Super Tubie! In honor of Feeding Tube Awareness Week (Feb. 7-11) 2022

Day 1 of Feeding Tube Awareness Week 2022! Alyssa has had her feeding tube for over 8 years! She was only 19 months old when she had the surgery to place her G-Tube (this a feeding tube/Mic-Key button that goes directly into her stomach). Alyssa struggled to eat by mouth (due to her multiple disabilities) her entire life up until getting her feeding tube placed. I had to feed her around the clock like a newborn even at one and a half years old, and she could only drink an ounce at a time. Her weight and health got to a critical breaking point, which led to her needing an emergency surgery to place her feeding tube. To say I felt like a failure as a mother would be an understatement. I couldn’t even do the one thing that is so basic as feeding my child. That was my way of thinking at the time, anyway. I have since come to realize Alyssa’s inability to eat orally was more connected to her disabilities than I realized. Back then, we didn’t know the full extent of Alyssa’s disabilities and impairm