I’m going to do a brief recap for some that only get weekly updates (e-mail list) please ignore the verbosity.

• Faith was removed from Ventilator on 3/19/12 Day 11. She transitioned from BiPAP to CPAP to Nasal O2 to now periods of breathing room air when awake and out of bed.

• She has been sitting in a chair, using the potty, walking a bit and generally liking sitting better than lying in bed.

• She started to take some clear fluids today (water & juice) So it’s safe to say that both input and output are mostly functional again.

• They removed the NG tube (stomach sucker) today and her IV in her arm failed so down to just one tube ND (feeding tube) and some wires.

There are still some significant issues to overcome before coming home:

1. She still has a very rapid and shallow breathing pattern at times (as high as 70-80 bpm) and looks distressed.

2. We are not sure how well the T&A surgery helped with her Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

3. Not sure what her O2 support requirements are for Day & Night

4. She is coming off of some very significant doses of opioid drugs that were needed to keep her sedated when on the ventilator. They have already had to back down off of the first day wean reduction because she is showing signs of withdrawal (tremor, cold sweats, nausea, rapid breathing, yawning, excess saliva production, eyes dilated to almost full & 1,000 yard stare at times)

5. She may be suffering from some ICU psychosis (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7775&pf=3&page=1)

No talk of discharge yet, our gut on this one is not before the weekend.