December 6

Barbara continues to show small signs of improvement in regards to her lungs. This morning they actually had her down to 65% oxygen on the respirator, and she maintained a 94% oxygen level in her body.

She came through her surgery to “install” the tracheotomy well. She seems much more relaxed now. All tubes are out of her mouth, and have been placed in the throat. They all tell me that this will be much better for her, and will make her much more comfortable. Plus, they don’t like to go beyond 14 days with the tubes routed through the mouth due to the possibility of damage to the vocal cords.

Right now she is stable, and all seems to be going well. She is still on the reverse breathing pattern, so they will keep her heavily sedated.

She has had an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics, resulting in some very nasty skin irritation. So, yet another doctor will visit to address that issue.

We are probably looking an a long, long hospital stay even if everything goes well.

Here’s how you can help us pray today:

That the tracheotomy will do well,

That her heart and kidneys grow stronger,

That the lungs continue to clear and the pneumonia clears up,

And that the neck surgery continues to heal well.

Thanks yet again for your continuing prayers and gracious emails and notes.

Greg