Amy,

Reading what Minnie wrote really brought back memories of my mom's trach...I do think that was one of the scariest things about her surgery. Make sure you have nurses that are willing to help you out because my mom like Minnie did not get the best care and some of the nurses had no idea how to suction and it was a truly frightening experience for my sister and I. At one point my sister had to run down to the floor below to get the nurse that my mom had, had the night before to come and suction her out because the nurse that she had at one point barely spoke English and we thought she was going to kill our mother..(strange because when I talked to a close friend who teaches nursing at USC county hospital she said that is one the basic things that she teaches students in nursing school.)

My mom's trach hole healed up pretty quickly and now since her radiation you can barely see her scar. I think the thought of the trach was scary to us but after seeing her we became used to it but believe me we could not have been more releaved once that was gone.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and John. My baby girl Keeley and I will definately be including you in our nightly prayers.

Hugs,
Dani