Extubation!

On November 2nd they lowered Makenna's ventilator setting to 6 breaths a minute and 40% oxygen.  Dr. Kays told us that if her blood gases looked good with these setting all night, they would extubate in the morning!  This was the best news we'd heard in a while because it meant that her little body is getting stronger and that she is starting to get the hang of this whole "breathing" thing!  By the next day Makenna proved she was ready to get off the vent, so at 1:30pm the respiratory tech arrived to remove the vent! It was such an exciting moment that marked huge growth.  I don't think most people realize just how sick our sweet baby was at birth. At 27 hours old, after attempting to stabilize her for hours, she nearly died and had to be put on life support (ECMO) immediately. Now at 24 days old she has already come off ECMO and was about to come off the vent -- that's huge progress!  Dr. Kays and Joy both stopped by to oversee the extubation and be there for Makenna's big moment.  They both had big smiles on their faces the entire time.  I could tell they were as excited as we were to finally see the tube removed!



Last picture with the vent!

Once they removed the tube from her mouth (and all the tape that goes along with it), we were able to see her face for the first time ever!  Even the day she was born we didn't see her face because she was immediately intubated, so it was extra special to be able to see her cute chubby cheeks and sweet little lips!   She is so absolutely adorable and so incredibly perfect.  I just can't stop staring at my beautiful little fighting miracle. 

After she was extubated they placed nasal cannulas in her nose and hooked her up to a machine called "high-flow oxygen" or a "comfort flow."  This machine is similar to a CPAP-- it provides oxygen and positive airway pressure to keep her lungs open.  She will stay on this machine until her lungs no longer need the positive air way pressure and then she will be weaned down to regular nasal cannula oxygen. 

Also, since the vent is gone, they were able to remove the arterial line in her arm and the monitors on her head and back.  It is always really fun to see lines start to disappear! 

There are still many challenges to overcome and the nurses describe the rest of this process as "watching the grass grow" because everything from here on out is so slow going, but for today we are celebrating this big step forward!

Oh---and did I mention that tomorrow we will get to hold her for the first time?!  <3 <3 <3

 

Now that the vent is gone, she can use a pacy!

I never knew a mouth could be so adorable!  :-)