Hi all, Ruby has had a busy day today. Earlier today she had her trach change and they decreased the size from a 3.5 to a 3.0 (2.5 is as small as they could go) and that seemed to help her with her cough that was giving her trouble yesterday and last night. She also had an NG tube put in so that we can make sure she gets enough food. Ruby is still very sleepy today and isn't taking her full feeds from the bottle. So far today she has had two topped up feeds. We are a bit nervous about it, but she was so tired it seemed like the best step.
I'm at the hospital now. Lizzie and I travelled to Halifax today to give Charlotte a bit of a break from the hospital. So I'm staying with Ruby, taking care of her and learning how to give her meds and do trach care, while Charlotte gets some time with Lizzie (who was very happy to see Mama). They'll be in town and still visit Ruby too!
The nurse and RT told me tonight that ENT wants to do a corking trial tomorrow, basically just plug the trach and see how she does breathing around it. Charlotte didn't know that this was happening, so it may have been a very recent decision. We had thought that they would only do that once she was on a 2.5mm trach, but the RT tonight said that, with her size, it makes sense that they would try at 3.0mm. If it doesn't go well they may wait and switch her to a 2.5mm, we'll see.
We are hoping that she has a good sleep tonight and is able to be more awake tomorrow for her feeds. Also that the corking trial will go well.
