Intubation

We just approved putting mom on a ventilator. Don't panic. Mom has been on a machine that focuses air into your mouth. I was on the same machine when my heart failure after the kids were born. Yesterday Mom was not breathing that well and Dad went to get the nurses. A whole team came in and they put a tube down her airway to suction out all the phlygm out ... and it appeared that she had asprirated a bit since it appeared that the phlygm had made it into her lungs. So -- with this air being forced down her throat it could push stuff further into her lungs. Her blood pressure is also going up and this could be because she is having to work so hard to breath thus putting pressure on her heart. Since her myeloma has attacked her spine they wanted to intubate under sedation so that they could gently move her neck around. If they waited until it was an emergency ... they would not have the time to sedate her and they would have to force her head back. They are doing it now.