Ira Update

It seems that Ira has fully recovered from his sickness. He spent the past three days and nights without the vent. It’s so good to have him back. And all of this comes just in time for his surgery this Thursday.

The surgery on Thursday is considered an exploratory surgery. A pediatric ENT will take a look at Ira’s airway. It seems that there is some kind of blockage or restriction above Ira’s trach but we’re not completely sure of that. They need to get in there and get a good look before we think about taking that trach out.

Here’s the best case scenario - Ira’s knocked out; they take a look and find nothing wrong with his airway; we wake Ira up and we go home. In and out. Same day. And we start making plans to get that silly trach out of his neck! Ideal, no?

Next best scenario - Ira’s knocked out; they take a look and find some scar tissue (not uncommon for kids who have been vented for long periods of time); they remove the scar tissue by simply cutting it out; we wake Ira up and we go home. I’ll take this.

Worst case scenario - Ira’s knocked out; they take a look and find that his airway is restricted (again, not uncommon for kids who have been vented for long periods of time); we wake Ira up and begin the grueling process of scheduling surgeries (note the plural form of that word) to reconstruct Ira’s airway. Reconstruction of an airway is no easy task and is a big hairy deal.

Another bad scenario is that Ira reacts to the sedation medication. Remember, Ira was addicted to sedation medication in the PICU. Weaning him from those meds was a big deal that involved methadone and the like. I’m hoping his little body doesn’t react to that stuff.

So I’m rooting for either the best case scenario or the next best scenario. Wanna join me in cheering those along?