Wednesday, December 14, 2005 at 12:59 PM EST

Sam is improving each day, and was extubated yesterday;
she's breathing great on her own, and slept through the night.
She has opened her eyes, but doesn't stay awake for long --
her sedation is now off, but it will take a little time before she's fully awake.
She has managed to cry, though!

Her arterial line has been removed, and though she was puffy yesterday,
the fluids are coming off, and she's "deflating" as I type.

Dialysis won't be necessary, which is great.
She has bled a bit into some old wounds, so some of her scars are darker,
and she's had a little blistering/bleeding, but plastics has been alerted,
and we'll wait to hear what they have to say.

She did mouth a small kiss to me yesterday, and
gave her Barney a brief hug.
She received a shampoo & hairstyle (pigtails), and
is nearly ready to leave the PICU -- maybe tomorrow!
She will need to finish the course of antibiotics,
so she'll recover on a regular floor for a week or so, at least.
They are lowering the lasix as well.

They identified the bacteria; it's a GI bug, and a pretty uncommon one.
It's not an esp. resistant one, luckily, and
they feel they have it under control.
The PICC did not appear infected, but the fact that she had a
line in increases the chances for infection, so they still think it's involved.

We're hoping Sam will be hungry when she wakes up, and
have the menu in front of us, to order some of her favorites.

Thanks, everyone, for your support and prayers;
Sam plans on being home as soon as she can!

Jessica

PS: Yesterday was one year to the day when Sam was
first placed in my arms!

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Happie *Gotcha Day*, Sammy!!

Now let's see if you can make it Home to see Santa!

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