Hoping, Praying & Thinking Positively

This morning Brady was up and out bright and early with high hopes for his submandibular salivary gland removal at Mass Eye and Ear. Having made so very much progress with his trach since November, Brady still experiences extreme flooding of saliva in his mouth although he has already had one procedure to reduce production. It can be very stressful for him to try to deal with all these secretions, even with suction assistance. He puts his whole body into working so very hard to protect his airway, swallowing some and coughing out most. Although no one ever wants to see their child go through the pain of surgery and we are not anxious for another inpatient stay (even just for one quick night!), we are so excited for what this surgery may mean for Brady. With reduced oral secretions, suctioning could possibly become a thing of the past leading to decannulation...which we have been hoping and praying for for so long. Even if this does not ultimately lead to trach removal, relieving Brady of one more of his stresses in life will be a blessing in itself. Brady is a strong little dude and in his world this is among the least of what he has been through. We do hope it will glean some of the biggest results. As we wait for Brady to be wheeled into the recovery room we know you will all join with us in hoping, praying and thinking positively for a smooth procedure and effective results.

Mama is excited for the future this surgery may bring.

Brady is ready to snooze and get a head start on the anesthesiologist.

And Daddy is scrubbing in!

UPDATE: From Mass Eye and EAR

Brady is resting peacefully in his bed on the pediatric floor at Mass Eye and Ear. His ENT shared that the glands removed were quite large so Brady should definitely experience reduced oral secretions within this week as he recovers. Thankfullly everything went as expected. Rubber bands have been left at the incision sites to acts as drains and will be removed tomorrow morning. He has had a very busy week leading up to today and is taking this well deserved time to catch up on his rest.

Brady is literally wrapped in everyone's love and well wishes as he recuperates. Laying over him is the quilt created out of the squares personalized by all of you at the Friends of Brady event at the Hibernian in January. Made possible through the brainchild of his Grandma and hardwork from his auntie's best friend Elizabeth Crowley-Burns, Brady loves this cozy blanket. Just at his fingertips he has everything to get him through...Inspirational quotes running the gammet from the bible to Rocky to Dr. Seuss to Neil Young. Love from entire institutions, high fives from young cousins, thoughtful notes of support from strangers, words of love from lifelong friends. Original acrostic poems and traditional bedtime prayers, every square brings a smile to our family's face and warms our hearts as together they all physically warm Brady in his sometimes chilly hospital bed.

We are so excited for the changes hopefully to come as a result of this surgery. We appreciate each and every message of hope in that quilt that is now with us always. We are grateful to the wonderful MEEI team that is taking such good care of our lil bear.