See Cloee's Swallowing Issue

I found a great diagram that makes it easier to understand Cloee's swallowing problem. Go to this website HERE.

If you see where the word esophagus points to- that is where Cloee's thicker foods go. And that's where they should go- it leads to the stomach.

See where the words 'aryepiglottic fold' and 'epiglottis' point? Well Cloee either doesn't have those or she doesn't have any cartilage in them to keep them firm so they don't really do a good job of directing food/drink to the right place.

Anything thinner than pudding goes over where it says 'ventricular fold' and 'vocal fold'. Then if she doesn't cough it up and out of there and get it to go down esophagus then it end up going down her larynx and then trachea and ends up down in her lungs. This is the reason for the chronic pneumonia basically since she's been home from the hospital.

We now know what the problem is. We also know how to treat it. Only time will tell if the issues clear up and the organs develop. In the meantime, treating the problem is all we can do.

The gel thickener (that will go in all bottles, sippee cups, and any thinner foods) should arrive tomorrow. $130 for 300 packets! We'll see how long those 300 last. At 10 per day it will last a month; at 5 per day it will last 2 months (1 gel packet per 4 oz of liquid). I haven't ever counted how many 4 oz bottles she drinks in a day but I guess I will start.