Lucas Camilo

After nearly 48 hours off the vent Lucas finally hit the wall this afternoon. Shortly after we posted a glowing report about his 2-day trach collar run, and at the exact moment that the respiratory therapists arrived to wheel away the ventilator, Lucas decided that he’d had enough of the deep, consistent breathing needed to keep his oxygen saturation and heart rate up. They barely had time to put the vent back in the closet before the call came from the docs to reinstall it.

Still, we’re proud of the little guy, and at the same time we’re learning his limits. He will need to go home with a vent but can just use it intermittently (probably over night) and have the collar most of the time. The whole event was also good for us because we were able to mostly deal with his sudden slowing of breathing on our own… and imagine what it would be like if it happened at home. This time it was good to have the nurses, respiratory specialists, and doctors here to oversee and guide us, and we emerged from the experience feeling confident about what to do next time something stressful happens.