Lewis had a great day today. They extubated him and it really made him happier. No step down this time - just straight from the ventilator to regular breathing. He seems to be handling it very well. He appears to be much happier without the tube. I got to hold him for a while - somewhat complex, since he still has two drains, a PICC line, a naso-gastric (NG) tube and 4 different monitor cords, but well worth it.
If we could stay focused just on today, we'd be very happy. We got a little ahead and started to worry about his feeding, which may start as soon as tomorrow. The surgeon visited a couple of times and is quite pleased with Lewis' healing so far. They'll do the barium study tomorrow, which will tell us definitively whether the stitches in Lewis' stomach have held. If so, they'll start feeding him (ever so slowly) through the NG tube.
There is some difference of opinion, even between the docs, about Lewis' chances of being able to get all his nutrition through the NG tube (or by mouth). It isn't clear how well he'll be able to handle the feeding, given his custom-tailored tummy. He is now missing the valve that regulates the flow of stomach contents into the intestine. No one can tell how big a problem that will be, or whether the somewhat smaller size of his stomach will be an issue. He can continue to receive nutrition via IV, if necessary, to fill any requirements that regular feeding can't meet. We got ahead of ourselves and got all worried about that, earlier today.
There's nothing we can do to influence Lewis' success level in feeding just now. For the moment, we're trying to stay focused on how much happier he is without the breathing tube. Today is better than yesterday.
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