Sorry that I didn't update for awhile. I thought Dad was going to and he thought I was going to! Yesterday was pretty rough, but she's doing better today. They did a breathing trial today, but they were unable to take her off the ventilator yet. They will try again tomorrow. She is no longer on the Fentinol IV drip and is not on the Ativan anymore, but is getting a Propofol drip to keep her comfortable and sedated. This type of sedation is better than the Ativan because it is short term, so they can bring her out of the sedated state fairly quickly.

Some encouraging things did happen today -- when I arrived, she wasn't really looking at anything but rather just gazing into space, but as she came further out of the sedation, she was able to track me with her eyes, respond to requests, communicate with eyeblinks, and squeezed my hand for the first time in almost 3 days. She also gave a little smile when I told her that I was going to go get some food in the cafeteria because "I don't eat enough these days" :-) She thought it was funny! Before her surgery, she said that she wanted to lose a little bit of weight and maybe this would be a good way to jump start it! I also said to her "You're going to get better, right?" and she blinked her eyes for "yes" and I also said, "You're gonna get out of this hospital, right?" and she said yes. It's amazing to me that even while frustrated, exhausted, and on a ventilator, she is still in good spirits.

She is still running a fever - last night it got up to 103. Right now she is back down to normal -- they have been giving her Tylenol and have a cooling blanket under her. The doctors have said that the Talc that they put in her pleural cavity during the surgery can cause a fever, but they are looking for other sources as well. They removed her central line and replaced all of her IVs. They have taken cultures to look for infections. They also did a full work up of cat scans yesterday - head, chest, abdomen, pelvis - all which came back normal. They were looking for any bleeding that they might have missed, but there was not any that they could see. Her chest tube is still in, but hardly any fluid is coming out. Hopefully they will be able to remove it soon.

Right now, she is back to just sleeping. She is coughing a little bit and is not really responding to us. My friend Susan drove up from Virginia Beach to stay with me for the night/tomorrow and is here with me in the hospital now. Mom is holding her Ireland bear that my aunt brought her. It fits really nicely in her hand and gives her something to hold on to when someone is not able to be here.

In addition to Mom being sick, my Dad has developed a mild case of pneumonia, so he can't come into her room. He is staying at my Gramma Florence's apartment trying to rest and get better. He started medicine yesterday. I am trying to stay healthy :-)

Thanks again to everyone who has offered their thoughts and prayers. She needs them! The doctors have said she WILL get off the ventilator and she WILL get out of the hospital -- we just have to be patient while she heals from this.