If you are confused by the title, read the Scary Night post - all the way to the end. So Alondra has her ear tubes. Once they let her wake up, she should be able to hear again. She's still on the ventilator but stable.
The tests have revealed the source of Alondra's breathing problems are likely her bronchial tubes. Rather than being nice open airways, they are floppy and one is nearly closed. The likely cause is either an irregular blood vessel constricting them, or that the cartilage that helps keep the tubes open isn't strong enough to do so. Preliminary results from this morning's CT scan indicate that the vascular ring (first problem) is not likely. That's not official, as we haven't heard from the ENT doc yet, but the staff we got to know in the PICU when Luke was there couldn't wait. Several had a look at the test results and offered their opinions.
There's still significant swelling and first order of business is to take care of that. The plan is also to ease up a bit on the meds and let Alondra be a little more awake. She's been totally out since Monday night.
If the vascular ring is ruled out, the hope would be that the bronchial tube blockage is due to the swelling in her airway. So after the swelling has subsided, the ENT doc will have another look to re-evaluate. If there's still blockage, a tracheostomy would be a possibility. Many kids outgrow this sort of problem, so if a trach is needed it would likely be temporary. If the integrity of the bronchial tubes remains a problem once she's older, surgery may be needed to correct it then.
Still, everything we're hearing is all very treatable. Hopefully the scary night was the worst of it and soon we'll have our happy daughter back at home. For now, Alondra is doing well and resting comfortably. So well in fact, that Matt and Lauren are planning a visit after school today.
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