It Remains To Be Seen...

if Elias will be extubated tomorrow or not. Yesterday, as his nurse was retaping his vent tube, he got a little upset and clamped down on it, causing the air not to flow. So they had to take that tube out and reintubate him. Fortunately, he is easy to intubate. While he was off the vent for that short time he did not fair well. There were no dramatics this time, but he demonstrated that he probably still is not ready. The NICU doctors were trying to talk to the ENT doc to determine if the week we have waited should have been enough for the granulation tissue to heal. If the ENT feels it was, then it is possible they will do another bronchoscopy, except this time with a tool attached to try and remove the tissue. As of this moment no decision has been reached. If anything happens it will be early to mid-afternoon, so we wait on pins & needles.

Otherwise, Elias was having a good day. They stopped the fentanyl and are giving morphine Q4 (every four hours) to help with the transition & weaning process. They have also blocked the central line with a flush Q4 to keep the line open for any medications they need to administer. This means he is not attached to an IV pole any more...hurray!! I arrived back from Virgina this afternoon in time for Elias physical therapy session. He was very relaxed and allowed her to stretch him and work on his arm, wrist, fingers & legs. We discussed his PT care post NICU and what we can expect. A little later in the afternoon I had a "Dad moment." One of those where I wish someone had a video camera running. Elias was getting a little cranky and fussy after being unwrapped from his "baby burrito" to draw some blood for one of the genetics test. He was crying, not audible, but he had that fussy face he gets and tears welled up. He was looking at me, and I got as close as I could to him, placed my hand on his head, and said, "Elias there is no need to be all fussy. You are OK, you know daddy loves you." His eyes lit up and he stopped crying, for about 20 seconds. So I said it again and got the same response with a little longer reprieve before the fussing resumed. His nurse thought it was cute and I was amazed at the way he responded to the words 'daddy loves you.' As crazy as this week has been and with all that has happened, that really made my week. Thank you Elias!!