Tomorrow we extubate! (6/27)

Hi family and friends!! BIG NEWS!! The plan is to take out Annelise’s breathing tube tomorrow morning at 8am, Nebraska time, that’s 6am In CA. They will have oxygen in a nasal cannula ready for her as a step down from the ventilator.  There are different settings that they can use, depending on the needs she has at the time... and they will have another tube on hand to re-intubate if necessary.
This is one of the major questions we’ve had for as long as we’ve been researching trisomy 18.  Will she be able to breathe on her own?  Will she need oxygen constantly? Will she need another surgery to get a trach on a ventilator?  It seems unreal that we’ll actually begin to find the answers to that question tomorrow!  She is doing well, and showing signs that she might succeed off of the breathing tube, but often, kiddos with trisomy 18 have “floppy airways” and to keep them growing, and not having to use all their energy just to breathe, sometimes a tracheostomy is the best choice for the kid.  So it’s a very real possibility that tomorrow evening Annelise could be intubated again.  It’s just as possible though, that she will fly through the procedure, take her own breaths, and never look back on those first few weeks of life where she breathed via a machine.  We don’t know what God has planned for her, but I know the Lord is familiar with my prayers asking Him to grow her lungs, give her airway strength, and fill her little body with breath tomorrow.  I also know that His plan for her is better than my plans for her might be, and that even though it seems impossible, God actually loves her more than I love her!  And I love her so much!!😍😍😍
There is an amazing woman named Beverly, who gives massages to parents in the NICU.  Perfect timing for us today as the nerves are starting to ramp up in anticipation of tomorrow morning!
We can rest in knowing the Lord made her on purpose, for a purpose, and He already knows what will happen.  There’s no other Annelise Faith Buchanan on this Earth, and we feel so lucky to be her parents and walk through days like tomorrow with her, surrounded by faith in the God of miracles, who will be there with us always.💖💕