Thursday

We were able to hold Laura through much of the afternoon, today! That was a huge treat for us. And for Laura too. After three days of Laura lying in bed, it was so nice to finally be able to take her (and all her tangle of cords!) in arms and sit and rock her.

All in all, this was a good day, albeit with a few minor hurdles.

Laura slept most of the day and maintained good numbers most of the way around. She has had a fair bit of congestion, though, so they've added some water vapor into her oxygen. The good news is that this vaporizor is helping keep her breathing clear. The bad news is, this is another "ICU only" procedure. So, we have to remain in ICU for as long as she is on the vaporizor, and then for a full 24 hours after she gets off it. In other words, we won't be leaving ICU tomorrow as we were hoping, after all. But maybe soon.

The other little hiccup today: Laura's right lung has partially collapsed. As I type, she is getting a special PT therapy designed to help recover full inflation and breathing in that lung. She'll get this therapy every few hours, until things resolve. The doctors and nurses are quite optimistic that this is not a huge problem, but it's just one more thing we have to get resolved.

It seems that Laura's heart has been doing great since the surgery, but it is the respiratory team that we keep drawing upon.

So, we continue to have a complicated recovery. But things are moving in the right direction, over all.

Thanks for your continued prayers.