Extubation!

This is Camilla as we left her this afternoon, resting peacefully after her big day. We have only great news to report, thank God! Camilla has progressed rapidly and well in her recovery from surgery. She had her last major dose of pain medication early this morning, and her chest tube (something the doctors left in after the surgery to provide a drain for excess air and fluid) was also removed this morning, making her much more comfortable. Her breathing was better and better throughout the day, culminating in them taking her off the ventilator this afternoon. She was showing stronger and stronger signs that she was ready to be breathing on her own again, and then she passed the test (being extubated) with flying colors. She is back on her nasal cannula, just where she was before the surgery. They have also started giving her small amounts of milk again, another important step and sign that she is doing well. Now that some of the biggest challenges of surgery are behind her, Camilla can get back to her major work of eating and sleeping and growing.

As it turns out, Camilla getting sick was probably a blessing in disguise. When she first started acting a little strange, the doctors began investigating all of the possible causes. They looked at her open duct again, something they hadn't been planning on doing for the time being since Camilla was doing so well, in particular with her breathing, and wasn't exhibiting signs of complications from the duct being open. However when she got sick they did both x-rays and another echocardiogram to look at her heart. This led to discussion with the surgeon and eventually to the decision to perform the surgery. The surgeon was very strong in his opinion that this was necessary for Camilla--that sooner rather than later she would have begun to suffer complications, possibly including damage to her other internal organs due to inadequate blood supply.

As painful as it was for her to go through the surgery and for us to see it, she really needed it done. She needed this help to be able to concentrate all of her energy on growing, and not having to work so hard to compensate for something that wasn't doing what it should be. Today we're grateful for the unexpected things God allows...