The problem with driving a child with a tracheostomy is that I cannot suction the trach if I am driving. If I cannot suction the trach when Ainsley needs it she struggles to breath. One would hope that you can drive from point A to point B without the need for suctioning. Sometimes you may get that lucky but more often you will not. Even if it's only a 5 minute drive and you suction before you leave. Today was one of those days. There is something about the hum of a car in idle that seems to stir them up and always at an inopportune moment such as when you are at a light turning left and can't pull over to the side of the road because you are not moving. I assess the situation hoping the light will turn green, nope. I watch in the rear view mirror and hope the secretions that are bubbling out of Ainsley's trach will stop, nope. I hope she'll be able to cough them out of the trach, after 5 tries, nope. Perhaps there is enough time for Evie to get out of her seat and wipe the secretions away? OK let's try it. Nope. So when the light turns green she is out of her seat. Doubly unsafe. Now I've got a child unrestrained AND one that is struggling to breath. I pull over immediately into a parking space after passing through the light and am standing next to the street in the bike lane suctioning Ainsley when a Metro bus turns the corner stops a few feet away and honks at me to which I reply by holding up my finger (the pointer finger not the one you think) as in "Wait a second." HELLLOO I'M TRYING TO CLEAR MY CHILD'S AIRWAY SO SHE CAN BREATH! I have the right to stand next to my car for a second. And it is even a two lane road so she should have easily been able to pull over to pick up her riders without a fuss. Driving in the city is dangerous. One of these days I'll probably get hit on the side of the road.