Hi Lisa, My dad just had a bar removed from his jaw that was rejecting. He had pneumonia when he went in for surgery from swallowing water and it going down the wrong pipe into his lungs. He was very swollen in the neck, tonsils, throat. He got a trach. It has helped him a lot the last two weeks. He was getting tons of phlem and he coughed up what he could and the respiratory therapist sucked the rest out throught the trach. Fast forward to yesterday, my dad had it taken out, and in about an hour felt short of breath and had to put it back in.
Like the peg tube (leave it in!) I would rather have the trach for piece of mind and convience than not to have it and need it in an emergency situation. Good luck with whatever you do.