This morning the scene in Salma’s ICU room at Hadassah Hospital was a bit different from yesterday’s. Instead of finding Salma with her mother, she was having her airways examined by a doctor using a microscopic lens inserted through her nasal cavity.
The doctor shared his findings. Salma has a paralyzed left vocal cord. According to our coworker Hison, this sometimes happens after aortic arch surgery or even after a cath because the left recurrent laryngeal nerve or the RLN, wraps around the aortic arch. This could be one reason for the paralysis; intubation is another possible reason. But the former could be irreversible.
The doctor did say if the therapy doesn’t work, Salma will be fed by a nasal/gastric tube for the foreseeable future.
May it not be so. Instead we’re praying for therapy that works well, for a little voice that will someday sing for joy, for a tummy filled because Salma chewed and swallowed her dinner, to know that little Salma will someday be running, jumping and playing and smiling for all the world to see. Amen!