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Great News!!!!

Abby had her pulminology appointment today, and it was decided that she is ready to be completely weaned off of her ventilator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

There are a lot of steps to this process.  First, we will schedule for Abby to be in-patient at MWPH (where she discharged originally) for a few days.  Between now and then, we will be slowly turning down her breath rate (which is currently at 6 breaths per minute--bpm) until she is not receiving any breaths from the vent.  (In case you're wondering, all that is left when she isn't getting breaths is what is called pressure support, which basically gives her lungs a little extra push so that they can inflate a little easier with air.)  Once she's down to zero bpm, she'll be as ready as she can be to go officially "off."

Then the fun part starts!  She'll go into MW (this time by car, not be ambulance, and by one of us carrying her, not by stretcher!) and will basically just hang out until bedtime, when she will sleep without the vent.  Obviously, she'll be monitored carefully that night and the next.  On the third night, they will do a sleep study where they hook up all kinds of probes and wires to make sure she's not having any issues during her REM cycles. 

The reason we are doing the sleep study later is because kids usually do fine the first few days, but then their bodies get tired and slack off.  Our pulminologist wants to make sure that she's not starting to struggle on that third day or so.  I really liked that idea and wholeheartedly agreed!

I will be calling to schedule everything and get the ball rolling tomorrow, but we are hoping to have her completely off of the vent by Christmas!!  ("All I want for Christmas is the vent to be gone....")

Because Abby won't be "sick" while she's in the hospital, she will basically be able to go wherever with me and have some fun.  I have big plans to show her around the hospital and visit the playroom. :)  I'll hopefully stay at RMH each night (I can't stay at MWPH in 12-Bed where Abby will be) but spend the day with my girl.

Yay for some excellent, unexpected news!  I was just hoping our pulminologist would say we could do naps without the vent, so this is waaaaaaay better!

Comments

TraceyW said…
Just read the article in the Recorder and happened to check out the blog that I have heard so much about. GREAT news today! I am so excited for you all!
Anonymous said…
I pray that you get your Christmas wish. What great news you get with each appointment. God is truly working in Abby's life. Tric Gillette
Debbie said…
Spectacular news!! AND once again, the Ab-ster defies the odds!!

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