Still Intubated

After almost 5 hours, Vera was wheeled out of the operating theatre at about 2pm today, straight into the Children's ICU. The operations on her angular cleft, g-tube and fundoplication went smoothly. The only difficulty that arose was in intubating her. As explained by the anaesthetist, her floppy airway and some deviation in the structures there led to a few attempts to properly insert the tube. (Basically, this is the tube that will allow air in and out of her lungs from a respirator, to help her to breathe while she's knocked out.) We were told to expect some scarring (I imagine it's like a straw rubbing against the insides of your throat) but that should subside. She will probably be intubated till Friday. If she's extubated too early and she can't cope on her own, we risk intubating her again, causing more trauma because it'll be difficult.

Currently, she is on morphine to numb the pain. It has a sedative effect as well but apparently not enough. The little girl was semi-awake and struggling weakly (l'il fighter alright), trying to lift her splinted hands, obviously unhappy with having both tied down to the sides of the bed. There were tears in her eyes.

At present, she needs to sleep more than anything. As it is, she has developed eye bags. So we'll leave her to do just that. She's in good care in CICU, so we'd better rest while we can. Once she's out and moved to Hi-Dependency, we'll have to be "on duty" round-the-clock.

The wait for Vera was filled with anxiety, but I guess I've got "training" from the NICU days. It does help lessen the anxiety, of the whole environment, the equipment. I guess the first time is always the hardest.

Sleep tight Vera. Mommy and Daddy are already missing you keeping us up till late at home.