First I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your love, support and prayers. It is humbling to be in this position and we are so grateful for each of you. Our sweet gwen is stable and doing well. Yesterday was a rough day. They took her breathing tubes out to see how she could do on her own. In order to do this, she had to wake up from her anesthesia. Jon and I hovered over her and the doctors asked us to keep talking with her to encourage her to open her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes and made eye contact. As she woke up she also became quite aware of her pain and her situation. As a parent this was the hardest part. She had big tears coming down her cheeks and kept looking into our eyes and saying, "owwwwwe". We kept encouraging her and kissing her little forehead and I sang a few of her favorite songs into her ear. It is amazing how just those little things calmed her down. She just needs to know that her mommy and daddy are there and love her. As the tubes were gently pulled from her throat, they put an air mask over her mouth and nose. We all just sat and watched and waited. I watched as her chest rose up and down with each breath. It was like watching so many other "firsts" as a parent. Her first steps, her first word...this was her first breath on her own since the accident. Her little body was struggling. The doctors and nurses who have been amazing through all of this, watched intently for a few hours. Jon and I stayed right in her sweet face the whole time sending reassuring words into her little ears. It was eventually determined that the breathing tubes needed to go back in. More time for her wounds to heal, more time for her body to rest. As they sedated her there was a feeling of relief as her body started to relax and she was again having sweet dreams unaware of her situation. Tomorrow we will try again. For now her sweet little body and mind are resting and healing. Jon just called and gave me her latest stats: her chest xray looked the best it has looked this morning. They have her on antibiotics to fight some of the infections that are common with suction tubes. They will take chest tube out of her side today which has been draining the blood from her lungs. The burn unit team comes to her twice a day to clean her road rash which they treat as a burn. Her doctor is pleased with her progress and when they pull the tube tomorrow, he said he would sit with her and monitor her the entire day (we love dr. knight). Once the tube is pulled it will be a game of watching how she is breathing and keeping her calm and out of pain. Either Jon or I have been at her bedside continually. We are together with her during the day and we switch off sleeping next to her each night. It is important for us as well that Elle also feels loved and involved. We naturally love and care for her just as much. She loves to visit Gwen and has been having fun playdates with friends. We have tried to keep her schedule as routine as possible. We told Elle that until Gwen comes home from the hospital she gets to have a sleepover each night in mommy and daddy's bed with whichever one of us is home. She LOVES it. Last night we snuggled in bed together and watched the Wizard of Oz until she dozed off to sleep. This morning I let her sleep-in and miss preschool so she could have some much needed mommy and home time. Please keep our little Gwenners in your prayers. Again, we are confident and have faith that she will make a full recovery. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your love.xo
amy
