News from the homefront...

Yesterday, Jack told mom he loved her. With eyes filled with love, he mouthed them to her...he knew what he was saying. He knew who he was talking to. He was here...with us. It gave mom relief. It gave mom joy. And, it made mom a wee bit less lonely for him too. It was a connection she has been looking for - that we all have been looking for. And, it came.

They pulled Jack from sedation yesterday. Typically, when Jack was under sedation, you could still wake him up. His eyes might not open but when the doctors would come in to check on him in the early morning hours, they would command a response. "Mr. Huffman!" (they would demand reaction with a loud voice that would wake the dead) "Squeeze my fingers, Mr. Huffman!" And he would. Eyes shut. Vent breathing. Seeming asleep. But he would.

Yesterday morning was a bit different. He didn't respond. It was quickly decided that it was time for Jack to join us in the land of awake once more (yippee!). They gave him a shot of something (insulin maybe?) and his eyes popped open. It will take a few days for him to really be back, of course. But he has made strides that astound me.

His fever is gone. The cultures so far come back ok. He did a round of antibiotics. He is off of the tylenol. And, the fever has stayed away. Dr. Patel (Jack's doctor who ROCKS!) said he just doesn't know what caused it. Wha? To be honest, that confuses me. But, we'll fry that fish some other day.

Right now, today, we're watching the monitors diligently. Our eyes fly up to the monitor as soon as we walk into the door and we sit watching it like a riveting TV show. We did this anyway, of course. But today, even more so...why, you ask??? Because today Jack is OFF of the vent ALL DAY! YAY!!!! He'll be back on tonight so he can sleep - but, if his blood oxygen stays up (hence the monitor watching) than it's yet another great stride in moving from ICU!

The doctor said that Jacks ARDS has resolved itself. The threat of ARDS has passed! His lungs actually look good. But, we have to remember that complications begat complications. His digestive tract has gotten sleepy, (he's been on enough medication that can help Doctors Without Borders sustain a small African village for a year. Plus, he's been laying on his back for a month...) so, we are tackling that too.

All in all, we're doing good...keep the good vibes coming!