Eliza Update - 3/8 8pm

Dear family and friends,

Eight hours later and Eliza is still breathing on her own! She's still under the oxygen hood (a plastic tent over her head), receiving air that is about 40% oxygen (room air is 21%). At that concentration, she's able to maintain an appropriate oxygen level in her blood, except when she gets upset and cries. It's not completely clear why her oxygen saturation drops when she gets upset, but the hope is that this problem will work itself out over time. The fact that she can cry--and that her voice is becoming less hoarse as the hours go by--is apparently a good sign; this means that her vocal chords, which were separated by the ET tube, are coming back together, and this is essential for independent breathing. We've once again been cautioned not to be too surprised if she tires out in the next couple of days and needs to be reintubated for a few days of rest.

As for the near future, if Eliza continues to breathe well on her own for the next week or so, the doctors will do a swallow study, an x-ray to see if her swallowing reflex has returned. Two to three weeks from now, assuming the swallow study goes well, they will begin to attempt feeding her by mouth. In addition, Eliza is scheduled for a 24-hour EEG tomorrow, as the level of phenobarbitol (anti-convulsant) in her blood has again dropped below the therapeutic level. If the EEG shows no seizure activity, the doctors will not likely boost the level of that drug but will instead allow it to begin to wean itself. Another MRI is also in the tentative plan for a week or so from now.

It's hard not to get too impatient now that Eliza seems to have passed this big test, but we know she still has a long road until she gets home; we'll continue to trust and wait on God's perfect timing.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort" 2 Corinthians 1:3.

Love,
Daniele, Sam, Luke, and Eliza