Central lines and pneumonia

Today, the doctors will be attempting to place a central line in Gracie ( This type of catheter is inserted into a vein at one location (neck, chest or groin), and tunneled under the skin to a separate exit site, where it emerges from underneath the skin. It is held in place by a Dacron cuff, just underneath the skin at the exit site. The exit site is typically located in the chest, making the access ports less visible than if they were to directly protrude from the neck. Passing the catheter under the skin helps to prevent infection and provides stability.) She will have to be sedated even MORE than she already is, and it could be up to a 2 hour procedure. Wow. I can't help but remember the PICC line in the NICU. I still shudder when I think of what might have happened had Kris not noticed the small changes. Now, the old "bullet hole" is just one of many NICU wounds, and they tell a story of amazing resilience, strength, and of course GRACE.
 She does have aspiration pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Her lung probably collapsed when they intubated her in Elmira, but there was no other choice. I was told they would start respiratory therapy with her today or tomorrow, to help get the nasties out. She gives us GOOD caughs and cries when she coughs though....good signs!
Gracie is lying on a cooking blanket. When we got here, she actually needed it to bring her temperature down, it was lingering between 105 and 106 for quite a while. Now, they are keeping her "on the cool side" about 96-97, because the brain heals better at cooler temps.