Friday, October 30, 2009

Tracheotomy scheduled for Saturday

Dad has been resting today. While he is intubated they have him sedated. We have his radio going for him, but I believe he has mostly been quiet and restful.

Late tomorrow morning they will do the tracheotomy. This will protect his lungs by blocking anything in his mouth from going down his trachea. This procedure does not have to be permanent. When he regains the ability to swallow normally and has the correct gag/cough reactions to protect his airway, they can sew him back up.

While intubation (a tube through your mouth down into your trachea) protects your airway, it also requires sedation and prevents you from using your mouth normally. The tracheotomy should allow us to protect Dad's lungs while we work on getting him healthier in all the other areas, like recovering from Pneumonia and a long stay in hospital beds.

Dad's son Chris and grandson Kevin will be here this weekend. We look forward to seeing him.

-- Bob

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