Sunday, June 24, 2012

Questions about Feeding Tube

We get lots of questions about Liam's feeding tube. A while back, Liam got the all clear from the ear, nose and throat doctor, Liam is fully able to swallow and eat food. His left vocal cord wasn't closing all the way, but judging by Liam's voice now, it must be closing more, he still sounds a little "nasally" but he certainly is much louder and is getting less nasally sounding.

Liam was given the all clear to eat, and he was so excited to have chocolate pudding, milk and juice, he ate 5 bowls of cheerios in one sitting! Then he had his first cycle of chemo and that changed. We had the feeding tube out and tested whether Liam would eat, but something about the chemo made him decide he wasn't going to eat or drink. The chemo might him a funny or metallic taste in his mouth, he doesn't tell us, but Liam no longer will eat by mouth now at all.

Anyone who knows him, knows that Liam was never that keen on eating, so it probably didn't take much to turn him off. Besides, now he can sit and play with his cars with 2 hands and have his meal through his feeding tube! 

We are actually thankful for the feeding tube, Liam has gained a little weight in the last month, which is more than he's gained in a long time. The feeding tube does at least give us peace of mind that Liam's getting calories and he's not getting dehydrated. Both are critical while he's going through chemo, so at least that's one area that we don't have to worry about right now.

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