Aug 21, 2007

Mostly Sunny

This will be short, as I'm already going to bed later than I wanted to...I had some work to do. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is extubation day, so I'm trying to spend as much time as I can at the hospital. I don't know if we can make the difference between success and failure, but I think it's important to watch Andrew closely and get on top of any fussiness before it gets out of control.
D has to start work tomorrow, so she won't be able to be there as much as she'd like.

He seemed a bit better today. He had at least one or two periods of waking calm while we were there, and he's spitting up much less frequently now that he's back at 10cc per hour. He's still grumpy most of the time, but we're hoping that has a lot to do with the tube down his throat. If so, then maybe he'll calm down once he's extubated....we'll see.

We talked to the charge nurses about getting some consistent care for the next few days. The same person has him Monday-Wednesday during the day, and the same night nurse has him Monday-Wednesday during the night. On Thursday, his primary nurses are back at work, which will likely help matters even more. The doctors that are on this week are dedicated to making this a successful extubation as well. Everyone will give him the best opportunity to stay off the ventilator as long as possible....hopefully permanently. In the end, though, it's going to be up to Andrew whether he's ready or not.

I expect the next few days to be pretty stressful, so I might not be blogging quite as much. I'll post pictures if I get any tube-free and happy shots, but day-to-day detailed updates pale in comparison to the importance of remaining off the ventilator.

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