The Vent is Gone!

5:20 pm 7-29-2006

ASH IS OFF THE VENT!!

Everyone was ready to take Ashley off the vent at around 3:00 but she needed to be awake to do so. She decided it was nap time and didn't know they were all waiting for her. Well about 4:45 we started giving her a bath, changing diapers and just messing with her trying to wake her up. Finally about 5:20 she was awake enough to finally take the tube out. They asked us to leave the room while they worked on her. When we came back in she looked so sad. Her throat is very sore and she is very hoarse, but when she saw us she made a little squeaky cry. As painful as it is to see her hurt, we are so grateful to the Father that she is up and on her own.

She looks pretty uncomfortable, but she is breathing on her own and doing well. Over the next couple of hours they will be checking her blood gases and if the numbers stay where they are then the ventilator will be a thing of the past. Thank you for all your prayers for our little Gherkin.

The kids began the long drive home so things will be pretty quite around here tonight. They just left around 1:30 and we are already missing them. I (Dad) will fly home on Sunday, but mom could be here awhile. The transplant coordinator said the average hospital stay last year was about 45 days. After that Trish and Ashley will need to be in the Omaha area for quite sometime. Estimates range from 6-9 months. Please pray for our family as this will be a long time for us to be apart.