Emily: Future nurse?

BEWARE: this is a little graphic, those with weak stomachs, skip to the second paragraph.

We don't have a nurse this weekend. We are blessed that we will have a nurse every other weekend, which will be nice. Michael had to work yesterday morning, so Emily and I were here with Kaedy by ourselves. I was talking to Paula on the phone when I saw/heard Kaedy coughing and she started to de-sat (her oxygen saturation level went down). She usually does not de-sat, even when she coughs or has a plug in her trach. I got off the phone and quickly gloved up, got the oxygen going on the ambu-bag, turned on the suction and tried to suction her. When I took off her vent tubing, there was a big bloody glob in her trach. I tried to suction it out and the suction wasn't working. I took my non-sterile hand and tried to figure out what was wrong with the suction machine, and couldn't find a thing. I thought maybe the tubing got clogged, because it had some mucous on it, so I opened up a new kit and got new tubing. No luck there, either. Meanwhile, her sats were still dropping. I ambu'd her (aka bagged her) and she came back up, so I tried to put her vent on her to go get the back up suction machine. As soon as I put the vent on her, she de-satted. I bagged her again, up to 100, put the vent on, and she de-satted into the 70s, very quickly. Sooooo, here I am, just me and Emily, Kaedy needs to be bagged and I need to go get the backup suction machine which is at the end of the crib, but completely out of reach.

I then taught my 4 year old how to bag the baby.

She bagged her for about a minute while I got the machine and got a new sterile kit ready to suction. I go to suction Kaedy again and the backup suction machine was not working. I have Emmy bag her again while I figure out what was wrong (this time I could figure it out) and open up ANOTHER sterile kit and suction her SUCCESSFULLY this time.

Later, when Michael came home he was able to figure out what was wrong with the first suction machine.

So far this is the scariest thing that has happened to me, personally, with Kaedy. I now COMPLETELY understand why we need to have two people here all the time, preferably adults. Unfortunately that means that we will only be able to go to church every other weekend, one at a time. I am already going on Wednesday nights, by myself. I will be going Saturday, Michael will be going Sunday morning and I will be going Sunday nights, every other weekend. I can't wait for a better scenario!!! I really miss church when I am not there. And I am not able to do all I want to do for the church, when I can't be there, as well.

I am looking forward to the next season of my life!