Seat and mediport use

fyrfightermomma · Mar 22, 2011

A FB friend of mine asked for help. Her 3.5 y/o is RFing in a MR. She has a J tube which doesnt interfere with the seat. But she also has a mediport in her upper right chest. When its accessed there is a needle sticking out 90 degrees about an inch long attached to tubing. The harness lays directly on it. The site cant be disturbed and if it moves it irritates it and it could come out

Mom asked the doc and he told her to just stay home.

I had no advice for her so Im asking here

What can she do if the strap lays on it? google mediport ti get a pic of it accessed

I really wanna help this mama

Thanks!

DaniChildcare · Mar 23, 2011

fyrfightermomma said:
Mom asked the doc and he told her to just stay home.

ummm wow :thumbsdown:

Yes, because "just staying home" is always an option.

no advice, just irritated by the drs statement

BookMama · Mar 23, 2011

Is public transportation an option?

TerisBoys · Mar 23, 2011

What are her stats? How long will she have the port?

Any chance of a Euro shield seat working? Or will that press on her J?

Pixels · Mar 23, 2011

Any chance they could move the port?

Mama should tell the doc, "well, since Child has to just stay home, I guess we won't be coming to see you any more." :thumbsdown: to doc.

T4K · Mar 23, 2011

Is there another seat she can RF in where the harness will hit her in a different place? At 3.5 I'd feel comfortable FFing her if it meant finding a seat that wouldn't interfere with her port.

mamom · Mar 23, 2011

It would be nice if the kiddo were older than a booster with the seat belt on non affected side could be the solution

sweetfeet · Mar 23, 2011

Atticus has a port on his upper right side as well. He rides around a lot while 'accessed' in a variety of seats (see sig). My first inclination was to booster him as soon as possible over his left shoulder but he was 2 when it was put in and he'll be 6 when he has it removed. The best seat we have is the TF with the continuous harness. I make it a smidge looser on the port side. It's by no means crazy loose at all and if you evened out the straps they would be considered to be snug. I bought the radian to rf him as long as possible for that in a collision the force would not be on the port, but he rides ff all the time now. To be honest, I worry about this a lot. Even when rf the strap is over his port. Now that he's getting bigger I think about boostering and I'm waiting for him to turn 40 pounds so that I can try out our PWSG for him. He's 2 pounds away.

I was so angry at the surgeon who put it in. We were at a children's hospital and you'd think they would have considered that. I know some kids who have theirs right in the middle of their chest and wish his were there as well, but I'm not going to ask for a revision for the car seat issue. It involves general anesthesia and day surgery.

Here is a picture of Atti with his port accessed. You can see they're not car seat friendly at all.

Pixels · Mar 23, 2011

I didn't realize that moving the port required anesthesia and surgery.

safeinthecar · Mar 23, 2011

mamom said:
It would be nice if the kiddo were older than a booster with the seat belt on non affected side could be the solution

Actually, that's not a bad idea. 3.5 is young, but depending on the child, it may be a workable solution. Especially if the seat belt can be locked or in a Euro booster (or Recaro Start) that has a belt lockoff.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

sweetfeet · Mar 23, 2011

Pixels said:
I didn't realize that moving the port required anesthesia and surgery.

Yeah. It's pretty lame that it's so hard to revise. Radiology had to be there as well because there is a tube attached to the port that ends near his heart that goes through a central vein.

I have no idea what to do with him and seats anymore. It's very frustrating to say the least.

fyrfightermomma · Mar 23, 2011

I will link her this thread. Thank you!

And no, in most cases they aren't moved once they are in.

