Leland Atkinson
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Leland Atkinson
Born October 19, 1996
9 lb. 3 oz.
20 3/4 inches
Dallas, Georgia
Leland was born with a very severe case of Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. This caused him to have pneumonia and be intubated. After he was extubated, he would breathe 90 to 100 times a minute. Also, his chest would decompress about 1 inch.
At one month old, we thought that he was getting better and would be able to go home soon. One of his nurses noticed an upper airway problem. After a bronchoscopy and laryngoscopy, the ENT discovered that he had a subglottic stenosis. We were told that it was probably due to intubation and Leland’s recent infection.
We had been told that Leland was using so much energy trying to breathe that it would cause him not to develop properly. The nurses also said that once he got a trach, he would be a new boy. At 6 weeks old, Leland was trached and breathing normally.
A recent bronchoscopy and laryngoscopy shows that Leland has a 2mm airway. Though he has a difficult time with his Passy-Muir valve, he has taught himself to pass air around the trach and also puts his chin to his chest to talk.
Leland is a very average, on track child. He just has a trach. His ENT thinks that he may be able to do reconstructive surgery on Leland to make his trachea larger. We are praying and believing that this will be done late spring 1998.
- Update January 1999:
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Leland was scheduled for tracheoplasty (using cartledge from the rib cage area to enlarge the airway) and decannulization in September 1998. It was very successful. In fact, Leland did not have any complications, especially stridor, and was released.
A few days later, Leland became very distressed and started to turn blue after a breathing treatment. We took him into the ER where his ENT eventually guessed that reflux had caused his vocal cords to spasm. We also discovered that he had gotten more scarring in his airway from reflux. This was causing him to have difficulty breathing. We were all ready to go ahead and do a cricotracheal resection. This is where they cut above and below the subglottic stenosis and completely remove it. Then, they put the two pieces of airway back together. It it more risky because of the closeness to the vocal cords. We had been in the hospital for almost a week when he got a virus. They sent him home to get better. We also got to have his birthday party.
At the end of October, he had the cricotracheal resection. The recovery was much longer and the side effects from the narcotics were much rougher on him. It was even harder on my husband and me because we thought that it was over after the first surgery. After a long recovery and a hard time getting his sea legs back, Leland came home for good.
Now, he is doing very, very well. There are no complications. It is very wonderful to have one small bag to take whereever we go. Things are so normal that he had to go to the pediatrician for RINGWORMS. It is almost strange to deal with "normal" problems and not life threatening ones.
Every once in a while I will look at a picture of Leland with his trach. I always think, "Our son had a HOLE IN HIS THROAT". It almost seems like a dream. I am glad that is has a happy ending.
Update October, 2004: Leland is now 8 years old. Except for the scars on his body, the only reminder of long ago is his horse voice. I don't think about it unless someone asks if he has a cold or a child wonders why he sounds like that.
- Melinda Atkinson, e-mail: msmelinda66@hotmail.com
