Today Dad had his sedation turned off at 10:30am and as of 9:30pm it's still off and he's doing well! The plan is to see how he does overnight and if there are no issues, they think there is a strong possibility of him getting extubated (having the breathing tube removed) tomorrow. I'm really crossing my fingers because I'm so ready for him to get off the vent.
We've been weaning the sedation more and more all week and he's gotten increasingly more responsive. After it was turned off this morning he opened his eyes for the first time. I can't describe that feeling. The relief I felt at watching him do such a seemingly simple thing was powerful. Through this very difficult ordeal, I've truly come to treasure each and every milestone. He didn't keep his eyes open long, but he did open them several times throughout the day. And for the third day in a row, he was able to grasp hands on command and slightly nod his head to a couple of questions.
They have these big puffy white mittens on his hands, their purpose is simply for protection, so that he doesn't accidentally pull out any tubes/wires/etc while he may still be disoriented. Today I started taking the mittens off for increments of time while I was at the bedside since I could watch him closely and assure his safety. I figured it would be nice for his hands to get a break from those things. He immediately grasped one of my hands. He definitely knows I'm here. During these particularly alert times, I made sure to tell him of all the people thinking of him, praying for him, calling/texting/emailing about him, and visiting him. He has a heck of a support network.
In other good news, they discontinued the silly contact precautions. So no one is wearing the yellow gowns anymore to go in the room. They didn't discontinue the precautions requiring us a wear masks yet, but I think that's coming soon.
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