have the neck ties replaced, they were pretty grungy and super irritating.
      Last week they said that because this one was the same size they didn't think that it would make a difference in his ability to speak.   But Dr Smith did and although scratchy, when he instructed Chris to say "Hi" you could hear it!  It takes a lot work and he doesn't want to over do it, but what an unexpected blessing!

     Other good news, when we asked how much longer we needed to stay, they said hopefully not too much longer.   We're hopeful that we'll home later this week!

      They already have us scheduled for appointments next week and we've still got a long road ahead of us, but being able to breathe opens a world of possibilities.   I didn't take any pictures today, but feel like these stones will be our focus for a while.   Time to relax a bit and recover from the past few weeks and months.   Time to do things we enjoy that make us smile, and time to feel like we have the ability to dream and not just survive.  Better days are coming!