Erica’s Thoughts
This is a simulated journal entry by Erica, Drake’s mother. It includes her thoughts and expectations for her child who is suffering from symptoms of Pediatric Dysphagia.
October 14, 2006
Dear Journal,
Today was one of the most eventful days that Drake has had in a long time – not that everyday is not an event for him. The pediatrician that Drake has been seeing for the past couple weeks refered us to a Speech Language Pathologist in Huntington, WV by writing a referral letter. The pediatrican said that it would be very effective for Drake to see a speech language pathologist. Her name is Whitney Hicks and she will be able to give us a lot more information on treatment and handling the situations that may arise. I have been learning so much about dysphagia since we have been visiting Whitney. She has told us alot more than we knew about it before and she has made Yale and I calm down about it a lot more. She gave us a link online to a Podcast that explains Drake’s dysphagia very simply to us by saying he “has a mechanical problem sending his food from his mouth to his stomach.” She also said that we shouldn’t feel alone because there’s 15 million babies in the US that are going through the same thing as Drake (Stronghealth). She said that we should also watch Drake very carefully when we are working with him on eating. I never knew that eating and swallowing, even for a baby, was such a big process! She also said that dysphagia can occur at anytime when Drake is swallowing so it makes it hard to know for sure what the problem is each time. Whitney also said that we should be careful because of something called aspiration, where Drake’s food or drinks could end up in his lungs, causing him to choke. If this happens alot, he could keep getting pneuomia, which is also terrible for a baby (Stronghealth)! Right now, Drake is being tube fed and it’s really sad to see. Whitney said that it could be a structural problem for him, he could have an irregular suck, or he might just not like the feel of formula in his mouth – but it could be something else, too. We are going back to the Speech Pathologist next week – I’ll let you know how it goes.
Love, Erica (Keep your fingers crossed!)
P.S. – I found a really neat poem on Pediatric Dysphagia today I want to remember to show Yale!
October 20, 2006
Dear Journal,
Wow! What a day! Drake, Yale, and I went back to the Speech Pathologist today to see what tests and treatments they have in mind to learn more about Drake’s problems. His pediatrician was there along with an occupational therapist, a nutritionist, and a radiologist. They explained to us that they are Drake’s “swallowing team” that join together to make sure that Drake is looked after and the best diagnosis and treatment may be made for him and even showed us a very interesting Powerpoint to help us understand! Today, we spent most of the time talking to each other about our expectations for Drake, how he is doing medically right now, and planning what is the best for his prognosis and when it should begin. First, they are going to do a Barium X-Ray. They called is something else, but I don’t remember what it was called for sure – I think a Modified Swallow. They said that they were going to mix barium in with Drake’s formula and watch him swallow it through an X-Ray machine. The radiologist said that it’s amazing how much information him and the Speech Pathologist can get through watching this. They said this tells a lot about Drake’s structures he uses to swallow and if they’re working like they’re supposed to. After they do this, they may need to do an endoscopy. Whitney said that this is when she and the pediatrician will slide a tube down Drake’s throat to look at his esophogus and make sure this is working right and looks ok (Stronghealth). I really hope that these work. We all want this to make swallowing for Drake easier, we hate when his eyes water every time he tries to eat his formula. We are going back soon for all of these tests… again, I’ll let you know how they go.
Until then,
Erica
October 21, 2006
Dear Journal, well… we haven’t gone back for the rest of the tests yet – Man, It’s taking so long! Drake sure is hanging in there like champ though! I’m so proud to be his Mommy sometimes, even though it is very frustrating. Since I have been staying at home so much during the day now to be with Drake, I have been learning a lot more about Pediatric Dysphagia by going online and doing some research! I have been talking to other parents across the country with a child that is suffering as Drake is. I also have some good ideas that I would like to try to help raise awareness to this horrible problem such as hosting a parents Dysphagia group online or at my house (if I find some other mom’s in the area), writting a letter to a politician, and other fun things I can think of! Keep your fingers crossed that they work out; I could really use some focus from outside of only Drake’s problems. Thanks for listening for this short time.
Talk again Soon,
Erica
Pediatric Speech Pathology – Dysphagia Swallowing Disorders (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2006, from
http://www.stronghealth.com/services/childrens/conditions/dysphasia.cfm#diagnosing
The voice of this genre is the mother of a young child with dysphasia, and the audience is for anyone interested in learning about the symptoms and treatment of a child with feeding or swallowing problems. I would like to “bless” this genre because it includes a lot of detailed information on this particular disorder. Even though it is a personal journal entry, the mother writes about the problems the child is facing as well as what the clinician and other professionals are doing to help that child. It also shows how concerned and caring this mother is for her child and how involved she is in the treatment process. I think this genre is very strong and will provide the audience with a lot of useful information. I truly cannot find anything wrong with this genre because the content is appropriate and useful, so I cannot think of anything else you would need to address. I really think you did a great job on this one!
The voice of this piece is the mother of the child who is going through dysphagia. The audience is for the families of those who have dysphagia and anyone else interested in learning about the topic. The author is giving the process of what the child must go through. She is also giving technical names for each step. She explains how the members of the team come together for the child and help him. I would like to bless the technical naming that is given. I feel that the piece covered the process of what the child goes through, very well. I would like to address the lack of emotion from the point of the mother. I feel that the technical process overpowered the emotion that the mother feels. However, I think that this was very carefully written and the author did a good job of explaining.
[...] I commented on Whitney H’s journal entries. I said, “I think this genre is very strong and will provide the audience with a lot of useful information. I truly cannot find anything wrong with this genre because the content is appropriate and useful.” [...]
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
To me it is necessary to find