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Jaymes had Vital Stim therapy last fall. He has aspirated his whole life. Unfortunately for us, it did not work for Jaymes. His therapist was heartedly disappointed (she kept apologizing over and over). But we knew going in that there was a chance it wouldn't work. As I recall the statistic is about 65% success rate or something like that. The therapy itself is very simple - electrodes are placed on his throat and she encouraged him to swallow or eat throughout the therapy - not an easy feat for a picky eater, but he tried. They don't hurt him, just feel a little funny. He didn't like the electrodes the first day (but that might also have been because both Mom and Dad were present at the therapy). By the end of the first week, he was lifting his head so she could put the electrodes on more easily. What a trooper! It's very intense - he had therapy 4 days a week for 6 weeks for an hour at a time. We had a barium swallow at the end of the session (actually about 4 weeks later) to see if progress was made. In talking to the therapist we do not know if having him go to therapy longer (more than 6 weeks) would have made a difference or not. It's hard to say. She has seen success with shorter times and longer. As parents, we felt that we had to try at least.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
__________________
Valerie
Proud mommy to Jaymes Xavier 6/4/03
& Baby #2 - EDD 5/15/06
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03-21-2006 08:48 AM
