Friday 6/1

Lung issues still persist, today the respiratory therapist put Abby back on a percussor (CPEP) machine which pushes and pulls large volumes of air into and out of her lungs quickly (one full inhale and exhale at about once per second) through the white and blue tubes that connect at her mouth. This machine has been engineered to help the body move and breakup large secretions in the lungs. They have her on a specific schedule for this machine as well as a cough assist machine.
For several days now, Abby has been hooked up to a narrow feeding tube that travels down her nose and past her stomach to her duodenum. They put the tube past her stomach because the doctors were concerned about her throwing the food back up. Since there is nothing getting to her stomach, the doc's also needed to place an additional line through her nasal passage that would sit in her stomach and suction out the digestive enzymes and bile. Abby likes to make this cute winking face, like a bunny, and scrunches her nose when she has an itch. The tubes are taped to her right cheek and are also pulling her nostril to the right, this is what causes her to itch often.

Dan consoling and praying over Abby.

Since Abby is having such difficulty breathing on her own the doctors have consulted the Marsh family for their consent to perform a temporary tracheostomy. This will aid in her healing process and get back on the road to recovery. This surgery has been scheduled for this Monday, 6/4. It is reassuring to know that these surgeons have performed this surgery many times. Abby's new trach (trake) will give nurses, and eventually family, a quick access point to remove the obstructions to her airway. After the trach heals she will be able to communicate much easier as there will not be a need to have a breathing tube in her mouth.
Thank you for your prayers and continued support. Please pray for the mucus to break and her lungs to function back to normal.
The Marsh family would also like to thank everyone who came out Saturday morning to help with the duties that come along with living on a big piece of land in the country.