Trying CPAP for an hour at a time

We spent the next half hour talking of a future without Imogen. We had previously talked of planting a tree and now it was looking likely that we would be doing this in her memory. We talked about hiring a cottage and getting away to be alone before being able to face normal life again. This was the time when we could not take any more and I prayed for a miracle or that if she was going to be taken then she should be taken now. The knock on the door put a stop to any pessimistic thoughts.

There was Dr.Greenhough with a smile on his face, probably in as much disbelief as we were to be. The news was that Imogen’s operation was a success and that she had returned to a stable condition with lower oxygen and higher saturations. This was unbelievable and we were elated. We made our way back to the ward and saw that we had been given the miracle and I genuinely believe it was just that.

Imogen had a Heath Robinson looking device inserted in to her chest. This was a clear hose pipe running down to a glass bottle on the floor that constantly bubbled like a fermenting red wine. But who cared what it looked like, it had saved her life. This bubbled away for a number of weeks. Along the way, it did actually fail and a second operation had to be done to replace it, again with success.

On the morning of 17^th May 2005 at 6 weeks old, Imogen was considered to be well enough to undergo an operation to repair the hole in her diaphragm. Again, another tense time was upon us as she was taken away for the 4 hour operation. Imogen was moved from her corner of the ward for the first time since being admitted. It was a weird sight seeing the empty space normally occupied by her incubator. It was a time when we couldn’t do diddly squat except wait, but in the knowledge she was in good hands.

As time went by in the weeks that lead to months, Imogen showed signs of progress but would have the occasional off period. This could often be rectified by having a number of blood transfusions to give her a boost. The quantity of medicines that was pumped in to her was gradually reduced after 2-3 months. Another major advancement was being weaned and eventually being taken off the nitric oxide. At 7 weeks, we managed to have our first cuddle. We held her as though she was the most delicate item in the world. Such a frail thing but very tough. Eventually, she changed ventilator where by she was no longer intubated and could breathe by herself. She was ventilated by C-PAP and wore what looked like a very alien headset that jetted oxygen up her nose. Particularly humorous viewing when seeing bubbles come out her mouth. In mid July, Imogen was permanently on the nasal specs which she wears to this day.

 After a long 3 hours, Imogen returned to her ward after a successful operation. The Surgeon; George Racowski had fitted a patch after moving the intestines back to their rightful place. The patch is described as being similar to neoprene which should stretch and allow the diaphragm to grow naturally. It was discovered during the operation that in fact, rather than there being a hole in the diaphragm there was barely any diaphragm at all. Whether this resulted in the severity of her illness, we shall never know.