Kiera is recovering well after her 7:45 am dilatation on Friday. She handled the anesthetic much better than she has in the past. The procedure was very quick (30 minutes) and we were able to go home by 11 am. Kiera slept for most of the day on Friday but she was more alert on Saturday.
Kiera showed signs that the swelling as a result of the dilatation had gone down by Saturday morning. These signs include less bubbly mucus being pushed out of her mouth and less morning mucus clearing (i.e., less coughing and gagging). So we tried feeding her orally. We start slow by just painting her lips with purees so as not to take her by surprise and make feeding a negative experience. Prior to the dilatation, she would cry as soon as we brought a spoon close to her lips and yesterday, she didn't cry. Kiera tasted apricot, peaches, and bananas. We consider this a success and will continue on with painting of lips until she starts to open her mouth to accept the spoon. We will also be putting the bottle near her lips and squirt a little formula on her lips to try to teach her to swallow thinner liquids.
Keith and I have decided that we will not motivate Kiera with calorie reduction this time as we are certain that her esophagus will close up again. After the first dilatation, the esophagus closed up within 2 days. After the second dilatation, Kiera's esophagus tightened after 9 days. We are hoping this dilatation will be the last one but we are only expecting that it will be open for about 14 days. We know that as soon as she stops accepting food that it is closed. We now truly understand that Kiera's condition will not be fixed in a short time and that she will need multiple dilatation over the next year or longer before her esophagus will "learn" to stay open.
1 comment:
It is not only Kiera that's doing well but Kiera's family who is growing and learning from this experience. I'm so proud of you all. I can't say this too often but she is so fortunate to have you!!
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