cheleef
TrachKid Profile
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Kalli was born on November 20th, 2005. She had severe IUGR. She only weighed 1 lb 4 oz. At her lowest weight, she was only 15 1/2 oz. We discovered this when I was 20 wks pregnant. On November 17th, I was life flighted from Bismarck, ND to The U of M in Minneapolis, MN. They were able to keep her in me 3 more days until my body reacted to Kalli's distress and an emergency c-section was performed. Kalli was intubated for almost 2 months. She had several failed attempt to come off the vent. Finally after nearly 2 months, she was successfully taken off of the vent. Kalli developed stridor and she was on high flow O2. A bronchoscopy revealed that she had subglottic stenosis and a tracheostomy was performed on March 5, 2006. Within 2 wks, she needed surgery for severe GERD. She received a Nissen fundoplication and a g-tube was placed. She came home on April 5th, 2006. She required O2 at night and often during the day r/t her pulmonary hypertension. In September of 2006, we went back to Minneapolis for a LTR (Laryngeal Tracheal Reconstruction). We were told that she'd need to be hospitalized for about a month. She was out within 10 days. Her decannulation was successful. Kalli continued to utilize her feeding tube because she had oral aversion. We took her to a feeding clinic 130 miles away and it was the answer. Kalli's feeding tube was removed in April of 2008. Kalli turned 3 November 20th, 2008. She is still extremely tiny. She is only about 21 pounds. She received speech therapy and some occupational therapy. She is a true miracle. There were a lot of scary days in the beginning, but she pulled through. We live in rural ND with no home health. We took a trach baby home, g-tube fed, and oxygen dependent for nearly 6 months. We did it all with the help of family only. We had no outside help because of our rural setting. I look back now and wonder how we ever made it through this time. I have a caringbridge site set up for Kalli. It has her whole story. I still keep it up. Feel free to check it out.
www.caringbridge.com/visit/kallisuzannfinch
History
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- Member for
- 1 year 33 weeks
Location
- Country
- United States
- State/Province
- North Dakota
