No Extubation Today As Planned

Sorry to send a mass e-mail but you can see how many of you there are and time is in short supply these days. It’s nice to know we have so much family and so many good friends that are thinking of us and wishing the best for Ainsley. Again, I want to thank you all for your offers of help. We wanted to give you an update on what’s going on with Ainsley.

They have decided not to extubate today and put it off until later in the week. Last week it seemed she had caught a cold but testing revealed that she has a mild bacterial infection in her throat (it’s rather common when kids have a breathing tube). They started antibiotics Friday evening. They also want to give her more steroids after the antibiotics (they can’t be given at the same time) to reduce any possible remaining swelling in the upper airway. And…It just doesn’t make sense to try to take out the tubes when she’s sick. They are saying it’ll be Thursday at the earliest. It’ll depend on how soon the infection clears. Whatever happens, it’s unfortunately still going to be awhile before she comes home. As we had said before, even if she’s able to breathe well after they extubate she’ll still have to be monitored to make sure her breathing is very stable, and they’ll have to make sure she has no difficulty feeding.

We’re anxious and having difficulty being patient but are still hopeful that it’ll be successful this time. The kids are fine, a little tired of visiting the hospital but life is going on pretty much as usual for them. We will, of course, let you know what happens.