National Lampoons: The Griswalds Go To Oklahoma City

What a trip! Elizabeth began having trouble breathing Saturday night. We suctioned continuously. Sunday morning she felt much better. So we left that afternoon and got as far as Woodward, which is our halfway point, and did a trach change in a gas station parking lot. (Stacy is pretty agile for an old guy!) The stuff in LizBeth's trach was like glue, so she couldn't cough it up and we couldn't suction it out. The rest of the trip was uneventful until we reached our hotel. While Stacy was sliding the key in the door, footsteps could be heard on the other side. Yep, we were trying to enter an occupied room. So we go downstairs and get the key to OUR room. The room was nice and we unpacked. It was calm with the Griswalds for a while. Then I decided to feed the bed that night. You see, LizBeth is on a continuous feed at night. It's just a slow drip all night long. However, this time it was for the Best Western Hide-a-Bed. That bed was full! The pulse ox false alarmed all night long for me. At about 8:00 am, LizBeth became rather angry. That's when we noticed the bed. We fed her, then bathed her. Somehow, while bathing her, I managed to get her clean clothes wet... front and back. Once dressed, I realized we had no other outfits. So, Elizabeth was dried by the hair dryer. Funny thing is she liked it. It was during this time I realized that Stacy and I were handling things rather well. If LizBeth had been Daughter #1, I would have thought myself a terrible Mom. But since she's #3, I'm pretty proud of myself for thinking to dry her with the hair dryer!
The Doctor's Appt. went well. We are scheduled for decannulation on June 16th. Decannulation is the technical term for getting the trach removed. Whoo-Hoo! The procedure will go something like this: The dr. will take her to surgery. She will be given a valium to help her sleep. Then the dr. will perform the lower bronchoscopy (looking down the trach) and the upper bronch (looking up her nose). If he sees no obstructions, he will take the trach out and watch her for about 20 minutes. If she is not panicking and gasping for air, he will cover the trach opening and send her to the observation unit. We will stay in the hospital for two nights b/c if problems present, they usually do so within the first 48 hours. If her airway is obstructed or LizBeth has breathing difficulties, we will meet with a surgeon and the decann will be prolonged. We think she's going to do great! Please pray for this procedure and her ability to maintain her airway. Thank you for all your prayers!