Watching and Waiting....

Today we spent the day watching Gaby's breathing monitors and waiting for her to maintain high enough levels that would allow the medical staff to wean her off of the ventilator. While also watching her become more active and agitated as they reduced her pain medication. For the most part, she did really well. However, because of her agitation and some coughing, she would have periodic fits that would drop her breathing levels and force the staff to work with her to get her breathing right again. This is tough to watch as her skin goes from pink, to beet red, to blue. Because of the breathing tube, she cannot make a sound, but her silent screams are enough to break your heart.

So, we spent the day hoping to hold Gaby today, but we'll go to bed disappointed. The plan is to make her comfortable for the night, as night time is her fussiest time of day, decrease her dependency on the vent overnight, and attempt to take her off sometime in the midmorning. We are praying for a peaceful night for her. Her last couple have been rough.

We did see progress with her stomach today. They began feeding her pedialyte, which is the first "food" that they've given her since Monday's surgery. She seems to be handling this fine and tomorrow they will add some formula to the mix.

Even though we didn't get Gaby off of the vent today, we did see progress and that is nice. Before Gaby can be discharged, she needs to be breathing well and she needs to be able to handle her food. We are getting tired of the watching and waiting, so it was nice to see some action today.....and we are optimistic about tomorrow.

Thanks for your prayers and positive posts. We read and treasure every one of them...it really is a highlight of our day.

Gabe