Today the speech pathologist was scheduled to evaluate Emma's swallowing ability.
Her is a picture of Emma set in to X-ray for her Modified Barium Swallow.
A patient needing further investigation will most likely receive a Modified Barium Swallow (MBS). Different consistencies of liquid and food mixed with barium sulfate are fed to the patient by spoon, cup or syringe, and x-rayed using videofluoroscopy. A patient's swallowing then can be rated using the Penetration Aspiration Scale. The scale was developed to describe the disordered physiology of a person's swallow using the numbers 1-8 (Rosenbek et al., 1996). Not all examiners will use this scale.(from wikipedia)
In this case, they used a bottle with various kinds of nipples.
Emma was not happy with this test. She was hungry.
Emma's mom and I were not happy with what was recommended. Thickened feedings (breast milk and a gelling agent) with a cross-cut bottle nipple. Emma also managed to pull out her NG feeding tube.
It was not a good day. Stay tuned. Keep praying.