This weekend Mark has been to his first accordion concert (By Smiling Jack in the activities room at Villa Las Palmas), he has been dressed in his usual gear more often, he has been out of bed in several occasions and the most important thing:
He has been breathing on his own. They have told me that we are looking for a deccanulation some time next week. Maybe Pia will see it happening (Pia is Mark's big sister, and she is coming to visit us).
Keep those prayers coming, and your fingers cross!!!!!!!
So what is deccanulation:
Successful decannulation marks the completion of tracheotomy management. Contemplation of decannulation assumes resolution of the underlying condition that necessitated the tracheotomy. At this stage the patient must be able to protect the airway, clear secretions, and have no significant compromise of the airway. Additionally, there should not be other mitigating factors such as anatomic abnormalities or planned surgery that would make preservation of the tracheotomy tract desirable. Removal of the tube can be done in a number of different ways and is closely supervised in hospital. Ward decannulation takes several days. A smaller tube is inserted as a routine tube change. This allows the stoma to begin the gradual process of closing. Once the smallest possible tube is used, it is blocked with a small bung for 24 hours. If the Patient has tolerated this, the tube is removed completely and the stoma covered with an airtight dressing