First Feed Today

Dad's Log:  Hailey is still doing well today.  She still has some congestion in her lung but it doesn't appear to be too severe: they have been able to ween her down on the ventilator.  They have removed one of the chest drain tubes (only two left) as well as an IV from her wrist.  They just placed the NJ tube which will allow them to start feeding her formula again.  She is in a room with a view of the construction going on at the hospital.  They say that the congestion in her lungs is what she will have to overcome before she can make any more progress toward having the ventilation tube taken out.  They say the congestion is somewhat what they would expect because of all the dissection of her lungs they had to do in the surgery. The dissection irritates the lungs, that makes them inflamed and when they get inflamed, they tend to put out a lot of secretions. She is on every breathing treatment they have available. They still feel like she is doing well but they want to get the secretions from her lungs under control. They have said it will be another 3-4 days before the breathing tube comes out. We anticipate not being able to hold her at all until then.  Angie is really missing Hailey and getting anxious to be able to hold and cuddle her after the ordeal this has been for her tiny little body.  

The blankets on her head are just the nurses' attempt to keep the light out of her eyes so she can sleep better. They can turn off some overhead lighting, but obviously not all of it as they need to see to do all that they do.  The green "sleeve" on her arm is what they call a "no-no". It allows her to move her arm, but not bend it so that she doesn't pull any tubes out.  That would have been handy for the NG tube at home.  

The other girls ask daily to go see Hailey but we are waiting for the stuffy noses to be completely gone before we take them to see her.