In the early hours of Sunday morning Mom and Dad took took turns checking on Wes; making sure he was doing alright. They quickly discovered that the breathing tube down his throat was giving him a panic attack. He had the sensation that he was not getting any air or that the air going down his throat was not allowing him to breathe. This was very real and frightening for Wes and my parents. My mom would struggle with it so much that she often had to leave the room.
Huge tears would run down Wesley's cheeks and it was extremely obvious the thought he was dying. The breathing tube went down his throat towards his lungs and then was inflated so that it could not be pulled out. My dad would try to hold the tube at angles that would not bother him as much.
My dad said, "I would hold the tube and try to adjust it to help calm Wes down. On one such occasion a nurse informed me that I didn't have to worry because Wesley had been given enough drugs that he wouldn't remember a thing." I told the nurse that was not acceptable. Tell me, as a parent, how I am to get any comfort out of that. My son is panicked and thinks he is suffocating, his eyes are filled with tears. He can't move because of the accident and he is mouthing the words, out the side of his mouth, "Pull it out! Pull it out!" We felt helpless."
The tube stayed in Wesley's throat for a day and a half. It was removed on Monday afternoon. As challenging as that day and a half was, the whole family recognizes the miracle in getting it out so quickly. The doctor had told my parents before surgery that the the tube would remain for at least 3 to 6 days.
"For the day and a half, we would not take our eyes off our his eyes. We would wait for them to open in sheer terror and we would reassure, calm, and do all we could to make it bearable. If we had to leave for a few short moments to speak with a doctor or get a nurse, we would immediately come back and check for tears in his eyes. The other difficult part about the tube was that it made it near impossible to communicate with him. He could not speak and the tube made it difficult to read his lips. We had a blinking system for yes or no. We were able to establish if he had an itch and needed help by asking yes or no questions."
On Sunday morning my dad had to run home to get cleaned up. He was still wearing his ski clothing from the day before. While driving home my dad had these thoughts, "As I started driving home it is somewhat of a surprise that everything continues on despite what tragedies befall us. I got on the interstate and I was a lone. I couldn't help but think of Wes and that yesterday at this time he was happy, whole, and doing great. As I drove the tears started to fall...:"
More to come
Huge tears would run down Wesley's cheeks and it was extremely obvious the thought he was dying. The breathing tube went down his throat towards his lungs and then was inflated so that it could not be pulled out. My dad would try to hold the tube at angles that would not bother him as much.
My dad said, "I would hold the tube and try to adjust it to help calm Wes down. On one such occasion a nurse informed me that I didn't have to worry because Wesley had been given enough drugs that he wouldn't remember a thing." I told the nurse that was not acceptable. Tell me, as a parent, how I am to get any comfort out of that. My son is panicked and thinks he is suffocating, his eyes are filled with tears. He can't move because of the accident and he is mouthing the words, out the side of his mouth, "Pull it out! Pull it out!" We felt helpless."
The tube stayed in Wesley's throat for a day and a half. It was removed on Monday afternoon. As challenging as that day and a half was, the whole family recognizes the miracle in getting it out so quickly. The doctor had told my parents before surgery that the the tube would remain for at least 3 to 6 days.
"For the day and a half, we would not take our eyes off our his eyes. We would wait for them to open in sheer terror and we would reassure, calm, and do all we could to make it bearable. If we had to leave for a few short moments to speak with a doctor or get a nurse, we would immediately come back and check for tears in his eyes. The other difficult part about the tube was that it made it near impossible to communicate with him. He could not speak and the tube made it difficult to read his lips. We had a blinking system for yes or no. We were able to establish if he had an itch and needed help by asking yes or no questions."
On Sunday morning my dad had to run home to get cleaned up. He was still wearing his ski clothing from the day before. While driving home my dad had these thoughts, "As I started driving home it is somewhat of a surprise that everything continues on despite what tragedies befall us. I got on the interstate and I was a lone. I couldn't help but think of Wes and that yesterday at this time he was happy, whole, and doing great. As I drove the tears started to fall...:"
More to come
No comments:
Post a Comment