4/23 Update

Well, when I called this afternoon to check on Carissa I found out that she had had the ventilator removed. Her nurse tried to describe the aparatus that Carissa had on now that helped her breathe some and I figured it was the little oxygen tubes that barely stick into your nose so I hurried to the hospital to take the first picture of my daughter without the ventilator tube in her mouth. Boy was I ever surprised when I got there and sure enough the ventilator tube was removed...and in its place were 2 larger tubes that were taped over her nose area. Someone had stolen my cute daughter and replaced her with a baby snuffaluffagus. She still looks cute but I was so surprised that I forgot to take any pictures. When she does well with these tubes I believe they will be replaced with the smaller tubes that just stick into your nose to help with oxygen if needed. I am sure that will need to be taped in as well. Pamela can tell you that tape is the current accessory of choice of hospitals. She is still finding pieces and sticky residue on her. I guess it beats barbed wire.

Carissa began eating a little bit today but is having some difficulty with it and they will discontinue for a while if she does not improve some. A couple of hours after she eats they syphon out the stomach contents with the tube that leads to her stomach. So far Carissa has had too much "residue" and it is the wrong color. We are still happy that she is at the point to even try to eat.

They are focused more on helping Carissa get better and less on diagnosing a root cause right now but they are still looking. Although several genetic disorders were tested they are going to start some testing for other genetic disorders as well as retesting for some that at first look did not show up. Some of these are pretty scary and can lead to some serious long term challenges. We are still hoping that some illness was the root cause and that Carissa will just keep improving as the hours and days go by and that she comes home soon and gets to start a normal life. We know that if Carissa has one of these genetic defects that it is for a reason and that God will give us the grace to not just get through but to glorify Him in the process and for that we are thankful. I will remind you of one of the first emails I sent where God told us, all of us, through Paul in Philippians 4 to "Be anxious for nothing, but with thanksgiving and supplication let your requests be made known to God." Because of this we are requesting that Carissa not be found to have one of these genetic differences.

Pamela keeps progressing nicely and is mostly behaving except for not making time to take a nap in the afternoon. I don't think I have refused a suggestion to take a nap since I was 5 but I guess I generally am known as the compliant one between Pamela and me...We will now resume our regularly scheduled truthful email.

Quick summary for those who like bullets:
Please thank God for answering our direct prayers of letting the ventilator be removed and for another day in the right direction
Please pray that Carissa will be able to start doing better with feeding and to be able to keep being fed milk
Please pray that Carissa will keep breathing well on her own and will be able to progress onto even less support for her breathing.
Please pray that Carissa does not have any genetic defects.
Please pray that whoever hears the story of Carissa and how she has come further than many experts ever expected her to that God receives the glory and that people will want to know more of this God that has caused and continues to cause great things to happen and progress to be made that our incredible doctors were doubtful would ever be made.
Thank you so much for all your prayers. Please keep interceding for our little Carissa.

Yours and His,
Terry