Avery was given a breathing treatment as soon as he was extubated in order to ease the transition off of the vent. It's wonderful to see his face again

3.25.06: we’re all breathing better

Avery’s respiratory system was given another chance to prove itself today. It appeared as if the swelling in his upper airways had reduced enough that he should be able to take in breaths much more easily, and his lungs were handling the low ventilator settings without a problem. So, his feedings were put on hold and his pain killer and sedatives were discontinued. As soon as Avery was awake and alert enough (at 6pm) and his respiratory rate was in a good range, it was time for the ET tube to be removed. Fortunately, it was late enough in the day that one of us (me) was able to be there with him. (and Mama is all done with school! Yahoo!)

So far, so good. Avery’s breathing much easier coming off of the vent than last time. It’s evident how much easier it is for him to inhale and move air into his lungs. His chest retractions weren’t alarming, and he was holding his saturation levels nice and steady in the upper 90’s with only 2 liters of O2. Of course, this is still a bit higher than what he’s on at home, but much better than a few days ago. Breathing treatments were spread out a bit further apart than last time. All this is a good sign. The sedatives seemed to be lingering in his system so he was pretty out of it tonight. We will just hope that when he really wakes up he will continue to be calm and breathe easy without discomfort.

Meanwhile, Mason’s eye is recovering. The swelling and discharge are much better, with mainly just redness left. The healthier right eye is showing a little bit of swelling and redness now too, but it’s being treated with the drops just the same as the left one so I imagine it won’t get any worse.

With 3 of the beautiful souls closest to my heart all doing better today, I should sleep more peacefully tonight.

With those swollen bloodshot eyes, Mason looks as though he's had about as much sleep this week as Mama (Mary)