Sunday afternoon

Another day inpatient is a day closer to home. That's our attitude today. Caroline's Pulm. came by and he's very pleased with her progress now and how she's tolerating the passy valve. The passy valve is a small piece that fits over her trach, kind of like her cap except it allows her to inhale through her neck, but forces her to exhale out her mouth. She started out at 45 minutes and graduated to all day as tolerated today. What they're watching are her CO2 levels. While she's awake and sitting up she's able to get rid of the CO2 but while she's sleeping she's not exhaling enough and the CO2 is building up. The plan is to bring the vent in from our home health co.--the one we'll have at home--and get trained on it. After we're checked off, and she's back to her daily routine, then she can go home. He said he thought that would be this week. We're cautiously optimistic. Caroline's ready to go home. We all are. The TICU is a sad, sad place, even when we're having a good day we're surrounded by so many children with chronic illnesses, and the majority of them don't go home, and many have no one in the room with them. So sad. We're so grateful Caroline's being discharged is an option, and so very grateful for our employers and coworkers who understand our need to be here, and for our friends and family who pitch in to help. We hope you all know how truly appreciative we are for everything you do for our family.