Decannulation

On Monday, May 24th I met with my Pulmonologist to start the process of decannulation. The removal of the tracheostomy.

The first step is downsizing the trach to a 4. This helps the stoma shrink in size. This happened at my appointment. I originally had a cuffed Shiley 6. The size of the tube and the fact it had a cuff prevented me from being able to talk. It took up a lot of room in my trachea (airway).

I asked my respiratory therapist, Kelly about getting a cuffless 4. The second my pulmonologist placed the 4 it was an immediate change. Not having a cuff and having a smaller tube meant I had my voice back.

I also had to cap (the red capped inner cannula) the trach to make sure my upper airway is working fully before the trach is removed. I had to cap for 16 hours a day and then remove the cap when I slept. The cap prevents air from going in and out of the trach itself and so I am relying fully on my upper airway. I had to do this for 72 hours prior to decannulation.

I officially had the tracheostomy removed on Thursday, May 26th!!

I never imagined this would even be a possibility and my lungs would be getting better slowly. Especially considering how bad things were and had gotten. This last year and a half have been quite the journey but its opened my eyes to a lot as well.

I am extremely thankful for the people I had the pleasure of meeting a long the way and the massive amount of support and love. I wouldn't have made it through all this without you all, seriously. I cannot tell you how appreciative I am and still am to have so many wonderful people in my and my families lives.

Keep fighting to breathe another day 💜 #beccasfight