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t m c » p u l s e | s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 12 12 W hen Christina Harper's daughter was an infant, surgeons cut a hole through the front of her neck and into her windpipe. By inserting a breathing tube in the tiny opening, they gave her lungs quick, easy access to air. Hours later, Harper joined the Facebook group "Moms of Trach Babies." "That resource was a godsend for me," said Harper, who lives in Orange County, Calif. "The group had all different mothers from all different stages of life—new trach moms, older trach moms, kids who have had their trach tubes since birth and are now in their teens. Without them, I would have had no clue what to do, how to do it or what meant what." Her daughter Harlow lived with the tracheostomy tube for about two years, at which point Harper began asking when it could be removed. It was limiting Harlow's development, impeding her ability to eat and speak, and no longer seemed medically necessary. When the doctor said it was too soon, Harper reached out to mul- tiple specialists in Southern California, all of whom told her the same thing: not until the age of five. "That was disheartening, but I'm persistent and I'm her advocate," Harper said. "I went back to my trach moms group and a lot of them were having success doing a procedure called LTR. They were having this done as early as 18 months old, and here we are, two years old and beyond, and people are still telling us 'no.'" With laryngotracheal reconstruction, or LTR, grafts are taken from either the ribs or thyroid cartilage of the larynx and placed on the walls of the airways, ultimately allowing for removal of the tracheostomy tube and restoration of airflow in the windpipe. Through Facebook conversations and Google searches, Harper found Dr. Deepak Mehta, otolaryngologist at Texas Children's Hospital and associate professor of otolaryngology at Baylor College of Medicine. After one visit to Houston, Harlow—who Mehta described as "the perfect candidate"—was scheduled for surgery. "I seriously owe it all to this group of women," Harper said. "Social media has saved me from having a nervous breakdown because I have someone to speak to that truly understands what I'm going through." Today, Harper is paying it forward, regularly monitoring her Facebook group for moms like her and for the opportunity to share Dr. Mehta's information. As for Harlow, her tiny voice can be heard filling up rooms and cars and grocery store aisles. She loves to sing. Harlow Harper Credit: Courtesy photo