Two tense days intermingled with two calm days...have I mentioned how very up and down things have been as of late?
Josephine is on the mend from a bout with flip flop lung collapse (obviously, not the official medical term. Although I probably heard it half a dozen times, the actual terminology for the condition never really embedded itself in my memory. So for now, we'll go with flip flop.) After the excitement with the chest tubes over the weekend, we arrived on Monday to discover that Josephine's morning x-ray had revealed a section of haze hovering in her right upper lobe - a partially collapsed lung. Much to what I'm sure was Michael's utter dismay, I was very vocal in voicing my displeasure to the attending physician on duty, an extremely nice woman who we had not previously met but who was quite kind in accepting momma bear's angry rant. Despite what seemed to me to be a concerning issue, Josephine managed quite well over the course of the day. Her stats remained good, and her breathing seemed fine aside from the normal difficulties associated with having a ventilator tube. The next day brought with it a good deal of respiratory therapy to address the lung issue. Josephine was positioned on her left side to give the right lung a chance to re-inflate, and the therapist spent some time using the ventilator bag to condition Josephine's lungs and help the right side snap back into position.
Wednesday morning's x-ray showed a huge improvement on the right side...but the left side was now covered in a grayish snow just as the right side had been earlier in the week. Another collapse, only this time on the side that had previously been healthy. The RT team was again deployed to help remedy the issue using a protocol that continued the techniques of the day prior and added a rather curious new method that employed a vibrating massager to help loosen secretions. (Not surprisingly, little diva rather enjoyed her new massage therapy.)
While her lungs are still not perfect, today's x-ray looked significantly improved. The problem in the left lung has been corrected and only a small section of the right lung has failed to return to normal levels.
As I sit here watching Josephine sleep and listening to the squawk of her ventilator, I'm amazed at how resilient she is. The past week has been a challenge for all of us, but through it all Josephine has remained calm and maintained her sweet demeanor (with the exception of about fifteen minutes of utter panic while she was being bathed yesterday. I think baths may rank just below suctioning in Josephine's world.) Most days, you'd never have known she was dealing with anything outside of the norm. She's beautiful and tolerant and strong. She's our amazing little girl.
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