Eliza Update - 2/22 12noon

Dear family and friends,

As of this morning, all of Eliza's blood levels are back to normal: no signs of infection, muscles and organs all functioning normally. The neonatologist believes that Eliza's extubation failed not because her lungs aren't strong enough, but rather because Eliza had not yet redeveloped a gag reflex. Interestingly, about an hour before the doctor reported this suspicion to me, Eliza's nurse and I both thought we saw Eliza *attempt* to gag when the nurse suctioned her lungs and mouth. It was definitely *something*, we agreed, though not a full-out gag; she's never had any reaction at all to being suctioned, so this is definitely a step in the right direction. Apparently, these reflexes can come back very slowly sometimes.

Since she's so stable now, Eliza is scheduled to have her muscle biopsy tomorrow at 10am. The surgery should be simple and quick; the biggest concern in Eliza's case is the fact that she'll need to be sedated. Considering the fact that she has had adverse (to say the least!) reactions to sedation in the past, the doctors will be very careful to use as little general anesthesia as possible. All the same, Eliza will probably be even sleepier than normal for twenty-four hours, so tomorrow will probably not bring much development in the area of waking up.

Eliza's big brother is growing impatient with this email, so I'd better run...

Love,
Daniele