Step by step: Sloane ’s incredible journey with laryngeal cleft

Like most first graders, Sloane has a jam-packed schedule, filled with fun activities such as dancing, ice skating and playing tennis. But every now and then, this busy girl needs to take a break, even if that simply means taking her time to sip a glass of water. “I remind her that, sometimes, she needs to slow down,” says her mom, Tarra.Resisting the urge to rush has been a familiar theme for Sloane and her parents ever since she was born — although, ironically, she arrived in a hurry. Tarra had experienced a placental abruption, requiring an emergency C-section. Things only got more complicated. After Tarra had struggled to breastfeed her for days, their Rhode Island hospital finally moved Sloane to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to try to determine why she screamed and started turning blue whenever she tried to nurse. All told, Sloane spent eight weeks in the NICU, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and, eventually, a laryngeal cleft. In this birth defect, an abnormal opening develops between the larynx and esophagus. This can cause food and liquid to pass into the lungs, resulting in a number of eating and breathing problems. Sloane’s cleft was almost a Type III — one of the more severe forms of laryngeal cleft. Finding help “We had never heard of a laryngeal cleft,” says Tarra. “We were totally green when it came to this, and had trouble finding much positive information about it online.” She and her husband, Alan, knew that their local ho...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Center for Airway Disorders Dr. Reza Rahbar laryngeal cleft Source Type: news