Tracheostomy

A real quick post...  Sorry for the delay, we know many are anxious for an update today.  Christian had the tracheostomy around 1:00pm.  It went well and he is resting.  He is coughing a fair amount, which we're told is normal after this procedure.  This is also a good sign in that it proves those muscles that flex to cough are working and are STRONG.  Not many of you know this about Christian, but Sheila and surely Jessi will get a laugh out of it...  When Christian gets sick with a bad cough, he can REALLY cough hard.  Sheila calls it, HACKING YOUR FOOL HEAD OFF :-)!  He'll suffer through that for a time, but it's definitely better than gagging on that tube, so we're stepping in the right direction. 

The attending physician was VERY close to allowing the tube to be removed altogether, but ultimately the safe route was chosen which is the tracheostomy.  It's likely that tonight they will completely unplug him from the ventilator and allow him to breath completely on his own.  The beauty of the trach is that if he starts to have any trouble, they can reconnect him to the ventilator at any time.  The alternative, had the tube been removed and no trach performed, would have been to re-intibate and this took over an hour the first time, so encountering a breathing problem after the tube was removed could have been catastrophic.  Ultimately, the trach was the right choice for Christian's well being over the long run.

If he can breath well on his own for a few days without having to be plugged back into the ventilator, they can reverse the trach and remove the tube altogether.  We're trying not to look ahead quite that far, just one day at a time for now.

Here's to Christian's lip syncing abilities, maybe we can understand him a little better now with no tube in his mouth :-)!