The day we have been waiting for!!!

Sooooo...Maddie had her follow up appointment with Dr. Passamani this morning and things went well!  Shoot, who am I kidding things went FANTABULOUS!!!  He said, while she still has some sleep apnea it is very mild and likely will always be the case due to her PRS but he sees no reason why she can't be decannulated! 

As of right now, Maddie has OR time scheduled for Friday, August 30th.  The plan is to put her under and Dr. P will take a look in her right ear and decide if she needs a 2nd set of tubes, if so he will place them at that time.  After that, he will perform a bronchoscopy (http://www.webmd.com/lung/bronchoscopy) and as long as everything looks good she will go from the OR and be admitted into the ICU.  The first night in the ICU she will sleep with her trach capped and they will monitor her heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen levels.  If everything stays within a normal range then the next morning Dr. P will come in and remove her tracheostomy tube and place a bandage over the stoma.  She will remain in the ICU that day and one more night while they continue to monitor her.  Pending everything goes well the second night she will be moved to the regular peds floor and will probably spend one more day and night just to make sure she is breathing okay as well as being able to handle her secretions.  After that we will be home sweet home!!  The hope is that the stoma will close on it's own, but if after 6 months it hasn't fully closed then Dr. P will do a quick procedure and stitch it closed. 

I really don't know how I feel right now, kind of excited, nervous, hopeful, and scared all at the same time.  Yes I want her trach out more than anything, but it has given us a sense of security in that under almost any circumstance she still has a safe accessible airway. And if you see Maddie and ask her if she wants her trach out she proudly tell you, "No, I like it, it's comfortable," so I think it gives her a feeling of being safe and secure at the same time.  I for one am excited not to have to lug around her suction machine every where we go. 

So that's it folks.  Hopefully in just a short 2 1/2 weeks my baby girl will be trach free and ready to start 1st grade!!