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Welcome to the Tracheostomy Awareness Group website.
TAG was set up in 2006. The following note from the founder of TAG, Jenny Garvey explains the reasons for setting up the group.
Hi,
My name is Jenny and like you I have a child with a tracheostomy. Emma is 2 years old and had to get a tracheostomy in July 2005. Since then we have been through all the ups and downs that a tracheostomy entails. She was decannulated in May 2006.
We used the internet to find information but, while the websites from the UK and US are interesting, a lot of their practical advice is not very useful here in Ireland. The staff in Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin and Temple Street give parents great help and support but there is a big gap when it comes to day-to-day/real life support. Most of us will have learned things the hard way but maybe we can help each other out and make life a bit easier for parents in the future.
We decided to see if we could fill this gap by setting up a support group for parents in Ireland who are dealing with tracheostomies. Our first official gathering took place on May 6th 2006 when we had a Family Day. Hopefully this was the first of many.
The Aims of TAG
* To give parents of children with tracheostomies encouragement, support and practical advice.
* To lobby for consistent, equitable and appropriate support for children with tracheostomies.
* To lobby for relavent bodies to ensure that all families have the information and support they need when dealing with State Bodies.
* To raise funds to help in supporting families
The Aims of the website The main aim of this website is to enable parents make contact with other parents in similar circumstances. While there is some information regarding tracheostomies, it is important to note that this website is not a medical website. There are many websites which do give detailed medical information on tracheostomies.
The success of the website is dependent on you the parents. It is dependent on you contacting other parents and sharing your experiences. It is dependent on you seeking help and advice when you need it and it is dependent on you giving help and advice when you can.
Having a child with a tracheostomy can be a very worrying and isolating experience. Together we can make the journey a little easier.
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