Our first post - THE Dr appt

On July 15th Ayden had a Dr appt w/ his ENT to find out what the his criteria would be to decan Ayden (get his trach out). Ayden's pulmonologist (pulm) OK'd his decan a week before, but the ENT is the Dr who actually does the decan and follows him. We found out that day we got the green light to get the decan, so we have the magic date: August 8th!!!

He will actually go under for "surgery" to look down his airway again. Because he had some growths in his airway last time, they want to make sure he doesn't have any going forward. After that, he will come out of the OR w/out a trach (YIKES). They want to observe him in the PICU (pediatric ICU - where he spent the first 9 months of his life) overnight and if all goes well, he will be released the next day with a "naked neck". :)

To prepare for the August 8th date, we have been capping, which is something that covers the trach and doesn't allow him to breath in or out of the trach. He has been able to tolerate that for a continuous 3 hrs a day, which includes time while he is sleeping. The downfall is that he has to wear a nasal cannula

We are so excited for him and hope that it goes smooth. There is always the possibility that he won't be ready, so we have that in the back of our mind and are hoping for the best!!!

All for now - thanks for supporting us on this journey!!!