When I googled "camping with a tracheostomy" last week, I mostly found short lists of summer camps that accept medically complex children. A few forums suggested using an RV for traveling and camping experiences with a trach kiddo. We rented a large RV in 2008 and took five children to the Devil's Tower, Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons. I can easily imagine how convenient it would be to "RV camp" with Nathaniel. Except we do not own an RV; we own a tent.

I came home from the hospital last night and noticed the two trachesotomy tubes sitting on my windowsill.  Both, one from two weeks ago and one from Friday night, are waiting to be cleaned and sterilized. Seeing them reminded me of the first time my younger brother came to visit us after Nathaniel came home. We keep two trachs, one the same size and one smaller sealed in bags after sterilization, near Nathaniel's bed. At the time of Clint's visit, one of the tubes was stored in a bio-hazard bag; it had probably last been sterilized at the hospital. Bio-hazard baggies are what the nurses use even though the item inside is going home intended to be reused. When talking about Nathaniel that night with my brother, I made a dismissive comment about the intensity of his care. "You have a bio-hazard bag hanging in your son's bedroom," Clint said with some strong emotion. "For crying out loud,  this is beyond medically complex. This is life and death."