Another Good Day

Riley had a busy day. Today, she had her ventilator rate and pressure lowered (almost to pre-surgery levels!), had her chest tube taken out, had her NG (nose) suction tube taken out and then had a smaller, softer NG feeding tube put back in down to her stomach. All of this without too much sedation and still kept her stats at or close to where they need to be. What a girl! As one of the nurses said early on, she's certainly tougher than her daddy.

Riley will have her epidural removed tomorrow, so the doctors will be working to find a good balance between pain management and respiratory stats. On a brighter note, now that the feeding tube is in place, Riley has started taking some of Mommy's milk! We are both excited that she can start getting the benefits of this and I'm sure that it is especially gratifying for Sandy.

The doctors have VERY cautiously said that if Riley continues to progress well, they may be able to take her off of the ventilator in about a week. We were obviously happy to hear this, but we are taking things one day at a time with no expectations. We know that once Riley is off of the ventilator, she may need to go back on it or be on oxygen support for some period of time. We know it will be many more weeks before she is able to come home to her loving family and friends.

Thank you all for your support and prayers! Our buttercup tried on another outfit today. The picture may not reflect it because of the outfit, but Riley's swelling has gone down quite a bit since the surgery.