Losing the tubes

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1 Peter 5:10

Slowly but surely we are starting to lose some of the tubes, IVs and other crazy attachments. Just after noon today, Koal was extubated and no longer had a breathing tube or nasal tube in! It was wonderful to see his sweet little face and after taking out his catheter, another IV line and his oxygen saturation level monitors from his head and lower back, I got to hold him for a few minutes this afternoon. It was amazing to have him in my arms and get to kiss his fat little cheeks.

We had a number of visitors this afternoon and evening, and Koal continues to have all his blood, gases and medication levels monitored and adjusted as needed. He’s having respiratory treatments every four hours, and he does now have a nasal cannula for oxygen as needed. Because he is still pretty drowsy, only waking for short periods of time, and because they are keeping such a close eye on his oxygen levels, they have decided to wait until tomorrow to have him try eating anything. The hope is that tomorrow morning he can start to eat and fill his tummy and if all goes well, we will be transferred out of the PICU and on to the “heart” floor for the rest of recovery. Adam and I will stay again at the hospital tonight (praise God for the Ronald McDonald rooms right around the corner from the PICU!), as they like to have the Intensive Care parents close in case anything happens overnight. 

Please pray tonight for continued progress with Koal’s breathing and oxygen saturation levels. Pray that he can be weaned back to room air over then next few hours and have no trouble staying within normal ranges over night.  Pray also that rounds happen a bit earlier tomorrow so that if possible, Koal can have some milk and we can start the process of moving forward to a new floor and the road to recovery that leads HOME. Pray also, that Adam and I, and all of our family, would be patient as we journey through this time, not setting expectations too high, or letting doubt or concerns worry us. We know God’s timing is perfect, and He knows every breath Koal takes before he takes it.  Help us remember that even through set backs and trials, our little man’s life is a miracle already and we are lucky and blessed to have him, no matter what physical state he is currently in.