Monday Morning, June 27, 2005 at 10:08 AM EDT

Sam slept well last night, and blew me a little kiss earlier!

Then this morning, I kissed her, and she puckered her little lips several times to give me kisses! She was wide awake, and clapping her hands, and when I asked, "where's your tongue?", she spit it out; when I asked, "where's your teeth?", she pulled her lips back and showed me.
When doctors and nurses come in and say hi to her, she waves her arm at them. And when they do something she doesn't like, she tries to hit them.

She's down at whirlpool now, so will be sleepy until this afternoon; she will have dialysis after her treatment. She's very itchy and squirmy, and this could be due to several things: her kidneys not clearing all toxins; her skin healing/peeling; or her medications.

Last night we heard that the biopsy samples weren't growing anything, and that was 72 hours afterward, so that's good news; perhaps the dark spot they saw on the scan was just some more necrosis from the initial disease, which is common; it's possible the bone can just reabsorb that, so we'll see how things go. Any escape from infection is good.

Sam continues to do great off the vent, and is breathing on her own up to 8 hours a day (at 2 intervals). She continues to pee, but will need the dialysis to make sure it's "effective" ; hopefully the kidneys will continue to get stronger.
Let's hope and pray for a great week, w/even more strength for SuperSam!!

Thanks,
Jessica
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Monday Afternoon, June 27, 2005 at 03:59 PM EDT

Whirlpool and dialysis went fine.
Sam was a little squirmy in the early afternoon, but still managed a smile for Mr. & Mrs. C when they visited, and even stuck her tongue out. Grandpa was also able to see her moving about.

Her latest challenge has been diarrhea--challenging for both her and the staff! They are checking to see if some type of infection is causing it; we're hoping to get it under control soon.

The rehab team was in to talk w/me today--the hope is that within the next week or so, Sam can bid farewell to the ICU and move over to rehab. They would like her off the vent completely, and she's definitely moving in that direction.

That's all the news for today; keep the positive thoughts coming.

Thanks,
Jessica

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This week is off to a pretty Good Start! ~ Thanks, God!