Sunday, March 2, 2014

A New Endotracheal Tube


Dear Ellie,

Over the past few days, your oxygen levels have become more and more erratic.  Last night, you were even desaturating every 30 seconds or so.  The problem isn't that you are unwilling to breath.  Your brain seems to recognize now when your body has too little oxygen.  It seems to be that the true problem is that your lungs simply aren't able to consume oxygen efficiently.  It's frustrating, because every other part of you is doing so well, but without a good set of working lungs, all of those other "parts" are in jeopardy.  

Today, however, the respiratory technician noticed that there was air leaking past your endotracheal tube.  You've been growing fairly quickly, so there's a possibility that some of your lung problems might actually be the result of a tube that is now too small relative to the size of your airways.   They went ahead and pulled the old tube out and inserted a new, bigger one that fit more snuggle.  We'll have to wait and see if that makes any kind of difference.

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