March 15, 2024

Today took a twist that I did not see coming based on conversations yesterday. They switched up David’s diuretic but didn’t have much hope that it would help get fluid off him. Due to that, they are not sure if they can get David into a better spot than he currently is, so after much conversation, they decided to try taking out his breathing tube today. They all acknowledge that it is risky and there is a high probably that he will have to be reintubated, but they wanted to try. 

They turned off all his sedation and hoped he’d wake up and wake up angry so that they could pull the tube. I still remember the first time his tube was pulled back in November, and waiting on medications as his blood pressure was out of control. It was a very tense and exhausting day. This time it went much more smoothly. The nasal cannula though was not going to cut it. They had several options available to see which option David needed, and after the nasal cannula wasn’t going to work, they went with the method that provides the most breathing support – a scuba mask. 

Since they turned off his sedation to do this, he’s very alert in his scuba mask – and he looks so cute in it. However, he also gets very upset. He’s showing everyone his rainbow of colors again. Surprisingly, his oxygen saturations (especially those measured in his blood gas), seem to be doing better than when he was intubated. This evening there is still some question as to whether he will stay extubated or not. One of his lungs looks a little more collapsed again and he is showing some signs of working harder to breathe, but so far all his numbers look great. They’ll continue to run those labs every 4 hours overnight and they will adjust as needed. 

David also seems to be uncomfortable lately and we asked that they start his gas drops again – especially since he’s back on a high fortification again and seems to be having gas issues. Well, he was – his feeds are stopped again. It seems as if something happens every other day to stop them, so hopefully he’s able to get his food again by morning. He also doesn’t have much of a voice. His nurse said he’s super hoarse and it can take some weeks for the voice to come back. With all the excitement of today, I never found a good opportunity to put on the Eras Tour for David, so hopefully tomorrow. Regardless of whether he remains extubated or not, I’m hoping he gets a day of rest tomorrow.