We Aren't Aspiring to Aspirate

Sounds like some catchy tune, huh? Well this last Monday, Beck was scheduled for a video swallow study so Mike took him. Because of the baby I couldn't go. I feel like I really missed out because Mike said it was really cool. He said Beckett did awesome taking all the different foods and fluids. They laced the foods and liquids with barium and then did a video xray of him swallowing each. He did okay with swallowing foods and could do so safely. Fluids on the other hand, not so much. Beck aspirated on anything thinner than honey. Beckett was diagnosed with Dysphagia and Aspiration of fluids into the respiratory tract. This means that when he drinks fluids thinner than honey, a small amount enters his lungs with each swallow. For Beckett this is a neurological problem that he must "grow" out of. A valve in his esophagus is not timed correctly and doesn't close efficiently. So for now, all drinks for Beckett have to be thickened to what is called "Honey Thick." This includes water, milk, juice, and soups. The thickeners look gross but work really well and at this point Beck hasn't complained other than it was hard to suck through the regular nipples on his bottles. We just had to buy new ones specially made for thicker liquids. We aren't sure how long this thickening will last. I have been told at least 6 months but most likely much longer, probably a couple years. It is frustrating. Things could be so much worse (needing feeding tubes would be an alternative) but it is still hard to deal with everything on a day to day basis. He's such a trooper and that ease the frustration.