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Ever since Isaac was admitted to the ICU a week ago today, we have been working toward extubation.  Every treatment we tried, every therapy we did was to that end - to get him breathing on his own rather than with the ventilator and take out the breathing tube.  Finally, on Sunday morning it was time.  All of his xrays and labs and stats indicated that Isaac was ready to breathe on his own.  They weaned Isaac off of his sedatives so that his lungs would work at full capacity.  He was answering yes and no questions and looking into my eyes.  It was so encouraging!  We could communicate!

As they prepared to remove the tube and the tape that was holding it in place, they removed these arm restraints that had tied him to his bed and prevented him from pulling out any tubes for the past 7 days.

  
I took one last picture before extubation. 

 

And then at 10:30, Isaac was finally extubated!  And he smiled!

Right after extubation, efforts were made to encourage Isaac to strengthen his lungs.  The nurses tried to help him blow this pinwheel and blow bubbles.  His efforts to blow were more of a slow, diminished exhale.  No bubbles.  No turning pinwheel.

Soon, Isaac had some very special visitors.  The branch came and taught him a primary lesson about faith.

Hilary Weeks (yes, the real thing, in person) and her husband Tim came.  I know!  Unbelievable!  My oldest friend in the whole wide world (as in friend I have had the longest, not 87-year-old friend) who is my Hilary Weeks Stalking Society partner got in touch with Hilary and told her about our situation.  Neither of us ever expected a visit.  I was so touched by her willingness to come here.  Isaac's favorite song is "Brave" (and if you don't have Hilary's newest album Say Love yet you are missing out.  Do yourself a favor and go to iTunes and download it right after you get done reading this post,) which has become so much more meaningful here in the ICU than when he would belt it from the third row of the minivan.  Hilary talked and laughed and cried with us, then she sang "Brave" to Isaac before she and Tim left.

Sunday afternoon, I held Isaac in a sitting position for about one minute.  He was exhausted afterward.

We put clothes on Isaac for the first time since he was admitted so we could take him for a walk.  He has remained naked in the hospital because he has been running such high fevers.  No clothes also meant easier access to all of his tubes, monitors, and parts.  We slowly lifted him into a wheelchair lined with pillows and blankets and pushed him down the hall to see the Christmas tree and look out the window.

When we got back to the room, Isaac and I played dinosaurs for a minute before our next exciting visitor arrived.

You know that oldest friend in the world?  She surprised me and came to visit!  She lives over 300 miles away on the opposite end of the state and drove all the way here and then turned around and drove 300 miles all the way back home just to come see me.  She brought gifts from my family, gifts for Isaac and I, and cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory - seriously (sidenote:  I haven't had an appetite at all while we've been here.  I even forget to eat, which is NOT normal for me.  But that slice of cheesecake?  Ate the whole thing.  Every last crumb.  Yum.)  Her timing was perfect.  Her gifts were thoughtful.  I am so blessed to know her.

It was so fun for Isaac to open the gifts that Brandi brought with her.  It was so fun for me to see him so alert and active.  This one was from my Grandpa Holyoak.

And then....THE BEST VISITOR OF ALL!! Daddy came.  Jeff last saw Isaac on the day of admission and spent the week in training at a hospital in Nevada.  He got home early Saturday morning to spend some time with the kids.  Then they drove up to see us after church.  Isaac was so happy to see his daddy.

And I was so happy to see my kids!  There are strict visiting restrictions in the ICU - No Kids Allowed.  So daddy hung out with Isaac in Room 9 while the kids and I ventured around this place Isaac and I have been living for the past week.

 We found the super-cool Superheroes on the 3rd floor. We enjoyed dinner together in the cafeteria, including dessert. (It felt SO GOOD to have a meal with my kids!)

Grandpa and Grandma Dansie also came to visit last night.  Isaac was so happy to see Grandma.  She brought some very cool safari animals for him to play with.  Grandma and Grandpa took the kids home to get ready for bed so Jeff could stay a little longer with Isaac and I.  Isaac got a bath-in-bed, brushed his teeth, and then we had prayers together before daddy left to go home.

Our family has been so touched by the outpouring of love and support that we have received.  So many people are helping with our children at home, and with the finishing touches on our new house.  Several friends have made the trek up here to visit or sent gifts or notes.  Isaac's buddy Max came to visit and brought this awesome BYU present. 

Max's mom, Jessie, brought me this beautiful painting depicting a mother with her two children under the comforting watch and within the embrace of an angel.  It is such a physical representation of the angels I have felt round about us. (D&C 84:88).

Aunt Kandi came to visit, also bearing gifts.  She and Ashlyn kidnapped me from the hospital for a real dinner downtown.  It was nice to have a meal with other people that I love, and so nice to have them here.

 

This cute gift arrived with handcrafted pillowcases and an anonymous note.  We put the new pillowcase on right away.

 

This is where I have been sleeping, er, laying for the past several nights.  Isaac has insomnia now that he is not sedated so we hang out with the night shift.

Extubation has not been all I had hoped for.  For all but a few brief moments, it is as though Isaac is still sedated, only now his eyes are open.  He is less responsive now than he was with the tube in, not even answering yes and no questions.  He just stares blankly.  He refuses to eat or talk, and he cannot sit up or walk.  I change his diaper several times each day.  He doesn't remember much of what happens each day when I talk about it with him and show him pictures.  The staff says that all of this is normal and that all of these things will come as he gets feeling better.  For now, it is really frustrating for me.  I didn't realize it would be like this.

Medically he is doing well.  His lungs are functioning on their own.  His chest tube continues to drain.  On ultrasound there are more pockets of infected fluid in his pleural empyema, so they are determining how to best treat the remaining pockets.

As we have resided in Room 9, I have seen 5 patients come and go in the room next door.  The rooms here are divided by a glass door and a curtain so light and sound travel well.  I have felt envy as the patients next door move so quickly out of the ICU.  Last night as I was getting ready for bed, they withdrew support on the patient next door.  My heart broke for the parents who hunched over their child's bedside and they said their last goodbyes.  I, like so many of you, wished that there was something I could do.  So I did as you have done.  I said a prayer and asked that comfort and angels be sent in this time of desperate need for the grieving family next door.

 

Writing our story has been therapeutic for me.  It gives me a connection to the outside world.  Thank you for your continued support and prayers.