Extubation

The physicians determined this morning that Sutton still has function of his left vocal cord, though the right is questionable. The right cord has been compressed for the past year due to the hygroma, so it may take more time for function to return on that side. This is another watch and wait item on our list. However, since he had decent function of his left side still, they opted for extubation. He came back from the OR about 10:30 a.m. and had already been extubated about 45 minutes while the physicians observed him.

He was a bit wild when he came back because all of his sedation and pain meds had to be replaced last night with something that would allow them to see if he could breathe on his own while keeping him sedated. Unfortunately, it is a medication that can only be used safely for the short term (less than 24 hours) and it wears off very quickly once they stop it. There is a happy medium now, with Sutton returning to many of his previous medications, but at much lower doses. He is opening his eyes now and is significantly less agitated. He has a lot of secretions that he is trying to get rid of, but they seem to be clearing relatively quickly.

Today has gone as well as we could have possibly hoped. Thank you for praying with us for his healing! We hope he continues along this path for the remainder of his stay.

Plastic surgery came in today to look at the exterior tissue flap and all is continuing to go well there, too. She even said he is progressing faster than she anticipated. We are very happy with his outcomes overall at this juncture and we hope he continues to impress all of us with his progress.

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3