The tube is out!!!

Dad's off the vent- they pulled the tube out early this morning and he's breathing on his own with his new lung!!! He's getting a small amount of O2 through a nasal canula which they'll be decreasing throughout the morning. Bryan's with him now and said that he's in great spirits, talking well, slept well, etc. I was literally on my knees praying for that tube to come out today when my phone beeped with Bryan's text that said they had pulled the tube and he was breathing on his own. We're so blessed!

I should also mention that Diane, the other lung recipient, was moved yesterday from the surgical ICU to the intermediary ICU and was up walking the halls!  These are good, strong lungs and I'm sure Dad will be following her lead in a day or two.  Such a miracle!  How can we ever thank the donor family enough?  Thinking of them ... always.

From Bryan:

Got a call at 5:30 AM to hurry up to the hospital because my Dad wanted me to be there when they discussed pulling his breathing tube (This can really only be done once with a new lung) so its important to get it right. That drive was very cold, dark and long from Draper to the U. I realized when I got there that I didn't have the radio on the entire drive, a lot of things go through your mind. They ended up pulling the breathing tube and turning off the ventilator right when I got there. After quite a bit of suction and nervousness he started breathing on his own! He and I just sat and had conversations about everything. He looks great, feels great and is eating ice chips. He told me "I'm the luckiest man alive". He still has a long road to recovery but it looks like he's going to make it out of here.

Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts, they REALLY did help, what a roller-coaster