Dear Dr. Chait,

      I cannot begin to express our gratitude for involving our daughter Brittany in the Cecostomy Tube procedure...it has truly changed all of our lives. For anyone who may read this letter, I will give a brief history of her medical problems for better understanding.

      Brittany was born 6 years ago with an extremely rare birth defect called Caudal Duplication Syndrome...or in English, she was born with four legs. Because of this, she was also born with extremely abnormal genitalia, including an imperforate anus...or no opening for her bum. At the time when she had the legs amputated, the docs performed a pull through to give her an anus. So for a few years, we attempted to help her potty train, as it was thought she may have a chance of gaining some control. Finally after years of struggling, severe rashes from still pooping in pull-ups, urinary tract infections from not being clean all the time, and her being teased at school for wearing the pull-ups, we were told that she had no chance of gaining control. We were extremely disappointed until we were informed during the same visit that Brittany was eligible for a fairly new procedure called a Cecostomy Tube, or C-tube.

      After hearing of the success rate, and that it was a fairly simple procedure to do, and handle everyday, we leaped at the chance to allow our daughter to lead a better life. At first we didn't want to have to put her through more surgery, as she had already had 9, and was only 5 years old. So we talked it through with her and gave her the choice. After explaining it too her, she was ready to go! Luckily after all she's been through, she still has virtually no fear of doctors or nurses, and loves visiting Sick Kids.

      For anyone considering the procedure, we found it was helpful for her to understand by playing with the sample equipment that Helen Richards (the c-tube nurse) showed her, and allowing her to help out as much as she can with her daily flushings. At first she was afraid of the tube, as she thought it was falling out (which it won't) but as we learned to take care of it, and she adjusted to it, she never complains about it any more. She opens the trapdoor herself, hooks her self up and turns herself on for the flush. It is amazing how well children adjust to change, and this is a great example.

      Brittany gets flushed once a day, although we usually skip Friday nights for a break, and she usually makes it to the next flush on Saturday night without having an accident. Once we got used to the procedure it is part of our daily schedule and an automatic thing to do.

      Now our daughter is a lot happier in school, participates in swimming without fear of an accident, we don't have to worry about needing a Teacher's Aid when she is at school to change her pull-up, and she can go on all day school trips without fear of a mess. No more rashes, no more pain, no more teasing. Brittany is very proud of her tube, and is not shy at all about lifting her shirt to show it off to anyone who's interested...and most people are!

      Thank-you Dr. Chait, Helen Richards, and the whole staff at Sick Kids who looked after our daughter and gave her the life and freedom she deserves...I pass the information about C-tubes on when ever I get the chance as I am a huge believer that it changes lives. Brittany has the confidence that only comes from not having to worry about things as much, and we have peace of mind that can only come from our daughter's happiness.

      If anyone would like to speak to us about how we adjusted to the c-tube, or our experiences, we are always willing to share, and Brittany loves talking about it. Feel free to email us at jnicholls@kos.net
or visit our website at http://www.angelfire.com/wy/sopretty/index.html

You will find info about our experiences, and how grateful we are.