We're twins! My stomach plushie has a GJ tube

We’re twins! It's cool to have a stomach plush as a trophy of what I’ve been through and it’s a great teaching tool!

I have struggled with chronic illnesses all my life, but they recently got worse and I had to deal with some new diagnoses leading to me needing a feeding tube.

We started with a tube in my nose that goes into my intestines called an NJ tube. I had it for roughly 7 months and it caused a lot of issues with my nose and throat.

My doctor eventually decided I needed surgery for a permanent tube called a GJ that would go through my abdominal wall into my stomach and then have another part that goes into my intestines.

I was scheduled to have this surgery a few weeks before I had an emergency and they decided to place it right then. I woke up in the PICU with some hard complications.

My uncle decided to surprise me with an I Heart Guts stomach pillow! Me and my child life specialist decided to put a GJ tube in it as well so it can be a resemblance of what I've been through!