Doing "Sprints" off the vent!!

Daddy and Mommy are busy learning "trach care"... how to clean the site, how to change a dressing, (eventually) how to change a trach tube, how to do sterile suction, etc. Daddy and Mommy are already "pro's" according to the nurses, evidently, most parents aren't as proactive as we are to actually call them in so we can get checked off some skills. I guess most parents are usually pretty timid about getting things checked off the list so they can go home. I understand the hesitation, after all, we are talking about your child's airway - without proper care and appropriate technique, you can quickly end up in an emergency situation to keep the child alive. I guess we are veterans of wound-care techniques since the care is not different than what we did with his feeding tube. We are even a select few parents allowed to change that at home too, as many have to take the child in for an office visit to have it changed. I share with you this, not so we can be proud or to brag, so that when your prayer list is empty, you can add the parents of special needs children, as many are not equipped with the appropriate life skills, decision-making skills, and common-sense to be independent of a medical team to properly care for their child. Please pray for those children and their parents, as many children suffer due to poor parenting.

Today was our second day off the ventilator!! We are still attached to it for pressure support, and he did good last night. Today we got to completely come off the pressure support for one hour periods at a time, what they call "sprints". They attach what is called a trach collar while he is off the ventilator pressure support. It's similar to a nebulizer mask, blowing a small amount of O2 and humidification to the open trach. HE HAS DONE VERY GOOD!!! He has kept his sats around 97 - 100 off the vent, can you believe it? PRAISE GOD FOR HE IS GOOD!! So it's looking promising that we will only need ventilator or pressure support when we are sleeping, and that we might not need ventilator support throughout the day! But it's all up to Braden, and hwat he and his body tell us he can handle.

We will still have to be here for a few weeks while they get us set up with a new-fangled low-noise lightweight ventilator. This mainly will be our only hold-up from getting to go home, as most of our trach skills have been checked off.

I wanted to give thanks to our friends who have provided us with prayers, support, a listening ear, friendship, and even treats and gift certificates while we are cooped up here at the hospital. The offers to come sit with Braden so we can get some "time off" is appreciated more than we can ever express. Our local pastor from Trinity Lutheran has been amazing in prayer and visitation, as have been our other hospital chaplains that stop by to see how we are doing and to offer up prayer on our family's behalf. I want to thank friends and family who have sent cards of encouragement, and left messages of support, and continue to pray for our journey. We would not have the same positive outlook and high spirits without the support of our family and friends. Thank you for always lifting us up in your thoughts and prayers and actions. We love you for all you do for us.

The Wilson Family