You Might Be a Trach Mom If...

In honor of Tracheostomy Awareness Week, I have written a little list of some "givens" if you're a trach mom. Enjoy!

You might be a trach mom if...

* You have ever looked into a trach tube to check for a plug and got secretions shot at you.

* You can change trach ties while talking on the phone, holding the trach in with one hand, entertaining your trach child, and disciplining your other child all at the same time.

* Your child and family have ever been stared at, pointed out, gaped at, or flat out laughed at...and are stronger for it.

* You take your child to OT, PT, and Speech every week...and are the OT, PT, and Speech teacher the rest of the week!

* You require everyone who walks into your house to wash their hands before touching your child.

* You have ever been asked to leave a public place because the suctioning is too noisy or is disturbing other patrons.

* Your supply company knows who you are by your voice.

* Other people wonder how in the world you do it, and you just smile because there's a whole lot more they'll never understood.

* You've ever thanked God for just one more day with your child.

* You spend more time traveling to doctors' appointments than you do at your own house.

* If the terms oxygen saturation levels, tracheal obstruction, chronic lung disease, and accidental decannulation actually mean something to you!

* You juggle a schedule whose craziness is comparable to the president's, but your house doesn't come with secretaries.

* You are fiercely protective of your child and will do whatever it takes to help him/her succeed.

* Your child is a superhero!

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Life as a Leach

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