Tefvater.org
Title
Welcome to the TEF / Vater® Web Site!
Description
The TEF VATER INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT GROUP was started in 1990 after the birth of our daughter who was born with esophageal atresia. Because there were no support groups for this birth defect in the United States or any where else that we could find we decided that we would start one and offer information on what we experienced with our daughter in the hospital such as going into the operating room, being in the waiting room, the recovery rom, the neonatal intensive care unit and the daily care by the nurses, the social workers, chaplins and ever mouting teams of doctors, residents doctors in training, laboratory technicians or what we all call them (blood sucking VAMPIRES)
Her problems with the naso gastric tube suctioning, gastrostomy feedings, esophagostomy problems, different catheter problems, feeding problems such as bolus feedings, eating by mouth and stomach, stoma site infections and granulations, reflux problems, facial palsy, growth and weight problems, walking, and many other problems. We felt we could share alot with other parents about our experience and the many ups and downs of having a child with esophageal atresia.
We soon found that babies like our daughter were also born with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula. This is two birth defects. This is where the esophagus the hollow food pipe that you swallow with attaches to the trachea which is the wind pipe or breathing tube. When the esophagus attaches to the trachea food and saliva may end up in the lungs instead of the stomach and cause many other problems if not corrected as well as death. After a couple of months we were contacted by a grandmother who had a granddaughtrer who was born with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula and group of other birth defects that was coined the VATER ASSOCIATION that included the esophagus and trachea.. This was the first time we had heard about the name VATER.
Contact
- TEF/VATER International
-
- Upper Marlboro MD
- United States 20772
-
- +1.9999999999
