DAY OF LIFE 60

I am WORN OUT!!

I was totally READY to extubate myself today so I am glad it's the day THEY are going to do it. 

It was like "grand central station" in my room today.  2 Nurses, 1 Respiratory Therapist, 1 Neonatologist, 1 Ear Nose & Throat Doctor, 1 Swallow Doctor, my daddy, my mommy, my Nana AND all the equipment.  It was pretty packed!!

I had been given all my "sedation" & numbing drops and I was ready to get this show on the road.

They brought up the "black case" with the little camera on it and they couldn't figure "out" how to get it opened.  It was already high stress and emotion in my room, but to have the case get "stuck" added to the stress level.

My daddy offered to go and get some "tools" from his truck and get it "opened" but they were finally able to get into it.

Here we go...one, two, three..breathing machine came out...and...gasp...and...breathing on my own again.  A little blow by oxygen and a nasal cannula and I am doing this.

Next, they hold me down as I squirm really hard and am fighting them as they are trying to get the little tube with a camera on the end went "down" my  nose.

It's in and now everyone watched on the monitor as that scope went down. 

Yikes....My airway is TOTALLY red, inflamed & swollen, BUT....drum roll please....my anatomy "looks" normal (as far as they can tell with all the swelling)..it's just small, but there are NO extra "pieces" of anything that shouldn't be there. (YEA!)

We had WAITED for this day so everyone watched intently as I swallowed TWO TIMES, and yes, I CAN swallow, but it hurts me and my face shows it.  My spit kind of "pooled" a little and I didn't totally "empty" it "out" when I swallowed, but that COULD BE because it HURTS when I swallow.  No one knows for sure......

Either way..they could see that I CAN swallow and it "looks" like it is going down the RIGHT pipe this time, but they want to do another scope when I am less swollen..just to be sure.

I think all of the procedures were a little much for me to handle today because after it was all over, I just cried and cried and cried for the rest of the afternoon.

They ended up giving me some sedation and Tylenol to help me relax and take the edge off my pain.

Since I'm pretty swollen, they want to let me rest for few more days before we decide what to do with reflux & feeding.

This whole "aspiration pneumonia" thing cannot happen again, it was VERY dangerous.

I heard them talking again about a "surgical" procedure that "may" be in my future. 

Keeping the faith...