Sleeping Beauty

We came into the PCICU this morning to find a nice surprise - Rebekah had been extubated during the night and was back on her home level of oxygen!!  This is terrific news!  We are thrilled that she is doing so well!

Naturally, Rebekah is still very heavily medicated, so she is mostly sleeping.  Every once in a while she kind of flutters her eyes open and stares at us, and then goes right back to sleep.  Can't blame her!  I would be sleeping, too!!  :)

Rebekah did surprise us by briefly sitting up all on her own.  She didn't have any idea what she was doing, and I really think it was more reflexive than anything.  But it send us all scrambling to catch IV's and tubing before she unintentionally pulled lines out herself.  She always has to do something to keep us on our toes!  :)

Rebekah has also been alert enough to drink some apple juice.  She's had about a carton and a half over the course of the last few hours.  She takes it a few sips at a time, but it's a great start!

Her throat and voice are very rough from the ventilator, so she hasn't really started to talk yet.  She sort of half-whispered "juice" to Drew once, but other than that she is sticking to sign language or nodding her head.  She has answered a few yes/no questions for us by shaking her head appropriately.

Rebekah does know that Mommy and Daddy are here.  Her nurse said that she woke up this morning (before we got here) and was very calm - no crying or anxiety.  It doesn't surprise me.  This is her home away from home!  :)

This is Rebekah's one and only "awake" picture since surgery.  Even though she had her eyes somewhat open in the other pictures, you can tell she's still really medicated.  She is really medicated in this picture, too, but she was a little more awake.  She let me wash her face a little bit and she took a few sips of juice before she went back to sleep.

That's about all the news right now.  We're enjoying Rebekah's smooth recovery so far and praying it continues!!

Nancy


P.S.  Just as I "published" this post, Dr. Bradley came by.  He said he is very pleased with Rebekah's progress at this point and that she is doing as well as he could have imagined post-surgery.  We asked about meds and oxygen after going home, and Dr. Bradley was cautious about his answer.  He said his leaning would be to get Rebekah off anything and everything that they can't prove has very specific benefits.  But, he did say that the other doctors, and especially Dr. Lucas, would weigh in on their thoughts and opinions before any final decision would be made.