Back on the Ventilator

Around midnight last night it became clear that Lynnea could not handle the work of breathing on her own any longer, so we elected to reintubate her. She is relatively stable on the ventilator, but it is difficult to determine exactly where we should go from here because there are not any good options. Last night her respiratory failure appeared to be caused by several factors -- she was having a difficult time clearing her secretions, which is probably a neurological problem that may or may not get better with time, but there also seemed to be a cardiac issue as well, which will not get better with time, along with all of Lynnea's other pre-existing respiratory issues.