So, at the end of the day tonight we found ourselves pretty much back to the same ol thing that we’ve been used to regarding Rhys. That’s not the best of news… He was re-intubated today because his breathing was very labored. Once he was tubed they discovered he had lots of secretions in his lungs. This was very likely the reason he was having so much trouble off the tube. With the tube in they can easily suction his lungs, and without it he has to cough it out himself. The bad news here is not so much that he’s back on the tube but the secretions appear to be pneumonia related… So, off to do cultures it went. We’ll find out tomorrow.

The nurses and docs say this is fairly typical and no real worries considering he is still in the ICU. If there is an infection the positives are we caught it early, and he is already on antibiotics to fight it. He looks much more comfortable on the tube again and his color is much better, so infection aside I think he’s better off. He also gained weight (but, this could just be the weight of the tube). He’s at 3 pounds 4 ounces! Yay!

Now for the comic relief part. Boy, is this one a doozy… The nurse informed me when I was there that they are now giving him vibration treatments for his lungs. Basically they vibrate his chest to loosen up any gunk and yuckies then suction it out. So, when the respiratory therapist came in the nurse asked him, “Do you have the vibrator?”

Of course being male and thus having my mind in the gutter for the better part of the day I think to myself, “Huh huh… You said vibrator…”

Lo, what happens next? The respiratory therapist pulls out a big ol vibrator! Yep, you guessed it. Your standard issue sex toy. I’m reminded of those Sesame Street skits where they put a bunch of things on the screen and sing “Which One of These Things Doesn’t Belong Here”. Now, it wasn’t the detailed kind that actually resembled “man’s best friend”. It was the more modern issue stainless steel type. It looked like it would be…. uh…. cold. :) Anyway, I suppose it’s quite appropriate for the job at hand (boy, there’s a pun in there somewhere). Just something about a big black man smacking his gum and reaching into your son’s iso with a vibrator that is wrong on SO many levels… I need a drink….