Wednesday, March 21, 2007

10:15 p.m.: Charlotte is My Hero



Charlotte has weathered her PICU recovery like a trooper so far. She is on very few drugs: Tylenol for pain and a slight fever, a heart drug I forget, and morphine as needed.

We got in to see her, as Philippe wrote, around 3:15 p.m. She was in and out of it, mostly out, very woozy, but not in too much visible discomfort. Around 4 (I think) the doctors decreased the ventilator enough that Charlotte was "driving" the breathing and the ventilator was assisting her. They took her off the morphine drip to help her wake up a bit and see if she was ready to be extubated.

And, at 8:00 p.m., the tube came out. Charlotte is breathing on her own. She was quite uncomfortable at first, very "cry-cry," reaching for Bubba and our hands. Her little cry was pathetic due to the sore throat that the tube leave behind. Then Hector (her night nurse) asked if she wanted to roll onto her side. She said, "Yeah" with wan enthusiasm. It was music to our ears.

Dr. Deena and Hector decided to give her a dose of morphine to calm her down and Philippe and I took a quick dinner break. A little plug: We dined at The Red Lion on Lincoln, one of Chicago's legendary watering holes. The barkeep/owner Colin was delightful and we had a well needed break.

When we returned, Charlotte was peacefully asleep, Elmo in her arms (she asked Hector for Elmo, G-d bless her!). Philippe sent me home to get a good night sleep. Super dad is spending the night with Sprout.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Charlotte's NJ fan club sends prayers and good wishes by way of Bamma. All three of you are fantastic! Love, Mom

Anonymous said...

Go Charlotte, Go!! Best wishes and all our love, Cynthia, Richard, Max, and Will