“Trached “ Chapter 145

I don’t know about you, but I really love when I get a text/email asking for help. Not spam or some other BS, but the kind of message where I can really help. This week I received two different requests for information regarding my trach experience, so I thought instead of only answering those emails directly, I will make it the subject of this week's blog.

Note: What topic do you want me to write about for a future post?

Q: I'm getting my trach next week, any tips?

Oh boy do I ever. We have learned a lot over the past few years, but there are definitely tips to know beforehand.

Make sure you have your supplies. Before leaving the hospital after surgery, all of your supplies are already at your house. We had no idea what that meant until I walked in the door. Make sure you talk to your Pulmonologist or Respiratory therapist ahead of time, because let me tell you, when we walked in the door it was overwhelming to see how much a person needs to breathe. You need to make room for it all. I recommend you take care of all of this before the surgery.

Relax when breathing. This applies to everyone. When I first started using the ventilator I would breathe over it and couldn’t relax, so I couldn’t breathe. Eventually I got used to it and breathe fine now. As far as the caregiver, relax and give your PALS time to learn.

Get two vents and other supplies. We learned this at 11pm one night when I was sleeping and the alarm went off. “Maintenance Required.” Laura turned it off and checked that everything was ok and we went back to sleep. The alarm went off again for the next two hours and Laura called the number on the ventilator. A service person came to the house, the ventilator was replaced, and I went to sleep at 3AM. If we had a second ventilator, Laura would have been able to switch them out. Make sure you have enough supplies for both.

Hoses are changed every week. When we first had our ventilator, the supply company gave us enough hoses to change them monthly. “You don’t know what you don’t know,” but once Laura found out hoses and the associated parts should be changed out weekly, you bet your sweat ars we get what we need now.

Make sure ventilator alarms are on. It only took me one time to turn blue and almost die to learn that the alarms were not on. There are several, so have your service technician make sure they are on and working.

Have a tech meet you at home the first day. The day I came home after getting my trach, nobody was there to demonstrate how to use all of the equipment. If Laura didn’t ask to learn how to use the ventilator and practice using the suction before leaving the hospital, someone else might be writing this. Personally, I am glad I am writing this. Thank you Laura, I love you. The tech came five days later. Can you imagine, five days!

Don’t assume every nurse knows how to do suctioning. When I was in the hospital, we were fortunate to have a nurse demonstrate to Laura how to suction my trach with an external suction kit. Once she learned how to do it herself, the hardest part was putting the sterile gloves on. The problem was we ASSumed every nurse knew how to perform suction properly.

If it hurts, it is WRONG. I was needing suction quite often, and it seemed like every nurse was getting OJT’d at my expense. Every time they would go down my trach, they scraped the wall of my esophagus. It was like the Clampet’s drilling for oil. The more they dug, the more red oil came up. One time, when Laura corrected a nurse because it hurt me, the nurse actually said, “It’s ok, the suction is only going into his stomach.” She was never my nurse again.

Can you go out and do things?

Yes it takes planning and preparation, absolutely. We go to events in and outdoors, and right now, we worry more about 💩ing myself than breathing issues.

I hope if you are preparing to get a tracheotomy you find this a helpful post and it makes your transition easier.

Remember I love to answer your questions so keep your questions coming,

Love and Blessings

 

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