Avery woke up and was trying to speak and pull the tube out of her throat. They sedated her again, but not for long. When the sedative wore off it was time to remove the breathing tube. Holding her hands down and watching her struggle to breathe is now rightfully at the top of my list of moments I'd rather not have to experience again.
The good news is she was telling us to let go of her hands and sit her up and get her some water. Unfortunately we were unable to do two of the three right then but after about an hour we had her sitting up and breathing normally. The smile she gave the nurse who hooked her up to the pain meds pump was priceless!
I spoke to the resident who assisted Dr . Missiuna. They are very happy with how it all went. She's fused from T2 to L4, which is 14 vertebrae. She has two titanium rods holding her spine rigid but in an optimal posture. Holding the screws in are 27 screws, cemented into place. Why not 28 (14 x 2)? Her T4 wasn't well suited for a screw so they skipped it on the one side. Both Dr. Missiuna and the resident are happy with it. They transfused her two times throughout the surgery, using my blood and then a whack of blood bank blood. This was due to natural processes and the sheer length of the surgery. She was never in any danger.
She's sitting in a chair now and reasonably comfortable. Nurse Janet is very impressed. She continues to be ahead of the curve. We need to make sure she's taking big deep breaths to stave off fluid build up in her lungs. We do exercises with a special machine every hour.
As it stands she's the healthiest kid in the ICU and the beds are full so if they need her bed they will move her into an interim care room and than a ward room. I know its all good news but having nurse Janet right outside the window is a great comfort.
As of 2:30 Avery was back lying down and overachieving in every category. She burped and that was a big deal so they gave her a Popsicle (mango, her favourite) and she immediately started talking better. She was also allowed some water. The hard part is going to be slowing her down! She wants to do everything she can and we have to remind her to let the nurses do the work and she needs to just relax. Such a fighter.
Jodi slept not too badly and will likely sleep not too badly tonight so Avery said it was okay if I went home and got some rest and saw The Dude. I'll relieve Jodi on the day shift tomorrow. All things considered things are going as expected now in spite of the rocky night and rough morning.
My brain is mush, so hopefully this update made some sense. I'm going to take a nap.
~ Dad
As of 2:30 Avery was back lying down and overachieving in every category. She burped and that was a big deal so they gave her a Popsicle (mango, her favourite) and she immediately started talking better. She was also allowed some water. The hard part is going to be slowing her down! She wants to do everything she can and we have to remind her to let the nurses do the work and she needs to just relax. Such a fighter.
Jodi slept not too badly and will likely sleep not too badly tonight so Avery said it was okay if I went home and got some rest and saw The Dude. I'll relieve Jodi on the day shift tomorrow. All things considered things are going as expected now in spite of the rocky night and rough morning.
My brain is mush, so hopefully this update made some sense. I'm going to take a nap.
~ Dad
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