Question: Good Afternoon, My mom has lung cancer metastasis that had been very successfully treated by Chemo therapy. Pet scan in October was almost normal. Scan in December showed some minimal progression but nothing that really alarmed my mom's Oncologist. My mom had her last chemo treatment January 30th. In addition to the squamous cell nsclc. My mom also has CLL. Never any symptoms otherness than an elevated white blood cell count. All this is background information only. On to my issue. My mom fell ill with pneumonia in February. Despite two Bronchoscopies no specific bacteria or virus was identified. My mom went from having some congestion to not being able to breathe in days all while at the hospital. She had to be intubated, received tracheotomy, I have heard that her vent numbers are good but her tidal volume is weak and her Pulmonologist does not think she will make it off of the vent. I want my mom to at least be able to eat and drink some but a speech therapist who was assigned to do a swallow test does not want to deflate the cuff under ant circumstances. I have been giving my mom small pieces of ice. While I know that this cannot wind up in her stomach due to the inflated cuff, she seems to e able to manipulate it well with her tongue. Do you suppose she could still swallow even though her tidal volume is too low for her to breathe on her own? Also, I really want to get her back home--vent and all. Do you suppose this is doable so long as we get some help with home care? XXXXXXX