Malachi's Surgery

We just wanted to give a quick update on Malachi's tracheostomy surgery that happened last Friday morning. We apologize to those who were waiting for this update!

The surgery to put both the tracheostomy and the g-tube in went well. Malachi went down to the OR around 7:30am and was back in the NICU by 10:30am. He started to wake up and look around as we walked upstairs with him alongside the healthcare team.

As the team was getting Malachi set up in his new bed spot, Malachi suddenly started turning blue. He stopped breathing and his heart rate started dropping rapidly. His oxygen saturation probe was not yet set up, but when it finally was set up it was close to 0 (it should be high 90s). The team called a code pink (cardiac arrest) and people came running from all directions to help resuscitate our son. We watched in shock and horror while our worst nightmare came true. The new trach was pulled out of his throat and an airbag was used to give him breaths through the hole. After about 2 minutes, Malachi started to turn pink again and return to normal. The operating team came rushing to the NICU from the OR and worked on putting a new trach in Malachi. They used one that fit a bit differently. 

When all was said and done, it was determined that Malachi was not sedated enough after the surgery and was moving around too much. This made the trach slip out a bit and was pushed back in to the wrong spot. The operating surgeons put a new trach in that they felt was a better size and made it more secure. Malachi has been sedated more heavily since so that the trach hole can heal. He has been stable since the new trach was put in and the healthcare team is happy with how he is now doing. 

We are so deeply thankful that it was not God's timing to take our Malachi from us yet, however, we often wrestle with the “why” questions. We are still very shaken and coming to terms with everything that happened and we can't wait to hold our little man again once he has healed a bit more.