Thursday

Today is a good day!  We were a little concerned last night as we got a report that Mom had removed her breathing tube and we were hoping it wouldn't postpone the surgery.  It didn't. 

We arrived this morning at our regular time and Dr. Cochran came out and reported that he had just finished, and the procedure went well.  He said he was "very pleased" and "couldn't be happier" with the results.  Mom was then taken back to her room with the breathing tube back in place.  They will monitor her with the hopes that they can check in the morning and remove it. 

We then waited for the nurse to come back out and let us know when  she was settled.  After about and hour, her nurse Kim came out to tell us what was going on.  Mom is positioned upright and they don't want to do any suctioning today with the stent newly in place.  If that needs to happen, Dr. Muthard will do it himself with the bronchoscope.  Also they don't want to do anything today that will increase secretions and the need for suctioning, laying her flat (for radiation) etc. Because of this she was very sedated to let her rest and recouperate from the procedure.  We know from experience that moving her or excitement will often cause her to cough, thus requiring suction so we made the decision to not go in and leave her in Kim's very capable hands. 

We are very happy with this news and hopefully tomorrow we can report the tube is out!  Thank you for your continued support and prayers, this is only the beginning.

Love,
Heidi and Bob