Extubation Successful

What a relief. At 3pm today, Vera was successfully extubated in the operating theatre, and is able to breathe on her own now. What you see planted in her nostrils now is just minimal oxygen as backup. Actually, she had awoken from her sedated state just before the procedure, and was already struggling to be set free.

She's now back in the Children's ICU and has been crying for nearly 3 hours non-stop. A Vera record. Check out the swollen eyes that can hardly open. This is likely due to the surgery pain at the lips and the abdominal area, and morphine withdrawal. The doctors have put her back on sedatives and low level morphine to keep her comfortable. She's also started on milk, just 30mls to begin with.

There's good news though. The ENT doctor did a scope down her airway and it's found to be NORMAL. No floppy airway! What's causing the stridor is probably the low muscle tone of the throat area. And this is linked to her dysphagia. This however, is something that can improve over time with therapy (hooray!)

The hardest part is over now. Let's hope Vera continues to recover well and come home soon.