Swallow Test follow up - A happy result and happy reunions

Wednesday July 29, 2009: It was on Tuesday, July 7th (see my previous post dated Wednesday, July 8th), almost four weeks since entering the hospital and since he last ingested food through his mouth, that Tesfaye received a conditional pass on the swallow test allowing him to eat soft textured foods and drink thickened liquids, with the further restriction that he turn his head to the right as he swallows; unfortunately, it appeared that some damage (likely temporary) to his vocal chords from the second time insertion of the breathing tube had affected Tesfaye's swallowing ability. Notwithstanding these restrictions, this was certainly fantastic news for Tesfaye (you can imagine receiving your nutrition for four weeks solely by way of liquids administered through a feeding tube inserted into your stomach through your nose). Nevertheless, after faithfully following these restrictions for over three weeks, we were hoping that he would now be able to fully pass the swallow test and have all restrictions removed. What gave us hope that he was ready was the fact that his voice had steadily progressed over the last couple of weeks, to the point it was very strong and seemingly back to normal.
At 8:30 Tesfaye and I arrived at the hospital and received a lovely welcome from a number of staff members, who all remarked how great Tesfaye was looking. While waiting for John the OT, we were with Lise and then saw Brian, the spine surgeon from Ireland here on a Fellowship, who was part of Tesfaye's spine surgery team during the June 12th operation. Brian was pleased to see how good Tesfaye looked, and answered a few questions that Tesfaye had; Brian is on his way back to Ireland on August 5th. We then met up with John and made our way over to the Swallow Test X ray room that we had previously attended on July 7th, whereupon the team of John, Catherine the Speech Therapist, Dr.Salat, Ramen, and Vanessa conducted the repeat swallow test on a wide range of foods and liquids, with the result that: Tesfaye received a 100% pass! Tesfaye was now free to eat or drink anything he pleases and without needing to turn his head to the right as he swallows; he was most looking forward to drinking normal, unthickened water, and I no longer would always be thinking he was looking at me for some reason as he ate.

Successful Swallow Test Video
So all in all it was a happy return visit to the hospital, as much for the nice reunion as the successful swallow test. While it was nice to see so many familiar faces of the truly wonderful Spinal Unit staff, many of whom I have mentioned in previous postings throughout Tesfaye's hospital stay, before leaving Lise said that there were two operating room nurses, Patsy and Fiona, that heard that Tesfaye was going to be at VGH this morning and were very keen to see him; they both had been with Tesfaye throughout the marathon 14 hour back surgery on June 12th but had not seen him since then. Because they were also occupied in the Operating Room this morning we had to wait some time for them to be able to make it up to the Spine Unit for the visit, but Tesfaye and I were very happy to wait for them. When they arrived they really appreciated the opportunity to see the marvellous outcome that the surgery had for Tesfaye, because not only was this a unique case, but they also remarked how they never before had the chance to see their patients after they leave the operating room; by the same token, Tesfaye and I appreciated the opportunity to thank them for their role in the outcome. I certainly remember that moment when I first met Patsy, bright and early the morning of June 12th, as she wheeled Tesfaye away to the OR for the surgery - we have been through so much since that moment, it now seems so long ago.

Before leaving the Hospital there was one more visit that I really wanted to make with Tesfaye if possible. Without advance notice I took a shot at seeing if Anne Sutherland Boal, Chief Operating Officer of Vancouver Coastal Health, might be available to Tesfaye, since as far as I knew she had not yet had the opportunity to see Tesfaye up and walking and looking as strong and upright as he was today. Anne was a critical part of the approval process for Tesfaye's surgery at VGH; as it was a unique undertaking for Vancouver Coastal Health, not to mention a very complicated surgical procedure requiring a certain medical expertise, it required both a skilled and willing surgical champion (Dr. Marcel Dvorak and his team) and an open and innovative mindset at the top administration executive level. Without Anne's support and desire to have VGH undertake this life changing surgery for Tesfaye it could not have happened. I was so pleased to hear that indeed Anne would take a few minutes to step out of a meeting she was in to say hello to Tesfaye and me. It was my first opportunity to get a picture of the two of them, and with that we were on our way home to spread the good news about the swallow test.

[Thursday July 30, 2009: Tesfaye flies up to Kelowna through Monday August 3rd for the long weekend, away from Vancouver for the first time since arriving from Ethiopia.

Friday July 31, 2009: Tesfaye is anxiously awaiting his midnight appointment to talk to his mother for the first time since the surgery.

Details and pictures about these events and Tesfaye's Kelowna experience will be posted over the next couple of days as time permits, so please revisit]