It's that time again: Feeding Tube Awareness Week! If you know or care for someone who has an NG tube, OG tube, G-tube, J-tube, G-J tube, or any other combination of letters + tube, chances are you are already well acquainted with the Tubie Olympics! Some of the highlighted events include:
- The Emergency Button Change: how quickly can you reinsert a button after it has come out of your child's body? OR how quickly can you insert a new one upon discovering the balloon has sprung a leak?! Hurry! You have a short window of time before you have to pack everything and everyone up and get to the emergency room! But no worries: if you aren't quick enough, there's always the surgical option!
- Speed Clamping/Unclamping: When giving meds or water flushes, don't forget to clamp the extension tube BEFORE inserting that syringe into the med port! Otherwise you may find yourself entering an unexpected water event! Clamp, insert syringe, unclamp, push the water or meds, clamp, remove syringe and replace the cap. Even experienced parents sometimes forget to clamp/unclamp at the right moment. But no worries: a well-timed spray of formula, meds, or water is a fabulous reminder to do it right the next time! A secondary event involves remembering to unclamp the extension tube prior to starting the feeding pump. (See notes on "Silencing the Blasted Feeding Pump Alarm.")
- Feeding the Bed (or the Floor or the Car Seat or...): This event will have you springing into action to stop the feeding pump before any more food ends up, well, everywhere besides the subject's stomach. Maybe the tubing slipped out of the feeding port. Maybe the subject thinks it's hilarious to pull on the tubing or rolled over it in the case of an overnight feeding. (If this is the case, be prepared for an Emergency Button Change BEFORE dealing with the mess on the bedding.) Mental acuity is key as you assess the most important action to take first and then attempt to calculate how much food has, in fact, NOT been included in this particular feeding session.
- Silencing the Blasted Feeding Pump Alarm: Whether drawing attention in the middle of a church service or waking the dead in the middle of the night, this event pairs the need for quick reflexes with the inescapable desire to JUST MAKE THE NOISE STOP. Perhaps the amount of food in the bag was miscalculated, or perhaps the feeding bag got tipped so that air bubbles are in the line. Or maybe the alarm is going off simply because you forgot to unclamp the line to allow the food to flow through the line. Whatever the reason, the feeding pump is letting you know that there is either NO FOOD or NO FLOW, and you are responsible to fix the problem. Add more food or formula; prime the line to remove the air bubbles; and restart the pump...AFTER all ports are closed off and you have unclamped the line.
I hope you've enjoyed this quick rundown of the Tubie Olympics! In all seriousness, we are so grateful for the technology that allows us to feed our Verity--without her G-tube, she would not be able to sustain herself. We are grateful for the supply company that sends us organic, whole-food formula, feeding bags, extension tubes, G-button kits, syringes, and any other supplies needed to feed our special girl.
What events are YOU an expert in?! What events did I leave out?!
