On Friday Maddie was successfully extubated (breathing tube removed) and she was able to make a few feeble cries when she was fully awake.  She was still on morphine and fell asleep for most of the rest of the day.  Her kidneys, liver, and blood stats were all improving daily.  I went home to take care of Abby and Jen stayed the night at the hospital by herself.

On Saturday I took Abby to a pool party and taught her how to swim and float at the community center in Herndon.  She was really excited about the party and had a lot of fun in the water with all the kids.  At the hospital, Maddie woke up fully from the morphine after they weaned that.  She was very awake and irritable, which we were assured was a good thing.  They also removed her arterial line, but as a result had to add a blood pressure cuff, which would cut on intermittently and irritate her even more.  The nurses spent the afternoon and evenings trying to keep her comfortable and restful.  After dinner, I drove back to the hospital to stay with Jen and Maddie for the night while Jen’s mother stayed with Abby.

Sunday was another hectic day.  Her breathing improved enough to drop her down to just 2 liters of oxygen and less medicine.  We noticed that her hands and feet were much warmer.  As for her mood, it was a challenge to keep her calm (she even pulled out her 10 inch feeding tube – don’t worry, it wasn’t necessary anymore) but we eventually turned on the TV so she wouldn’t toss and turn so much.  Her chest wound had healed enough that the doctors removed the last two tubes in Maddie‘s chest used for drainage.  The first of the two came out with a brief drop in heart rate, but the second caused the external pacemaker to kick in and stay on for a while to help with the heart block.  The doctors think that it’s the same issue she had last week and reaffirms the need for a permanent internal pacemaker.

We ask that you continue to pray for recovery for Maddie and wisdom for the medical staff.  Maddie‘s alertness, irritability, scratching, and pulling are clear signs that there may be less damage to her brain than originally feared.  The doctors don’t know why her heart rate drops every time there’s an intrusive procedure.  We hope that this is transient and will clear up soon. The upcoming procedure will probably mean we will stay in the hospital for another 2 weeks.  Please also pray for Abby, as mom and dad may be away for a lot longer than originally expected.

Today, as with every day, we are grateful for God’s faithfulness and for all of your prayers on our behalf.  We really cannot do this without all this support.