Big Progress! and little challenges.

So guess what?!? Evelyn is officially off of ventilator support, and is receiving cpap (air blowing) with each breath she takes on her own. This means that probably within the next 24hours she may well be wireless. :) This also means she's a champ, because this is a 'fast wean' off of the vent.

As with any surgical procedure, the anaesthesia and sedation S L O W down the digestive tract - which means starting it back up can be a challenge. Sweet Evelyn is doing her best to help move things along (to put it delicately) but her tummy really hurts right now. We have a consult with her gastroenterologist set up so we should be able to talk with them sometime this afternoon to take more action. Basically, she's full of gas.

In other news, Evs has been awake all day, and given the gas issue has been in pretty good spirits. Lots of music today, and watching pbs, and receiving gifts from her fan club. :) Her behavior and general demeanor (when awake) have reminded me of just how quickly she's growing up. wow. The only other things of note today have been more training (the checklist is nearly filled, but the preferred teaching pace seems to be extra slow) and I've gotten to put some new skills into use working with Evelyn's trach. I'll repeat, for the millionth time, that this stuff is reassuringly straightforward.

I've gotten some questions about visitors - and yes, please feel free to visit! If you're not a frequent hospital visitor, here are some important points to take note of:

• visiting hours are 8am to 8:30pm, but most sleepover parents aren't decent until closer to 9am (even though we've been awake since at least 6am)
• there is always something happening, about to happen, or something has just happened - so expect people to walk in and out of the room - no big deal
• because of all the hustle and bustle, it is best to limit visits to under an hour
• call before you come, in case there has been a room change, or a change in the patient's health that might warrant rescheduling the visit
• the visit itself is the important part; please don't feel any need to bring 'stuff'.
• for Evelyn specifically, please know that we can't predict when she'll be awake, but if you don't get to see her eyes during your visit, you're welcome to come back - but even if you can't, we will be sure to tell her you came

If you don't have my cell phone number, and want to come visit, just post a comment here on the blog, or email me at kimberly.forester@gmail.com Since this blog is public, I'd rather not post my phone number here.

See you soon!

Kim