Surgery Date

 So a lot of you know for several years now Julia has had to have her drinks thickened to a nectar consistency, thicker than water but not as thick as honey. This is to prevent her from aspirating the liquids (aspirating is when the liquid goes into the lungs instead of down the esophagus & into the stomach where they belong). In patients with NPC the flap @ the back of your throat that your brain is responsible for closing when you drink(to keep liquids out of your lungs) doesn't work properly. Either it doesn't close off the airway in time to keep the liquids out or it doesn't close completely, either way it lets liquids in where they shouldn't be which leads to infection or pneumonia. Thankfully Julia has only had one bout with pneumonia & hopefully it will be her last. She is scheduled to have surgery this Friday November 30th to have a feeding tube (also known as a g-tube) placed. She can still eat whatever she likes by mouth as she is not having trouble with solids currently but all of her liquids will then go through the tube instead of her drinking them. She is nervous about the surgery but has adapted to the idea very well as she always does. I'm so thankful for her sunny outlook & easy adaptability to whatever this disease throws @ her. She is teaching me how to be flexible so I can bend & not break, just like her. She will have her surgery @ Shands in Gainesville & will have to stay several nights before coming home so if anyone wants to come visit let me know, I know she would like that 😊