"George here. Do you notice anything different about Christopher in the accompanying photo? More of his face?
They took the ventilator out today. He is breathing on his own.
There is a chance he might have to be intubated again -- it's quite common -- but so far, so good. They tested his blood gases an hour after the vent was removed, and it was fine. He seems to be breathing without much difficulty. They will continue to watch him for the next six, 12, 24 hours to see if he tires and begins struggling to breathe. ... We hope that doesn't happen, although it could.
Also -- and this is at least as important and at least as cool -- (his brother and sister) got to visit Christopher this afternoon. They both talked with him, read to him and enjoyed seeing their baby brother for the second time (they saw him once before, in January or February).
He watched them alertly and handled the half hour of extra stress pretty well.
I asked (his sister) what she liked most about the visit.
"Everything," she said.
I think she captured how we all feel. We've liked just about everything about today.
(Nothing new on the kidneys, though the doctors hope if/when he consistently breathes on his own, it could help in the process of the kidneys' recovery, as well. Christopher's liver continues to improve; he's getting much better each day. Oh, and one other thing. He's begun taking a pacifier, which is cool, since we need him to learn how to suck and eventually to eat.)
Thanks, Father, for a great day, and for great progress with Christopher.
Thank you all for continuing to pray for him, and for us. (I guess the specific list right now includes kidneys, as always, and liver improvement, and also that he wouldn't need to be put back on the ventilator. If he does, that's OK and we can deal with it. But it sure would be nice if this step of recovery took hold, and helped him take off.)"
