Silence...

Not always a good thing?

Olivia had her swallow study today in Peoria. This was the follow-up to make sure she wasn't aspirating (inhaling the fluid into her lungs). She passed last time on honey-thick liquids, which she has been on since birth. This time, she failed miserably- silently aspirated everything that wasn't a solid food. Originally, they wanted to wait 45 minutes and try again to get a better look at how she handled the thicker fluids. While waiting, "they" (aka Dr. T.) decided it would be best to admit her for observation. Ugh.
So, we got a room down on Peds Intermediate for a couple of hours and then requested a meeting with good ol' Dr. T. about our inpatient status. We didn't quite understand what we were "observing." Olivia was having a great time, but we could observe that at home. Us, on the other hand, dread staying at the hospital for these unexpected stays. Luckily, Dr. T. agreed and said we could go stay at Grandpa and Grandma's and come back tomorrow for the repeat swallow study. So, we are on a strict solid food diet and IV fluids until after the swallow study. It's scheduled for 2:00, and hopefully it was just an "off day" and Olivia will pass with flying colors. Otherwise, further testing? Another attempt at keeping her? Who knows only time will tell. Until then, a huge thanks to Dr. T. for going to bat for us, yet again!
Here's to happy swallowing tomorrow!