Thank you so much for all your expressions of love and care for Eliza and us; please know that we're reading all your emails and listening to all your messages and treasuring each one, though we can't keep up with responding to all of them. Our dear friend Kelly Kirk is helping us disseminate information and coordinate help as needs arise; you can contact her at kellkirk@gmail.com if you'd like. We'll do our best to keep sending general email updates as much as possible. Eliza has so many friends, and we feel so well cared for and loved.
We met today with the hospice nurse and social worker who have been assigned to Eliza from the very beginning. It has been a long time since we've needed their help, but it felt as if we'd barely skipped a beat. Both are very kind and loving and very, very helpful, both in understanding what is happening and in planning for the hours and days ahead. We are so grateful for their expertise and for their care for Eliza and our family. They will visit again tomorrow, and are available anytime should we need them overnight. Though no one can predict with any accuracy what to expect, the nurse was able to tell us that should Eliza's condition not change for the better over the next twenty-four hours, she is not likely to recover. At this point, she is still fighting the virus and could take a turn for the better, but with oxygen levels and heart rates sustained at poor levels for several days, there is only so much time for recovery. That is not to say
that death is imminent; she may well fight for some time, even if there is no chance of recovery. But by tomorrow morning, we should have a clearer idea of what to expect.
And so, we are keeping Eliza comfortable. She does not appear to be able to sustain much awake time comfortably, so we're using her sedative as much as needed. When sedated, she sleeps very well and doesn't seem to suffer. The hospice nurse and our beloved docs are helping us sort out what other comfort measures may be necessary in the days to come. We are in capable, caring, gentle hands, both those of our Savior who awaits His sweet daughter, and those He has put here to help us care for Eliza as we wait.
If you are in the area and would like to, you are welcome to join us in our living room tonight between 8:00 and 10:00pm to pray. Please feel free to come during all or some of that time. I will not list our address here, as these Eliza updates have the tendency to spread far and wide and are posted on the web as well, but I suspect that most of you have access to our address or someone who does. If you don't, feel free to call or email, and we'll do our best to get back to you with directions.
With gratitude for you and your love and prayers,
Daniele (for the dixiejax)
