Sorry I’m still very behind in my blogging! Turns out that being a full time mother, house keeper and athlete (in training) leaves very little time for hobbies! So, Freddie met his new speech and language therapist (SALT) on Friday. An emergency appointment was arranged due to our concerns with regards to aspiration. I can’t remember if I ever moaned publicly about his previous SALT – as I try not to bad mouth specialists – but, I didn’t really agree with her way of doing things and I found her extremely over cautious. I feel like she would’ve had him on smooth purees for the rest of his life whereas I wanted him to enjoy food if I thought he was okay eating textures. Within five minutes I knew that his new one was bloody good. I always think a first meet gets off on the right foot when the medical professional respects that I (we, if James is there) know him best. In case you haven’t already gathered in the last 11 months, I think mothers instinct is incredibly important! It started by me answering questions about our concerns, his health, and his routine with food/drink. Then we moved onto Master Cheese having a drink whilst she listened to his throat with a stethoscope. She regularly listened before and after whenever he ate or drank anything. She told us that his eating doesn’t concern her as she’d witnessed him eat a range of foods and thinks he can handle quite complex textures. His drinking, however, was a little different. She said she could hear pockets of fluid build in his throat whilst he took sips then he coughs and (appears) to successfully clear it. In her opinion she can’t hear any aspiration but did say that the sounds were slightly confusing as he still had snuffles from his chest infection. To try and help she’s given us thickening granules for his juice/water. Drinking thicker fluid allows more time for it to go down the throat and helps reduce the problem. She discussed the possibility of Freddie having a video fluoroscopy done at Addenbrookes Hospital as it’s the only way to get a clear picture of what is happening. For the next week we will be keeping a food and drink diary then have a follow up appointment. James and I have already discussed it and we’re keen to go ahead with the video fluoroscopy. The reason not to is because of the exposure to radiation and that children like Freddie will get an awful lot of exposure to radiation in their lives as they will require regular scans or x-rays. James asked me the other day ‘why do we need to protect him from radiation? If he was going to make old bones I could understand the health implications, but he’s not’. He has a point. In a way it’s a relief to have confirmed that something isn’t quite right. It means that we’re not going mad or being over the top. On the other hand it is upsetting as well. I’ve always known that Freddie could struggle swallowing at some stage, for there to be an issue so soon is just another reminder that this bastard disease isn’t going anywhere and no matter what milestones he hits there will be a limit and everything won’t keep going the way it has.