From her pics though it seems her child is very small and I'm not sure even close to booster ready

Unregistered · Mar 23, 2011

Hi I am the mom! my daughter is just shy of 30 lbs and is 38 inches, I am hoping to keep her RF until 40lbs, she has some low tone in her airway so when her head flops she has cyanosis (turns blue.) I have had such good luck with the myride and the nice recline that it offers I don't know much about other car seats... The other issue is that when she requires access to her port, she is often sick or fatigued which can bring out behavior problems, she fights against the straps and even unbuckles her self... There has to be a way to protect her... the best idea I have come up with is a metal foam padded eye patch secured over the site... this is just an idea as I haven't found one to trial yet... any other ideas are much appreciated Thanks

Pixels · Mar 23, 2011

Depending on the precise location, maybe a different seat that positions the harness differently, so it might miss hitting the port. The TrueFit has straps that are fairly far apart and then a wide chest clip. A Radian with an old-style clip positions the straps much closer. They don't sell Radians with the old clip any more but I'm positive that one could be found on a board full of car seat nuts.

sweetfeet · Mar 23, 2011

Is this port a newer thing for her daughter? I'm in no way trying to diminish her concerns because I've btdt and I'm still not comfy with what we have available to us to use, but we've had his port since 10.1.09 and so far we've never had a case where it was accidentally pulled out or caused him problems being harnessed. Of course, that would or could be a different story in an actual accident, but for day to day use we really haven't had the problems that I imagined we would at the beginning.

We all are transporting our kids as though today could be the worst accident ever and that is what I think of when I try to select seats for my son. I don't feel like my son is booster ready due to how much he still sleeps in the car even on very short trips. So I keep him harnessed and hope for the best on all fronts.

fyrfightermomma · Mar 23, 2011

No idea. But I linked her this thread and I think she was going to add some info if need be.

Hope to see her here soon!

nkbmomma · Mar 23, 2011

Hi ladies, I apologise if you see my message more than once, I got frustated waiting to be approved so I just signed up. I will try to anwser everyone.
Public transportation is not an option, it is not readily avalible and she has a very weak immune system.
she is just shy of 30lb and 38 inches, but is also a mito kid and fatigues easily and has low tone around her airway, and becomes cyanotic (turns blue) when her head flops. So I would not be inclined to FF her... even most RF seats don't work
This is not new to her we have had it about a year but havn't driven while accesed yet... except in an ambulance.
When the port is in use she is often fatigue or sick, and everypart of her tends to decomposate, she is no longer a rational 3yo... she fights against the seat and unbuckles, all things that would put the port at risk....
The best idea I have come up with is using a metal and foam eye patch to cover and protect the site, although I haven't found one yet to test it out, but still it would need to fit under the strap.
I hope that helps and thanks for all the advice.

nkbmomma · Mar 24, 2011

safeinthecar · Mar 24, 2011

nkbmomma said:
Hi ladies, I apologise if you see my message more than once, I got frustated waiting to be approved so I just signed up. I will try to anwser everyone.
Public transportation is not an option, it is not readily avalible and she has a very weak immune system.
she is just shy of 30lb and 38 inches, but is also a mito kid and fatigues easily and has low tone around her airway, and becomes cyanotic (turns blue) when her head flops. So I would not be inclined to FF her... even most RF seats don't work
This is not new to her we have had it about a year but havn't driven while accesed yet... except in an ambulance.
When the port is in use she is often fatigue or sick, and everypart of her tends to decomposate, she is no longer a rational 3yo... she fights against the seat and unbuckles, all things that would put the port at risk....
The best idea I have come up with is using a metal and foam eye patch to cover and protect the site, although I haven't found one yet to test it out, but still it would need to fit under the strap.
I hope that helps and thanks for all the advice.

First, you are doing a great job so far. Keep it up mama.

Now, with the additional info.... my thoughts are two things,

one, find a seat with wide spaced harness slots and sit her farther toward the unaffected side. Maybe the first Years Truefit? It has a widely spaced harness, and you'd have a little bit more adjust-ability because the harness slides side to side under the butt area rather than being fixed to the shell at both hips.

Two, what about the horn from a breast pump (taped to her skin) to protect the port? You can run the line straight down into it since it would be open on the end if she needs to be hooked up while driving.

nkbmomma · Mar 25, 2011

Thanks.. I am looking into true fit and it does look like a good option... except it only RF until 35lbs. Are there any seats that have the same benefits but RF longer?
LOL interesting use of a breast pump, I suppose any funnel would work thanks.

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