A one-year-old presented this week from outside the Philadelphia area with raspy breathing, difficulty swallowing, and aspiration issues.
At birth he did not breathe for about twenty seconds. He was diagnosed at a major children’s hospital with tracheomalacia, stridor, and difficulty with the suck, swallow, and breathe reflex. He also had the typical fussy baby “package” of colic, reflux, gas, indigestion, and constipation.
What makes this post unique is that a surgeon wanted to shave his epiglottis. Wow, I honestly had never heard of this procedure.
Wait, this story gets worse. If the surgery does not go well, he and his family are looking at a feeding tube for life. He also may be mentally challenged with a brain injury that is prohibiting him from swallowing correctly. All of this is not exactly what new parents and grandparents want to hear.
Maybe he is just tight with severe fascial strain in his throat. One can make the argument that the nervous system controlling these tissues may be involved, but fascial restriction is almost always the primary culprit.
We found that birth trauma can restrict the fascia that controls the function of the epiglottis. If this key organ does not work properly, many basic functions of life can be compromised.
I feel that this work should be instituted first before any epiglottal irregularity, stridor, or tracheomalacia surgeries. The Gillespie Approach aims to find the root of the problem and help the body heal it. I believe this strain should have been worked out on day one of his life.
We hold the Light for the unborn billions. We see a world where every newborn is free from a lifetime of suffering due to birth trauma. Our aim is for every neonate to experience the wonder of therapy. Our goal is to create a global shift in consciousness around newborn health.
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