Today was a long day! Overall it was a success. Kyleigh made it through surgery and is recovering in Pediatric Intensive Care. She is still intubated, sedated, and paralyzed to protect her airway and keep the breathing tube in place. Such a long day condensed into 3 sentences...wow! So I know all of you are wanting details. One because you have come to expect that in my blogs and two because allot of you are just as twisted as I am and like the medical jargon/details.I also know you have been waiting all day for this update! Over 50 views of my blog today alone! So thank you for checking in on us and I apologize for the delay.
Today started early with us arriving at the hospital at 6:30 am to get ready for the 7:30 am surgery. Everything was going great! Kyleigh even cooperated when they took her vitals and gave no trouble getting a reading on her oxygen level. This was never true in the past...it was always a challenge. We were emotional waiting as all the nurses and doctors came in and talked and asked questions. Nothing to difficult until Dr. Hamming, my favorite Ear Nose and Throat doctor (sense my extreme sarcasm) came in. She dropped yet another bomb on us just as she did during the failed attempt at the G-Tube placement in August. Dr. Hamming told us that she felt today's intubation would be fine but she had great concern regarding extubation 1 week from now! Her concern was that having to be intubated and sedated for so long greatly increased an already high risk of Kyleigh not being able to be extubated without putting in a trache!!!! She said they would take her back into the operating room to remove the breathing tube and if Kyleigh is unable to maintain her airway they would not be able to send her home without a trache!!! SERIOUSLY!!!! The whole point of this surgery was to improve the airway to AVOID the damn trache and now..today...not 2 or 3 months ago...this doctor is telling us that the procedure we had been so looking forward to be the potential answer to all Kyleigh's challenges could very well be the thing that puts us right back where we were trying to avoid going!!! Needless to say I was PISSED and Bridgette was in tears!! We had to decide to proceed or not!!! Now, aside from my great dislike of this doctor and her method of delivering difficult news, the reality is she is right! Man do I hate to admit that! However, the risk of not having this surgery was greater than the risk of needing a trache. As you already know, we signed consent and went ahead with the procedure. I insisted Dr. Hamming notify us in the event Kyleigh could not be intubated and a trache was needed. I also asked for her to come out and tell us if she was successful.
So we handed our little girl over to the surgical team...again! We pulled ourselves together and joined our parents in the waiting room and began to wait...and wait...and wait! 6 Months ago we waited for hours while Kyleigh had open heart surgery yet somehow waiting to her if she was successfully intubated or not seemed like an eternity in comparison. Finally, Dr. Hamming came out and said it was "uneventful". In our life..hearing a doctor say the word "uneventful" is music to our ears! The news got even better...not only was she able to be intubated it was easier than expected. Dr. Hamming showed us pictures of Kyleigh;s airway and voice box and compared it to a "normal" one. It wasn't too far off! This means that her airway has improved! The best news came next. Dr. Hamming was no longer concerned about the extubation process and the likelihood of needing a trache greatly decreased! Again...proof that your prayers are working! The power of prayer is evident in our little princess. The challenge still was that her tongue was still in the way and blocking her airway. Hopefully the jaw surgery will help with this.
Next we waited for another 2 hours. Dr. Geissler (general surgeon/g-tube guy) came out next and said everything was done and UNEVENTFUL!!! Next Dr. Vicarri (craniofacial plastic surgeon/jaw guy) came out and said....you guessed it UNEVENTFUL!!!
Now the plan is that Kyleigh will remain intubated until the earliest Friday. Medically induced paralysis will stay for at least 24 hours. Sedation is questionable. The PICU staff wants her sedated the entire time she is intibated because she is more comfortable and doesn't fight the tube. Dr. Vicarri wants her off sedation so that she fights to breath on her own because it will strengthen her airway. We understand both sides and will probably go with the PICU staff for now. In a couple of days we will probably be more willing to turn sedation off and let her strengthen her airway.
If you're wondering about big brother Kevin..he is doing well. He spent the day with Auntie Kim and we met him for dinner. It's going to be very difficult for him because he is very protective of Kyleigh. Last time she was hospitalized he insisted on seeing her every day so he could see who was taking care of her. We do not want him to see Kyleigh until the breathing tube is out. He is already worried about her and asks why he can't go see her. Thankfully we have a very supportive, loving family and friends that will keep him busy for the next few days.
My plan is to blog each day like a journal. Unfortunately you will all be 1 day behind because I probably wont write the blog until late at night. Advocate Lutheran General staff has been great so far! We are happy with the plan as of now and are so appreciative of all your support and love and most of all prayers!
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