Extubation! 

Yesterday later in the afternoon, Colby was showing us signs he was ready to extubate! I would say the 10minutes before and the 10 minutes after are the hardest with a procedure like this. It means sedation has been decreased (so his nurse had to channel Steve Irwin and croc-hunt for a bit!) but also, the right people have to be ready and in the room, and the go ahead has to be given. At this point it is either “take the tube out” or “knock him out” again. 

 

What a rockstar, the tube came out, and within a short time, he was breathing with just some supportive oxygen! 

 

As the afternoon progressed, the oxygen was removed, but we still had a pretty sleepy guy on our hands. As you can imagine, nothing metabolizes quickly for Colby. The day was spent managing his needs very closely, to keep him as comfortable with possible while also trying hard to really see his state without too much sedative. 

 

He was very delirious… but overnight, we’ve had some huge successes! His wonderful nurse (they all are) fed him a bottle and he kept signing for *more*! His delirium seems to have gone, which means we’re closer to getting our Colby back!

This morning is a little different once again, and Colby had been in extreme pain. We are working hard to manage this. His belly is very swollen again but we have to be careful on diuretic use as his kidneys have taken some pretty angry blows. 

 

Imaging confirmed severe pancreatitis, with some possible necrosis. When I say this kid is in pain, I mean it. 

 

Hoping for better pain management today and improvement all around. As he comes around, he is once again extremely itchy. Today would be a good day for loads of rest. Will see how the day progresses ahead of us…