My heart always skips a beat when I hear my phone ring and the caller ID says it's the hospital. The doctors and nurses are always quick to say Emmalynn is fine, which is a relief. Yesterday I got a call from the nurse practitioner saying she was doing great with an update since I wasn't there for rounds, but then I got another call a little while later so of course I worried. She told me Emmalynn was still doing fine but there was a large air leak with her vent so she was being extubated. An air leak happens when the esophagus has grown and the vent tube is too small so air gets around it. Last week when they extubated her it was a big decision and not only did the doctors discuss it and argue, but the respiratory therapists and the nurses did too. She was extubated and was trying really hard to hold her own for about 12 hours. The nasal cannula was too big and kept slipping out. So she was reintubated. It was a good thing though because her tube needed to be changed since it can cause bacteria. Also, it gave her throat and lungs a break because every time they suctioned her they got a tinge of blood so it was rubbing somewhere. The first time they extubated her she was 2 days old and was able to do it for 4 hours. Last week she proved she wasn't quite ready and still too small. So fast forward to yesterday. There was no discussing or choices, it just needed to be done. If they have to reintubate her she will have that air leak again because she is too small (imagine that) for the next tube size up. For now she is still doing okay and we may just make it to 24 hours! Her sats go down but she slowly brings herself up and sometimes her heart rate goes down, but it goes back up. She is a fighter and trying and I think she likes not having the vent in because she turns her head and looks around! She is so strong already!
Check out her preemie binky compared to a regular newborn one! It looks big for her mouth too! She hasn't cried, but she did sneeze a few times and it was so fun to hear her make sounds! She often smacks her lips and has put her fingers in her mouth a few times!
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