Before I had my trach in January of '89, I vowed never ever to allow the dr.
to intubate me again and I certainly didn't want a trach. Period!!! Well,
then came a terrible medical crisis. When my dr. admitted me to ICU on New
Year's morning of '89, he told me that his advice was to go on the vent.
God! I didn't want to do it! I said that I'd have to think about it. I
thought about all of the nightmarish times of being intubated after my
daughter was born; almost always I had been alert when that happened. I just
didn't know if I had the strength to go through it again. Finally my dr. and
then my husband said that they had to go home. If I wanted to be intubated,
I was to have the nurse call them.
That was a very long afternoon for me as I weighed my options. I finally
came to the conclusion that if I didn't choose to be intubated, I would
probably die. I had the nurse call my dr. and my husband, and around 7:00
that evening the RT, my dr., nurse, and my husband gathered in my ICU room
for the intubation. It took all of my strength and concentration to make
myself relax to have it done. I had to keep myself anchored in the moment so
that my fear would not take me flying into insanity.
I was on the vent for 20 days, but it just wasn't doing the trick. My
pneumonia was better, but I couldn't breathe good enough to be off the vent.
I didn't want to die hooked up to that thing, and that's what would have
happened had I not chosen to have the trach. The evening I had my trach, I
was up eating real food for the first time in over 20 days -- granted, it was
a very soft diet, but it tasted so great! And that was just the beginning.
The trach and my home vent system have just been such a miracle in my life.
My health is more stable than it's been in years. I very rarely even get an
infection today. I'm able to keep a pretty active schedule, too. I adjusted
very easily to the trach. I never feel it, unless, of course, I neglect to
do the proper trach care -- which is never. I can suction today which is a
big blessing. I had so much trouble coughing, and consequently I got colds
and bronchitis a lot because I couldn't keep my lungs clear. A trach is a
very small price to pay for all of these years of life that I've been able to
enjoy since I made the decision to go for the trach.
I wish your friend well.
Carol