Answers....Kind of

First, I'll start by saying that the news is good. We were prepared for the worst case scenario and we definitely are hearing that the results show that her situation is not as bad as we had thought. The problem is that I feel like we are pretty much right back to where we left off... confused.

So here's what the ENT had to say:

There is definitely some swelling going on (which we knew), but not enough swelling that would prevent her from staying off the vent. The swelling though does make her airway smaller which could be one of the reasons why it was so difficult for her to be reintubated each time in the past.

She also said there may be some tracheal malasia (which is a soft airway), but again, it didn't seem bad enough to prevent her from breathing on her own. This was hard for her to know for sure though because Eden was under anesthesia so she wasn't breathing like she normally does. It is possible that her airway is collapsing a little more when she is off the vent and trying to breath on her own. This is something they can't know for sure though until they can evaluate her off the vent and breathing on her own!

And that's about it. Her opinion is that from her evaulation of Eden today while she was under anesthesia, there really doesn't appear to be an airway issue that's preventing a successful extubation.

So now we will be passed back to the neonatalogist to determine the next steps. We haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but in our discussion with the nurse and the ENT, the next step will most likely be for the neonatalogist to try to extubate her. At this time they can evaluate her and see if they can hear any weezing in her airway, or see if maybe it's more of a lung issue.

So we are back to square one - waiting for another extubation - but at least we know she doesn't have a significant airway problem! So I guess, in a way, it is like we just took another step forward!


Here are some pictures from today's events:

Eden in the transfer bed waiting to head over to the operating room.


Thank goodness she got some girl bedding back...


She's such a cutie...


Look at those cute little chubby fingers


Love that lip!


Sorry... all the little things are just especially cute to me today.

This doesn't look very comfortable to me, but she seemed pretty content!


She also got a visit from uncle Michael today too. And he even got to hold her... how spoiled!



Whew - big day. I think that's a wrap for now. Hopefully soon we will get a chance to meet with the neonatalogist to find out what the game plan will be. Until then, we will continue to hang out and make new friends.