3/26 - Trach Collar

Biggest news of the day is Leo did a trach collar trial! So you might be thinking what does that mean? A trach collar means Leo only receives warmed/humidified oxygen instead of pressure support to keep his airway/lungs open. When he does the trach collar trial he is taken off the vent and just attached to oxygen. He is starting out slow at two one hour trials per day and will slowly work his way up.  If all goes well, it will probably take about 3 weeks to get up to 12 hours of trach collar. The first 58 minutes of his trial today was excellent then at the end he had an apnea spell.  His heart rate went down, his oxygen saturation plummeted and is respiratory rate was really low. He was looking a little blue. I shook him and he came back to life but it was scary for a second. Everyone said it was normal to struggle with these trials. He has not breathed on his own for close to two months so he has to relearn that he can't "forget" to breath. Here is Leo and his Trach collar tubing:

We also had our nursing visit from the state today. The lady was nice and just asked a bunch of questions about Leo's care needs and his issues. She seemed to want to help us get as many hours as possible. Things were hectic in Leo's room. One of his roommates who had been here just one week shy of a year went home today and another little boy went home yesterday. It was reassuring that we would one day go home too!

Oh I almost forgot! On Monday Leo's x-ray looked good so we think we finally kicked chylo's butt. Leo is now on full breast milk feeds receiving the appropriate amount of calories. Today I was a little sentimental (in a weird sort of creepy way) because we fed Leo some frozen milk labeled 11/16/13. We have come a long way since Leo's first week of life. Leo in his beach vacation gear:

Sammie came down with a pretty nasty head cold and battled a fever. She felt a little better last night. It's hard because she doesn't understand how to blow her nose and sucking a paci with a stuffy nose is darn near impossible. We are continuing on our potty journey. Scary selfie: