Removing Anna's Tube - Not for the Queasy

Today is the two year anniversary of Anna's surgery to correct her Annular Pancreas. I won't wax nostalgic or sentimental. Suffice it to say she has come a very long way. Thursday she had a weight check and she had gained almost an entire pound since her last check a month or so ago. For the first time in her life she has not only maintained her own weight, but gained some. We had put off taking out her tube earlier this Fall because we thought she was teetering a bit, but after this great weight gain and the realization that something truly catastrophic, having nothing to do with why she originally needed the feeding tube, would have to happen for us to go back to using her tube for feeds. We assume she will have ups and downs with her weight, but they should be minor. So, what sign were we waiting for? We decided to just go for it. Let's celebrate this two year anniversary by removing the last reminder of all that Anna has gone through. :)

assembling the supplies...I swear I could open my own medical supply store.

one last pic with the tube in

ok two last pictures

removing the water from the internal balloon

I spared you from a picture of actually removing the tube!  Even I looked away.  LOL  All dressed in case it gets a little leaky.

Anna smiling to show you that it didn't hurt at all.

the kids had a great time inflating and deflating the balloon...its the small things.

So it should only take a day or two for the hole to completely close.  There is a chance that it will not close completely on its own.  If that is the case she may need a small surgical procedure to close it.  We should know in about two weeks if that is the case.