Tuesday, February 19, 2008

What is a G-Tube?

Sum of ya’lls have wundered what all this mess is w/ a G-Tube. I’s will enlighten. Since Charlie cain’t swallow nun too well there fittin to set him up w/ a tube so as we can use to feed him when we go orda tha house. It’s pert near the simplest idear you could come up w/ to feed a boy. They put a tube agin in his gut w/ a lid on it. See’in as how the feller cain’t swalller near as good a he used to could they figger this’ll be best. We aint never gonna know if it'll be a forever thing but I think Char might could swallow again and then they can git her out in a jiffy. STOP! I can’t do it, that was the hardest thing yet for me to type but I wanted Thacker, Shannon, Shane, Bruce, Landon, Whit, Marilee, anyone at Ralph Smith Trucking, Railroaders and anyone named Zeke to understand what is going on.
People w/ indoor plumbing version: G-Tube is short for gastronomy tube and is the most appropriate way to nourish those who have upper airway issues and or muscular instability, conditions that often lead to food/liquid going down the wrong pipe and into the lungs which leads to aspiration, all bad. With Charlie he still doesn’t have a gag reflex or a great cough making oral feeding improbable at this point, not to mention his jaw is clamped so tight that we can’t even see if he has any new teeth coming in. (He had two when we got here.) A G-tube is a small tube that is surgically inserted in the abdomen creating a portal to the stomach. However in Charlie’s case a J-tube or a GJ-tube we feel is a more viable option. A J-tube is inserted in the same way but it bypasses the stomach and feeds the jejunum, a portion of the small intestine. We like this idea better because there isn’t the risk of vomiting and subsequent aspiration. A GJ-tube is a combination of both. The issue w/ a G-tube is that they would most likely perform a “nissen” (procedure where the esophagus is tied off where it meets the stomach to prevent any thing coming up that might cause aspiration.) at the same time and that is irreversible and from what we here they don’t always work as desired. Long story short, G, J or GJ-tubes are all ways to get my boy fed until he can eat on his own, we hope. If this answer was insufficient to inquiring minds that’s what you get for asking a railroader medical questions. So all you’en have a good night now ya hear. (you’en = ya’ll plus 3.)

7 comments:

whit said...

I was totally following until you said STOP - so I did, then I peeked and the words did confuse me some. It is how he will be nourished, right? That and the Good Book, of course.

Charlie Cooper said...

Whit, you kill me. -ROB

Anonymous said...

I'm happy I already knew what g/j/gj tubes were because there was no way I'd be reading through the beginning. I really hope he gets a j-tube, I think it'd be much nicer on his system for now. I'm happy about his baby steps towards the better. Please keep up with your choice of words, that was always entertaining in Sunday School.
-Sara L

Anonymous said...

I think that I'm starting to get what's going on with Charlie.
Knowing what I know about kids and the pain of teeth coming in....and hearing how smart charlie is; I've come to believe that he's just milking the morphine for a while and once a few more teeth come in he'll pull right out of this thing!? Right?
Let's hope....glad to hear some progress is being made.

B

Anonymous said...

I dunno B, where would he have gotten that from? It doesn't sound at all like his father...(TIC) ;-)

...as if I was one to talk right?

Marilee said...

Hey boy, I just got me some o the indoor plumbin stuff you was taklin bout. That ther is some good s---. My folk down at the truckin stop say hey and don't let them there folks in them white coats give you no crap.

Anonymous said...

OK, Having visited many places that talk like that, I know that is much harder than using the Million dollar words...

My friend LeeAnn just got out of the hospital last night and they gave her a G-tube, because she can't swallow and the food was going to lungs... thereby the pneumonia that she went for originally. The goo that they put in those things is gross... but, you got to eat. (Some of us however.. don't!)

Happy to hear the auspicious news about your off-spring. Dios Mio and bastante bien ....

Adios, Jill B