Jalon Davis
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Jalon & Keilon Davis
Jalon is currently 10 months old pictured on the left with his twin brother Keilon. The twins were born on January 18, 2003, three months premature. Jalon was trached after numerous attempts to extubate him. Finally the doctors said he would need a trach, which was given to him at 4 months old. My husband and I were told he had subglottic stenosis and laryngomalaica.
He is really doing great!!! The trach has made a world of difference after being "tied down" so many months in the NICU. We are scheduled to see the ENT at the Arkansas Children's Hospital on December
3, 2003. The doctor said that they will look at his airway to determine if he needs to remove some granulation. After the granulation is removed, the doctor will downsize Jalon's trach and attempt to place a Passy Muir Valve (speaking valve).
Our prayer is that his airway has grown enough for him to tolerate the PMV so we can hear him cry again!!! Whatever the decision the Lord has made, we will accept, but we do have faith because we know "JESUS IS THE REAL DOCTOR" who will heal
Jalon.
Update, December 2003: On December 3, 2003, Jalon had an appointment with the ENT doctor to determine the status of his airway. We found out that Jalon will not be a candidate for a PMV due to his airway is 100% occluded which is a grade 4. Therefore, he will have surgery to reconstruct his airway like Aaron Bissell did. The doctor informed us that Jalon should be decannulated by the end of summer!!! The doctor will begin this process sometime in March, 2004.
Update
April 2004: On March 8, 2004, Jalon had reconstructive surgery on his airway. He has a stent in his airway along with the tracheostomy tube. He is doing great!!! The night he was discharged from the hospital, March 11, 2004, he began to walk. This is another one of God blessings because my husband wanted Jalon to be crawling. Jalon is scheduled to have the stent removed on May 5, 2004 located at the Arkansas Children's Hospital. We thank God that there is another alternative for the removal of the trach. Please keep our family in your prayers as we continue to see the Lord work miracles through our son, Jalon. It is a privilege to be used by the Lord and all praises goes to JESUS.
Update May, 2004: Jalon had his stent removed on May 5, 2004. His recovery went well!!!! The doctor informed us that he was not a candidate for the PMV yet. He wanted to wait until Jalon's next laser surgery that was scheduled in May. On May 26, 2004, Jalon had another laser surgery to remove some granulation tissue. At that visit, the doctor attempted the PMV and Jalon tolerated it for about 30 seconds. The doctor gave us a "smile" and informed us that we could start using the PMV for about 30 seconds twice a day until he began to tolerate it longer. He still has some granulation tissue and is scheduled to have it removed some time in July.
Update
September 2004: On August 18, 2004, Jalon had another Laser surgery. Since that time, his airway has improved and he is wearing a PMV all day now. Sometimes Jalon will remove the PMV and place his finger over his trach to make sounds. We are scheduled to go for another Laser surgery on October 6, 2004. It appears that decannulation is closer now than ever before.
There is no secret what GOD can do!!!! My husband and I give all credit to Jesus Christ.
Update October, 2004:
On October 6, 2004, the ENT doctor took a look at Jalon's airway and discovered there was no granulation tissue to remove. This was a vast improvement. At that point, he decided to downsize his trach to allow more air around his stoma area. Jalon has been making sounds when using his speaking valve and he would say AHHH, AHHHH. Today, we heard him say DaDa for the first time!!!! This was like music to our ears.
We are scheduled to go to the ENT Clinic on November 18, 2004. The doctor said he wants to give Jalon a break from surgery. He stated that we might try to see how he tolerates a cap over his trach.
Update November 2004:
Jalon had an ENT on November 18 to find out if he could tolerate a cap over his trach. Before
attempting this, he was placed on a heart and pulse ox monitor. He maintained a 96% to 99% pulse
ox. He did not show any signs of distress. Therefore, the doctor allowed us to take a cap home with us. He is talking a lot. He says hot, hat, ahhh, up-oooh, baby, bubbles, bird and tree. He is currently taking speech therapy and is doing really great.
We are scheduled to go back to the ENT doctor in February. At that time, he will schedule
an appointment so he can look at Jalon's airway with a scope. If everything looks fine, he will request a sleep study and prepare for decannulation. Jalon and his twin brother, Keilon will be 2 years old on January 18. This certainly would be a great gift.
Update March 2005: On February 10, 2005 we had an appointment with the ENT Doctor. He informed us that he would like to request a "sleep study" to find out some vital information to help him determine how to proceed with Jalon. We are scheduled for the sleep study on April 5, 2005. Jalon has made a lot of process with his speech. He says light, book, hat, hot, Up Ooh, DaDa, Mama, hey, bye-bye, duck ahh, eat, eye, ball, bubble, tree, train, truck, dog, bed, boat, car, plane. He is doing great. All of the credit goes to "Jesus Christ".
