Monday evening

ENT doc checked Emma Kate with the scope this afternoon and says the trachea is about the same as the last time, and he was able to get her to cough while looking since she was more awake- when she coughs, it does collapse- not completely, but significantly. So we're still planning on working towards extubation and seeing how she tolerates it. Depending on how she does, we may have to do a tracheostomy not only to potentially help with breathing but also to allow access for suctioning her airway. This may buy us a few months of healing for reassessing as well as being a safer candidate for a revision surgery in the future. Only time will tell how well this is going to be tolerated. If she does have to get another surgery, we'll likely go to Cincinnatti Children's Hospital for it, where there is a surgeon there with a good deal of experience with complicated airways like hers.

She's had a good day otherwise, doing well on the drug decreases- she down to half of the versed she was on, and nearly half of the fentanyl. She's staying calm when awake and is opening her eyes and looking around a little. She just seems ultra mellow which is really good. We'll see what tomorrow brings. We're very anxious about extubation and just want to know what the future holds.