Ask good questions..be curious

 

https://youtu.be/K39e98yWUPY?is=vR1Ysu7d3DL9Ofee

A video I made in 2020..yes that year…I was having some weird physical issues which no one was figuring out the cause. I started making video tutorials and a big binder, to detail out various ways Alex and I had figured out work for his body such as suctioning. 

Curiosity Can Save Lives

One of the things I’ve learned over the past twenty-one years is that sometimes the most important question isn’t,

“What do I do?”

It’s,

“Why does this happen?”

Years ago, I noticed something about Alex’s tracheostomy.

When I suctioned him, mucus plugs often seemed to collect in one particular spot near the end of the trach tube.

I could remove many secretions, but that same little area always seemed more difficult.

Instead of simply accepting that it was “just the way it was,” I became curious.

Why that spot?

So I took an old tracheostomy tube that was no longer being used.

I inserted a suction catheter into it.

Then I watched.

I rotated the catheter.

I changed the angle.

I moved it around.

Suddenly, I could actually see what had been happening all along.

The suction catheter naturally reached some areas much more easily than others.

Certain positions made it easier to contact one side of the tube while another small area remained harder to reach.

It was one of those moments where observation turned into understanding.

That little experiment changed the way I thought about suctioning.

It reinforced why positioning matters.

Why movement matters.

Why tilting Alex back or reclining him can sometimes make the difference between partially clearing secretions and truly clearing his airway.

It reminded me that suctioning isn’t simply about passing a catheter.

It’s about understanding airway physiology.

It’s about helping secretions move to where they can actually be removed.

And perhaps most importantly…

It reminded me that curiosity matters.

Not curiosity for curiosity’s sake.

Curiosity because understanding often leads to better care.

Over the years, I haven’t tried to memorize every answer.

I’ve tried to keep asking better questions.

Why did that happen?

What changed?

What is Alex feeling?

What is his body trying to tell us?

Sometimes the answer comes from a physician.

Sometimes from a respiratory therapist.

Sometimes from research.

Sometimes from Alex himself.

Sometimes from an old tracheostomy tube.

The best caregivers I’ve met never stop learning.

They never assume they already know enough.

They remain curious.

Because every new understanding has the potential to make care just a little safer.

As I often say…

Generalized training prepares someone to begin learning.

Individualized competency prepares someone to safely care for a particular person.

And individualized competency grows one question…

One observation…

One lesson…

One nugget at a time.