Life in the PICU

[January 4, 2008, email to family and friends]

Our Dear Friends,

First of all, thank you all so much for your prayers and well-wishes. I can’t tell you how much it has meant to Kate and me.

Ellen related to many of you the really great news we got yesterday from the neurologist ... the types of seizures Roxie most likely had on Wednesday were not the kind that would affect her brain development. That was a huge relief.

Roxie’s condition remains stable and she’s still heavily sedated and on a couple of anti-epileptic drugs while her body fights off the RSV and pneumonia. Our goal is to get her to the point where she can breathe and cough up stuff on her own and have her sedation lowered. (They’ve had her on the breathing tube to help her lungs rest while she’s fighting off the crud and so that they can suction out the secretions that build up in there.) We tried to remove the tube today, but she wasn’t quite ready, and we’re going to try again tomorrow. Right now, she’s resting really well.

Once she’s completely kicked this thing’s butt, we will be able to head home ... they are telling us it’ll likely be mid-week. Thanks again to all of you. We are extremely lucky to have such family and friends.

Warmly,

Phelps & Kate