So that’s what a recurrent laryngeal nerve is…

Not too much to report on from the Westfall’s. Greyson continues to get stronger and is doing well. Unfortunately his vocal cords have not shown any sign of returning at this point. Some have asked about their paralasis and while we don’t know exactly what happened it is most likely that the recurrent laryngeal nerve (nerve that sends signals to your vocal cords) was somehow traumatized during surgery (it could have been cut although this is very unlikely). If it was cut the paralasis would be permanent. If there were just damaged or traumatized a little there is reason to hope they can come back.
Thank you for praying with us that they will return their function, and do so soon! Vocal cords are instrumental in much more than simply speaking. They protect our airway when we swallow, allow us to build up pressure to cough, and help keep our lungs slightly inflated when we exhale (ever had the wind knocked out of you?). So Greyson is no longer allowed to eat or drink anything by mouth as the risk of him aspirating is just to great.
His breathing continues to be noisy, although his oxygen levels are staying up pretty well. The noisy breathing is very concerning as it could be evidence that his vocal cords have moved together some. Normally our vocal cords open and close with every breath. Greysons have been stuck open allowing him to breath. If they are closing, but not functioning, they could cut off his airway and he would not be able to breath. This is something we are keeping a VERY close eye on as you can imagine. Unfortunately if his vocal cords close too much he will have to have another tracheostomy placed. Please pray with us that we do not have to go down this path!!
Everythign I have heard or read about the return of function for vocal cords says it can take anywhere from weeks to months. While this is encouraging in one sense we really don’t want to have to wait months to get this cleared up. Our prayer is that God will return complete function of his vocal cords within this week. Would you pray with us?