Waiting for the inevitable

They moved us back to CICU so Gabe could be on high flow oxygen to help with the tracheo malasia and give his lungs a little rest till surgery next week. We did some preop things today like get a PICC, get labs drawn, check to make sure he doesn't have ORSA, etc. They also gave him some blood b/c his hematocrit and hemaglobin levels were alittle off...he looked a little pale. The CICU attending came and talked to me along with Pulmonary. She said that they are going to biopsy his lung tissue during the heart surgery to get idea of the extent of any lung damage, if any, from the pulmonary hypertension and edema. She explained how Gabe is quite the conundrum b/c his oxygen saturations have always been all over the place...it's like he was born with shunting to his lungs and pulmonary hypertension when it's usually a gradual process. She explained that she is anticipating 3 potential outcomes after his surgery. 1. They are unable to extubate due to his airway and have to do a trach and potentially a vent at night. 2. They extubate, but his pulmonary status isn't up to par. They give it a couple weeks and then do a trach till his lungs heal. 3. He is extubated and shows gradual improvement and pulmonary addresses any tracheomalasia issues at a later date and his heart function is normal. Gabe is in the drivers seat and we'll have to see where he takes us. In the mean time, we are trying to enjoy this week with him and play with him as much as possible. Check out the pictures of Gabe and I working on his neck muscles.