Extubated Annie

After extubation

Pre extubation

This afternoon Annie was extubated from the ventilator and her O2 saturation really has been good ever since. However, she does have a very soar throat and there is quite a bit of inflammation in the breathing passageway. This is making her work very hard to breath so her lungs are retracting quite a bit. This causes her heart rate to increase and tires her out. She has also been secreting quite a bit of gunk during and after her intubation which has been difficult for Annie to cough up and swallow. All of this makes her anxious and irritable--it's hard to see her this way. Right now she cries but has a horse little voice so she can't make much noise. This is a time when we would actually welcome a nice healthy cry from a baby!!

So, tonight the staff gave Annie some morphine, a breathing treatment (to open the airway) and some adivan to help her be more comfortable and sleep tonight. Since intubation Annie has been on 1/2 Liter of regular O2, but may be moved to some high flow tonight just to spell her breathing mechanism (which is getting exhausted from the constricted airway). We hope she will be able to rest and recuperate tonight!

I have to say--I as away this whole weekend helping out with a marriage and family retreat for the USAF up at Wolf Creek--Annie looks so much better than when I left! She was so swollen and sad when I left. She's still a bit sad, but the swelling is down quite a bit. Her weight gain is good and normal for her growth pattern. Today she weighs 8-1/2 lb! That means she has basically quadrupled in weight since August 17th. Go Annie!

Thank you all for your fasting, prayers and thoughts these past few days. We have felt the support and are grateful.