Tag: scope

Wednesday, 16 Feb 2005:

Yesterday, Gabriella made her weekly visit to the ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) clinic at Tripler. In order to minimize Ella’s exposure to the infectious environment of the hospital, each of these visits are very brief. The ENT staff is exceptionally helpful in this regard. They whisk us into a treatment room, well away from the other patients, as soon as we arrive.

The doctor then uses a thin fiber optic scope, which is inserted into Ella’s trach tube, to view her tracheal airway. Everything checked good, so we were on our way again in less than 15 minutes.

The doctors continue to emphasize the importance of keeping Ella healthy prior to her next surgery – currently scheduled for the second week in March.

Pictured left is Lucy doing one of her favorite things – using the instant hand sanitizing gel “Purell” so her hands are not “mucky”.  All for now…

Thank you for your prayers.

Thursday, 10 Feb 2005:

Yesterday marked the completion of Gabriella’s first week at home. To celebrate, Mum, Dad, and Ella went to…the hospital (where else?) for her scheduled check-up. Dr. Cable was very pleased with how she looked – both inside and out.

After hearing about how Ella and, Mum and Dad fared over the previous seven days; Dr. Cable inserted a tiny flexible scope into Ella’s trach tube to examine her airway. Everything inside checked good! On the outside, he prescribed some medications for the rash around her neck.

All in all, he was very pleased with her progress. Ella also received a special vaccine (Synagis) to ward off one of the really nasty respiratory illnesses (respiratory syncytial virus – RSV). Ella was weighed prior to her vaccination – she is up to 5.66 Kg or 12 lbs 8 ozs.

Pictured left is Gabriella napping after the first dose of her rash medication – it works amazingly well. All for now.

Thank you for your prayers.