Not A Happy Patient/But a Getting Better Patient: Day 11
They extubated Emmett this afternoon (Monday) - somewhere around 1 p.m. - and he's breathing on his own. Alisha indicated that his oxygen levels never even fluttered when the tube was removed. He was so frustrated with that tube! He is on his bi-pap machine and the full face mask. Bi-pap is normal - the Buzz Lightyear mask is a step beyond his usual elephant trunk nose mask - it will stay in place until the secretions in his lungs are cleared.
As he is not being sedated we are really seeing his personality. In fact, look at the photo and you'll see that both of his hands are raised. He's getting tired of staying in bed. You'll also realize that he is no longer being restrained. That may be gone but he is still frustrated and miserable. We knew it would happen. We knew that Emmett was going to be miserable. What else could you expect? When you take a bunch of drugs out of the equation and start bringing a little boy from his sedated slumber back into the world of awareness then you get a miserable little guy. That's sort of good, I guess, because that's part of the process of getting well. Coming out of the eye of the storm does mean some really rough patches. But oh my goodness - it's not nice for Emmett. He is not sleeping well and that means that last night Alisha and Josh did not sleep well. The aches and pains of his illness combined with the aches and pains caused by the medical intervention mean that he literally aches all over. Over the past ten day's Emmett has been poked and prodded more times than we can count. He is letting his mommy and daddy know that his tummy hurts. His head hurts. He doesn't like the tube down his throat hurt. And he wants to roll over when he wants - not just when the nurses allow. But right now there is not much that his mommy and daddy can do! They cannot even pick him up yet. Just comfort him from the side of his bed - and they're right there.
When he saw his new Daniel Tiger balloon he laughed. At least, he tried to laugh. At that point the tube was still in place. When it first came out, he couldn't do anything but grunt. No words. Now it's "Up! Up! Up!" and "Back! Back! Back! Please!". This will be followed quite quickly by "Side. Side. Side!". He still wants to roll over lots - but that's not easily allowed. He pats the mattress on the side that he wants to roll to ... but nothing happens. He actually stopped patting and grabbed his other arm and tried to pull himself over! You ache with sadness wanting to turn him but can't as he still has IV's and such attached to him. His medical team has a plan and that includes being rolled. And your heart bursts with pride at the fight that this little boy exhibits. Are we finished with this RSV storm? Not yet, but without complications it certainly seems like we're almost through the storm.
Now the question is, how do you occupy and amuse a little boy who is in isolation and cannot leave his bed?
...
And those great ideas took all of 20 minutes. What's next! Alisha and Josh are going to be busier than ever!


- Current
- November 2023
- June 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- August 2022
- June 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- June 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- December 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015