Anna remains in ICU tonight. She’ll probably be there for the next few days until they’re happy that she’s breathing completely unassisted.
She was ventilated overnight but they removed her tube this morning. She went straight onto a breathing mask which is fitted around her head and not that comfortable. Anna was awake, conscious and alert through all of this and trying hard to speak even though neither the tube or mask really allowed her to do that. By the time I arrived this morning she was already communicating via whiteboard with the staff and making her feelings very clear. I didn’t need to tell them that Anna will express her thoughts as they had already found out!
She’s had two sessions of physio today to make sure her airways are clear. Everyone is pleased with her in terms of how well surgery went yesterday. I think she exceeded all expectations. Her blood loss was low and bone strength was much better than expected. Her anaesthetist, surgeon and neurology consultant all came to see her today and all were delighted with her progress even in this short time.
She was a bit teary and emotional as her meds wore off mid morning especially as she was struggling with the mask and beginning to feel quite uncomfortable. After a couple more doses of pain relief she was settled and slept for a couple of hours during the day.
I’m always amazed by how quickly she seems to recover even after major events like this surgery.
She wasn’t happy for me to share any photos of her today so instead I’m showing you a picture of her playing in the garden with Isla, our cat. I think Anna would be pleased with this as an alternative.X
anna's blog 
Progress even better than hoped for.