For Carson’s Family, Tube Feeding Means Stability and Growth
All parents worry about their children, no matter how old. But Brittany Caricato and her husband, Blake, faced a new set of worries after the birth of their youngest, Carson. Born six weeks premature, Carson was in and out of the hospital for much of his first year of life before being placed with a gastrostomy tube (G tube).
That tube, Brittany says, has made all the difference—allowing Carson to grow and thrive while relieving a lot of his parents’ worries about his health.
A Welcome Surprise and a New Challenge
Carson, now just over two years old, arrived earlier than expected. Because of this surprise appearance, he spent three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the hospital where he was born, getting the nutrition he needed through a nasogastric (NG) feeding tube.
After that time, his doctors said he was well enough to go home without the tube. Once home, it quickly became clear that he would need more help. He had a lot of trouble feeding orally and even wanting to eat, Brittany says. Because of this, he wasn’t gaining weight as quickly as he needed to.
Carson’s older brother, Caleb, had not had the same issues with feeding, so Brittany and her husband were navigating new—and frightening—territory with their youngest.
His first year was marked by frequent trips to the hospital with dehydration or malnutrition, while his increasingly worried parents tried everything to get him to eat. His healthcare team placed another NG tube, but it kept coming out, resulting in panicked trips to the ER to have it placed again.
“I don’t know if he pulled it out at night, or just like rolling around it kind of came out,” Brittany says. “But every morning we would wake up not knowing if we were running to the hospital.”
Feeding Carson through the NG tube wasn’t making as much of a difference in his growth as it should have been. And he was still reluctant to eat by mouth. Brittany and Blake needed a better, longer-term solution than the NG tube could provide. After turning to the internet and to social media for research and advice from other parents, they found many of the parents had seen great results from a surgically placed G tube.
Carson’s doctor at the time wanted him to keep using the NG tube. Based on their research and given the troubles Carson had with the NG tube, Brittany and her husband decided to switch to a new provider, who agreed to refer Carson for the surgery.
The Choice That Changed Everything
Finally, Carson had a MIC-KEY G low-profile feeding tube placed. According to Brittany, they started noticing positive changes almost right away.
The G tube, she says, “has been able to give our family a source of stability where we’re not running to the hospital all the time, never knowing if that was something that would change the course of our day.”
And because he’s getting his feeds without the tube coming out, Carson is catching up with the important growth milestones for his age. Best of all, Brittany believes not having the NG tube on his face has made him more willing to eat by mouth.
“That clear space, I think, has allowed him to feel more comfortable putting food in his mouth as he determines he’s comfortable with,” she says. Often, he will spit the food out, she says, but at least he has the tube and doesn’t have to rely on eating by mouth for all the calories he needs.
“A Place of Gratitude”
These days, Brittany says Carson, who celebrated his second birthday in June 2024, is an active, typical two-year old. What is extraordinary about him, she says, is his unfailing positive attitude, even when facing medical issues.
“I do really feel like with all that Carson has been through…his personality is like ‘joy through trials,’” she says. “He’s had to go through a lot of medical challenges, but I feel like his attitude is just so sweet. He’s great. I’m proud of him.”
Big brother Caleb, Brittany notes, has been understanding and compassionate. He knows not to rough-house or run around too much, especially after a feed, so Carson doesn’t get sick.
She makes sure Caleb feels included in Carson’s care, too. “We always say, ’Carson is learning to eat. Can you show him?’”
Every new milestone is a reason to celebrate. Carson recently started preschool, for instance, where his teachers understand that he eats mostly via the tube, for now. He’s also working with an occupational therapist to help him get used to the mechanisms of eating.
“I just always come back to a place of gratitude,” Brittany says. “I’m so glad that [the tube] exists. Before it was available, Carson probably wouldn’t have made it. It’s a really sobering thought. But I’m in a really thankful spot that we have the technology that provides life-saving care.”
She hopes sharing her family’s story will help decrease some of the uncertainty around tube feeding for parents with kids like Carson.
