2 March

No phone call overnight. This morning he was looking less puffy than yesterday, and Angela (nurse) says the two doses of diuretics have certainly worked (big volumes of urine output). His tubes are all a bit loose, so we watched him very carefully to make sure he doesn’t dislodge it.
Vanessa (consultant) examined him, and listed for ages to his abdomen. She is confident she can hear bowel movement!!! So, she’s decided to extubate him today. She’ll call the surgeon & tell him what she intends, and then, if all is OK, extubate him. He really hates the ventilator and the tubes, so it’ll be good to give him a bit more freedom. Hallelujah!The wound site and surrounding areas are much less red than yesterday, and I can’t really see much in the way of swelling, so he’s healing well. We’ll call later today & see what the deal is with getting him extubated and if it’s already done, how he’s going.

Later – Yes, he’s on CPAP and off the ventilator! As expected, he needs a lot more oxygen (40-50%), but we expect that he’ll slowly wean back down to 25-30% over the next 24 hours. He’s obviously a lot more comfortable. He did try a little cry when we arrived in the afternoon – but his voice is very husky and sore as yet. Well done Max!