Off Bi-pap, with faith and hope.

"Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  Matthew 17:20

This mountain is moving.  It turns out, the mountain was bigger than we had thought.  It is still just dust to the power of our Lord.  It is hard not to be discouraged.  Just like in the early months, every time we make progress there is a setback.  One step forward, two steps back.  On Tuesday we will have been here for three weeks, and the end is not in sight yet.  Sarah has to be able to wean down on her oxygen support.

We have not made significant progress, but we are not escalating care either.  Sarah is on the high-flow nasal cannula, with the same settings she was on when she extubated.  Getting off the bi-pap is progress, and I promise to get excited about it as soon as we get through twelve hours without someone mentioning the need to go back on bi-pap or re-intubate.  

I like the cannula.  Obviously, I want her to get well enough to be off support, but as support machines go, this one is OK.  I can see her beautiful face.  She can see me.  It is easy to take off and put on.  If she pulls it off it is not critical- I can fix it.  That means I can pick her up and hold her without the nurse's help.  When she is awake, she can move around quite a bit on her bed and it does not make anyone nervous. I cannot imagine that it feels awesome, but she seems more comfortable.