Dec. 23, 2013 Henry Extubates, because of course he did

Here's a quick update Aly style because David has gone home sick. Thanks for that universe!

Yesterday Henry had an unplanned extubation. It happened at the end of a holding session and unfortunately it was David who was holding Henry when it started. We were just about to put the boys back when Henry's nurse noticed he was frothing at the mouth. She went to start to suction him and his heart rate dropped and his vent alarmed.  He had so many large secretions in his mouth that the nurse couldn't get them and his tube was clogged up. After a minute of trying and a continued drop in his heart rate the "all assist" button was pressed and the alarm sounded for all hands on deck. Everyone came rushing in and they were able to get him reintubated and he even got an upsized tube which is more appropriate for his size. This was pretty traumatic to watch for both David and I. Even though it went very well, watching your child's heart rate drop to the 50's while hear words like "I don't see chest rise" kinda puts you over the edge. After things were settled down we met with the doctor and reviewed what happened. She assured us she did not expect Henry to suffer any long term effects from the event and encouraged us not to let this scare us to the point we don't hold the boys any more. As soon as whatever illness is descending upon us has passed we will be holding them again. No doubt about that.

In today's news, Charlie is getting an ultrasound on his head and is currently scheduled for a little brain surgery on Thursday. Thursday is also the day we move from our beloved home in this NICU over to the dreaded West Tower. We have spent 5 weeks here and made friend and formed bonds with the staff so leaving is going to be very emotional and hard. Just what we need right now, something else hard and emotional to deal with eh? Oh well, it's part of it and we just have to suck it up and do it. I think that's about it on the update front. I'll leave you with one of the pictures we took yesterday. Thanks to one of the breathing angels we got a great family Christmas picture.

(A)