Good Day

Today was a really good day. She made lots of progress. They decreased her pain medication. With that, and not getting the sedative, she was more responsive today. Yesterday, we begged and pleaded for her to move her thumb on command. Today, she was moving her feet, smiling (as much as possible with a vent), and answering questions by nodding her head.

At one point John & Lynn were standing on different sides of her bed and she would move her eyes back and forth to whomever was talking at the moment. It was so sweet to see her smile and recognize Lauren at her bedside. We are ecstatic!

They turned the external pacemaker off today and her heart is beating on its own. They didn't remove the pacemaker just in case she may need it later on, but for now, her heart is doing great!

They also removed the balloon pump which helped add strength to her heart beat. This was the pump where she was bleeding at the place where it entered her body. They removed the pump and was able to finally stop the bleeding. Her heart seems to be doing fine without the pump.

She still has the ECMO, which helps circulate the blood through her body. It is working at decreased capacity from yesterday. That is a good thing. It means that her heart is doing more and more work on its own. They are hoping to try and take her off the ECMO on Monday. Things have to continue to go well tomorrow and she'll have to prove that she can go without it for a few days before we can know for sure how she is doing.

Once the ECMO is out, they'll monitor the possibility of removing the ventilator. They have to keep changing the settings because she is starting to breathe more and more on her own and she often over breathes the vent. She hates the vent and we'll all be happy when she gets it out and can finally talk to us.

John & Suzie, Mark & Brenda, Lauren, Ammon, & Logan all came to visit today. We enjoyed each others company as we took turns back in her room with her. It was a great way to spend their anniversary. The progress she made today was all the anniversary gift that Lynn wanted.

We feel your prayers. Thank you for your love and concern.