Just breathe

The shift change rotation kicked in again on April 4 at 8AM when I relieved Caitlin from her midnight post assignment. Caitlin also received high praise from Mom as she was quite attentive to Deirdre’s needs throughout the night while I was reminded that I apparently slept through the night during my previous push assignment. 

Deirdre was now able to resort to writing on a pad and the list of orders and requests were coming in fast. Communicating her pain points and overall needs was incredibly helpful for everyone and the medical team stayed on point. However, and this is the truth, she was primarily focused on making sure that we called anyone and everyone she could think of. We told her we were doing our best which of course was not up to her social standard. Thus her first assisted post on Facebook occurred less than 48 hours after her surgery. 

The medical priority was to get beyond intubation. This was our strong desire as well since it was obvious Deirdre was miserable. Some would say because she was in pain and discomfort, others might say because she was just unable to talk, talk, talk. The big moment arrived when the JH Varsity team made the decision to remove her intubation tubes and test the new lungs’ ability to support Deirdre on their own. Anxiety skyrockets once again as the team multiplied.

All I can say is that to watch her tube removed followed by negative air pressure and suction waiting for a new breath was, to be honest, breathtaking. (Yes, I went there.) Deirdre looked a bit stunned and then impulsively began to draw her first unassisted breaths on her new lungs.

It was weird because I don’t think Deirdre truly registered she was in fact breathing “deep” unlabored breaths on her own. The team and I cheered and and she looked at me, smiled, and began to cry tears of joy.

With the Queen’s permission…

   

As is routine, the team placed a breather mask on her to assist the lungs as they adapted to their new environment. I can only imagine what the lungs were thinking when they realized their new host was Deirdre. Buckle up!








To be continued…

Comments

  1. DeborahApril 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM

    Wonderful news!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nancy and MikeApril 5, 2025 at 7:44 PM

    We all take breathing for granted. What an amazing sensation it must be to be cognizant of your first breaths. Power on Deet-tra

    ReplyDelete
  3. HEAL with TeresaApril 5, 2025 at 8:29 PM

    Thank you for the update! Thank God for the positive news. Praying the recovery goes smoothly. Sending lots of love to all of you!

    ReplyDelete

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