Fine, if you want a cuter image of what happened to Jane's nose from the CPAP tubing, here:
Everyone happy now?
Well, as you might have guessed from my tone, we had another good day. Jane continues to do better with her oxygenation -- her O2 was in the 60s all day.
Interesting side note: it's hard for me to decide which numbers to go with when I post. There's the level of the oxygen setting, and then the actual level she receives. The nitric she's also getting makes up about 10% of the air she's getting. So when I say her oxygen was 60% (which is where it was when I left today), that's what she's actually breathing. The setting was at 71% at the time. Saying she's at 100% means she's breathing about 90% oxygen, but it's the maximum they can get to her. I like the lower number, but the docs tend to use the higher number. Because they're glass-half-empty types, obviously.
So I got to spend the day talking with Awesome Nurse Angela and the Amazingly Awesome Joel, who used to teach intubation classes for nurses. Turns out they practice intubation on cats and ferrets. Live, sedated cats and ferrets. They're anatomically very similar to neonates (= preemie in medico-speak).
Great, bats AND ferrets. I must really be freaking people out now.
My point, and I think I had one, was that it was a really nice, quiet day, and the monitor was NOT taunting me with awful numbers blinking in emergency red.
5 comments:
Happily, one of the first times I've actually LAUGHED reading your blog. Glad you still, amazingly, have your sense of humor and very gifted writing skills. And, happy there's oppportunity for levity. Now, my PETA friends abandoning me here, I have to say the pug was more acceptable than the vampire bat. However, still doesn't begin to do Jane justice and she is still going to come back at you. But, ferrets, and bats, and cats, Oh my... Didn't know there was a disparity between oxygen settings and oxygen received. Personaly, like you, I like the glass half full. And I'm especially thankful that you and Jane had a nice, quiet day. Hope for a number more, until you can take her to an even more supportive environment in your own home. Lots of love and prayers...Ann
I liked the bat! My only concern was what was going to happen once she is able to nurse directly from the source, so to speak. Those teeth looked painful.
Same post, second try
Okay, it's late and I realized I hadn't properly edited my post (I wrote to instead of too). So here's my second try at posting:
I laughed out loud (LOL) at tonight's picture and I must fess up that I laughed out loud at last night's bat picture too. I think you are really funny, insightful and best of all, you are so incredibly real in writing about this horribly scary experience. Thank you for sharing these updates with us. Love, MiHae
I thought the bat was great. I'm so glad you had a good, quiet day, and that's my favorite kind of point. ;)
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