Tracheostomy and Surgery This Afternoon

We just spoke to the burn unit doctor and team again. After talking with the ICU team, they all feel that Heather is really struggling being off the ventilator and that she is just getting weaker and weaker. So, they feel it best to put her back on the ventilator and to perform a tracheostomy (i.e., cut into her neck and into the trachea, then insert a breathing tube and sew it in place). Those this prospect is disturbing to us, we feel it will be better for her in the long run. She will likely have it in for a couple of weeks, but there is less chance of problems (e.g., vocal chord damage, irritation of her throat, etc.) with the tracheostomy than with the tube in through her throat. There are also more possibilities for her to improve her strength with the tracheostomy because she will be able to walk with it, where she cannot with tube in through her mouth. In addition, they can disconnect and reconnect her easily with the tracheostomy, which will give her the chance of building up her strength through repeated trials without the ventilator. Obviously, I would prefer that she not have to have it, but it seems the best option.

The doctors also feel that it will be best to perform the surgery on her legs today at the same time they are doing the tracheostomy. They said that the main hesitation they would have about doing it today would be if she was weak in her breathing but improving. Waiting would give her more time to improve and develop strength so that she could stay off the ventilator after the surgery was over. However, if she will just be intubated anyway, there really isn't any reason to hold off on the surgery. Please keep your prayers coming today.