Nearly ½ million people rely on feeding tubes, and 40% of them are children. If a child is not able to eat safely or cannot consume enough food or liquids by mouth, feeding tubes can provide the nutrition and hydration needed.

“When a child is not eating enough by mouth and is losing weight or not gaining weight, feeding tubes can relieve the pressure, take away some of the worry and alleviate fears regarding dangers of malnutrition and dehydration,” shares Allison Lee, La Rabida’s Chief of Speech-Language Pathology.

Feeding tubes help kids, kids like Junior, get the nutrition they need to thrive. Junior was born prematurely at under one pound and required a trach and a feeding tube. After spending some time in the NICU, Junior was transferred to La Rabida where he has been for the last six months. Junior has used a g-tube, one of the many types of feeding tubes, for the majority of his life.

“Junior’s experience with the g-tube has been nothing but positive,” shares Joanna, Junior’s mom. “The therapists at La Rabida have been great in helping us both learn.”

Since being at La Rabida, Junior has made great progress. “He’s learned sign language to help him communicate, he smiles, and, most importantly, has started tasting real food,” shares Joanna. “He has become very interested in feeling the food, playing with it, and putting it in his mouth. He is going to be an eater. I just know it.”

This story was featured in the February 2020 issue of eCurrents, La Rabida's monthly newsletter. To view the February issue of eCurrents, click here.