Mon 29-Mar-10 PM

Simon was just extubated about 45 minutes ago.  He is breathing okay but accumulates a lot of blood / mucus etc. in his throat periodically, which he's having difficulty coughing up - maybe because he's not "with it" enough, but also because his ribs hurt when he tries to cough.  He goes through periods where he's pretty responsive; for instance, when the nurse asked, after the tube was out, "is that better?" he made the "A-OK" signal with his thumb and forefinger!!  But then he goes through periods where he isn't very responsive.  There is a chance he will have to be re-intubated, if he can't keep his airway clear enough without it.


Later that day:
Well, Simon had to be re-intubated and put back on the ventilator.  His oxygen level started dropping after about an hour of breathing on his own, and he wasn't able to cough well enough to keep his airway clear of blood and mucus.  Since he's intubated and ventilated again, he's also heavily sedated again.  I think it will be at least 2 more days before they even think about trying to get him off the ventilator again.  It will probably be pretty difficult to assess his neurological status during that time.


Ann