Sunday, 23 Jan 2005 ( 9 am ):
Gabriella rested well again last night – her “trach” tube remained clear all night. Yesterday, Ella’s “trach tube” became blocked only once. While each of these events is frightening, the fact that they seem to be occurring less frequently gives us reason to be upbeat. Still, it is exceptionally difficult to leave Ella alone, even for brief periods, as all too often the monitors fail to perform adequately. The next major milestone for Ella is the first changing of her trach tube, which will likely occur tomorrow or the next day.
Once the doctors are satisfied that the opening in her trachea or “stoma” is healing properly she will be eligible to go home. However, there are a number of safety measures that must be in place before she is discharged. We hope you enjoy the recently posted photos. Click on the “photos” link above, and then click on “Oct 2004” or “Dec 2004”. You may notice Ella looks a bit more “cheeky” than usual in some of the Dec 2004 photos. That puffiness, which was caused by the steroids prescribed to reduce the narrowing in her airways, has thankfully subsided. All for now,
thank you for your prayers.