Sleepless night

Quinn has had a very eventful day today.  Both of his leg catheters were removed and replaced by a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) located in his upper arm.  This is much safer as it is less prone to infection and, when he is mobile again (!), he will be unable to pull it out easily.

Liver values have remained at normal levels.  This morning he was quite feisty, squirming regularly and acting very uncomfortable.  With a breathing tube he is unable to cry and any coughs register only as a "beep, beep, beep" on the ventilator.  These differ slightly from the "beep" and "beep, beep" alarms on the machines administering nutrition and medicine, and the machine that monitors vital signs.  After a few days you are able to stop jumping at every sound as you've learned what they mean, and which ones matter most.  

The discomfort was another strong sign that Quinn was ready to take a big step - removal of his breathing tube.  That happened just a short while ago and he's doing fine breathing on his own.  He's quite raspy, and somewhat agitated as he becomes more aware of his surroundings.  He settles when Nick or I are holding his hand and stroking his head.  I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of that tonight and a little less sleeping.  And that most certainly is fine and welcomed.