Day +2 September 24

After early AM blogging, Elle started to have a little more difficulty.  She had some bleeding in her mouth which is expected from mucositis and low platelets.  But then at 5AM we had trouble getting her O2 Sats up again and the resident conferred with the ICU on-call MD and thought best to contact anesthesia.  Everything moved quickly from there and by 730 she was on her way to the OR to be intubated in a semi-controlled manner.  We did not know the Anesthesiologist, the Attending, the respiratory therapist, or the AM nurse.  The anesthesiologist seemed to know what he he was doing, but had not intubatied a Junctional. Talk about nerve racking -a semi emergent intubation with no one we had total confidence in. 

I called Daylon's mom, crying at 645 AM to ask her for some OR and tube-securing tips since her baby is Junctional like Elle.  She was helpful as was Bella's dad.

Elle did well, no real complications from the ET tube placement.  Everyone involved did a great job and we even got the OR team to allow BMT/ICU RN in the OR with her to make sure she was handled correctly. She is in the PICU now and will likely stay on the ventilator and in ICU for at least 18 more days (day +20).  Right now, she has a lot of bleeding in her mouth and all the way down.  A little in her G-tube, and also from the ET tube placement -there is always some trauma  from this and especially with a JEB kid post myeloablative chemo! 

The good news is that she is resting, not moving and struggling, her body wounds are not getting trauma, and she will not remember any of it because the Versed (a sedative that erases memory).  This portion of transplant (day 3 through 20 ish) is really hard; kids feel sick, have pain, nausea.  So she will sleep through this part and hopefully be taken off of the vent as she is starting to improve.  Also in the ICU, she will have a very competent nurse looking after her 1 on 1 and a respiratory therapist that will be frequently checking her airway and vent.

She seems very peaceful right now, I read her two baby bedtime stories and lullabies are playing in the background. 

Warning:  Photo below is our baby with her tube, may look a little scary for those Softies reading.

Resting quietly after having endotracheal tube placed

Her vent readings stable

Her vital signs stable as well