Daddy daughter bonding

7/22/10
Hello all. Well, we have reached the end of a long and eventful day. Darcia has
headed home for what will hopefully be a long, peaceful night of sleep, and
Josie and I are just hanging out here in the Butterworth PCCU. A little father
- daughter bonding time, if you will. She is currently sleeping in a crib, and
the only thing running into her is a feeding tube. Praise God! Yesterday the
breathing tube came out. Today, all sorts of stuff came out - the catheter, the
arterial line, the EEG electrodes, the constant pain killer drip. Tomorrow,
there's talk that her central line (IV under her collarbone) will be removed.
We've had a speech therapist here (to discuss her feeding abilities, not her
speech, that comes later), an occupational therapist to evaluate her arm and
hand movements, the neurologist, the neurosurgeon, and a host of other folks to
poke, prod, and assess her. So, it has been a very busy, but very good day.
Darcia and I got to hold Josie this evening, which made us both quite happy, since
it's been about a week since she's been held.
I guess that's pretty much the summary for the day. I feel like there should be
more, but that's enough, I suppose. We are excited for the progress over the
last couple of days, but are trying to remain cautious and keep in mind that we
have a long road ahead of us, with lots of appointments and tests, and another
major surgery (unless God chooses to resect the rest of this tumor in a
different way :) ) and the rehab that accompanies it. Thank you again for all
of your prayers, calls, cards, and all around support. Josie is in the hands of
our Creator, and we continue to pray for her continued healing and
rehabilitation.