Sadbh
slept soundly for the first few hours. Her oximeter started to alarm shortly
after 1am with her blood oxygen level dipping down below 92 percent every
twenty minutes or so. Initially we thought that the oximeter probe might be failing
but soon Sadbh was having a very difficult time breathing as her trach and
airway was filling up with secretions.
Katie
and I were quick to react and with Katie suctioning while I kept Sadbh calm we
were able to clear her airway getting her blood oxygen level back up to the
high nineties. Despite being able to breathe easily, Sadbh was still in a state
of panic and kept trying to pull at her trach as if it was capped.
Eventually
she calmed down and fell back to sleep.
This
went on for the rest of the night and we had to suction her trach every half
and hour or so to clear her secretions.
Her
temperature was slightly high as was her heart rate, however her respiratory
rate was normal after each suction.
Since
we were already scheduled to head back to Seattle today we got the ball rolling
as early as we could. It still took four hours to pack up all the stuff into
the car.
By
now Sadbh was definitely fighting something but she was in a fairly good mood. She
kept saying “I am a little bit sick” and “I don’t want to get any one sick” and
shaking her head with sorrow. We
gave her a saline nebulizer and some Tylenol before hitting the road.
To
make the journey as comfortable as possible we downloaded a movie for her to
watch on her iPad and we were off.
Everything
went fine for the half hour of the journey and as we entered the town of
Hoquiam Sadbh coughed and then started to vomit up everything she had eaten
this morning. It happened so quickly that by the time I pulled over she had
puked all over her trach and trach ties.
Katie
and I with the help of Sophia got Sadbh out of the car and prepared to clean
her up. Her trach and neck were covered so Katie and I had no choice but to
carry out an emergency trach care on the side of the road with poor Sadbh lying
on a blanket on the ground.
Our
friends Gerry, Sarah, Derek and Suzie pulled in as they drove by and were also
a huge help. It was very stressful for everyone and we were so grateful to have
such fantastic friends right there to help out.
Sadbh
was also a superstar and kept calm the entire time allowing us to get the job
done without any difficulty. At one point we thought that we might have to do a
trach change but thankfully we were able to get her cleaned up and back into
clean clothes.
As
soon as we got back on the road Sadbh fell asleep and slept the rest of the
journey back to Seattle.
Once
home Sadbh had a nice long bath and after dinner we did trach care.
She
got to finish off the movie that she did not get to see earlier. Her fever started going up again and we
needed to suction several times an hour to keep her clear. We gave her Ibuprofen
to help get her temperature down and just before bed we gave her another saline
nebulizer to moisten up her secretions so they don’t get sticky.
Helen
is working tonight so we know Sadbh will be in great hands.
All
the best,
Wayne, Katie and Sadbh
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