Feeding Tube Removed

Exactly 18 months after his accident, Charbel had his G-Tube removed on Tuesday March 27th. The procedure didn't take very long, only a couple of minutes, and Charb was hungry and ready to eat right afterwards! We had been holding off on removing the tube, even though Charb hasn't used it in over a month. We had expected that he would be going to Halifax to have a swallow test done, to ensure that his food was going down properly, but the doctors in Halifax are not overly anxious to see him, and we didn't want to wait any longer to have it removed. It was starting to bother him recently, he was sensitive around the area in his stomach, and also it was hard for him to lie flat on his stomach for exercises because of it. Although we were anxious at first about the procedure, it was quick and painless, and now we are one step closer to the full recovery that we are all hoping and working for.

As for Charb, his appetite never ceases, and its sometimes difficult to know what to feed him to give him enough variety since he's still pretty much eating only mashed up food. His chewing is slowly improving...but we have to remind him all the time to chew once the food is in his mouth. It seems that sometimes he forgets how to chew harder foods. Bit by bit we are teaching him to use his tongue and lips, and how to use his back teeth to properly chew more solid foods. For now, the mashed up variety seems to suit him fine, although if he doesn't like it, he lets mom know by asking her if she has some better food for him. If all else fails, he has no problems licking ice cream cones!