Good, just a little Tired (physically that is)

Well, day 2 is coming to a close. Your prayers were answered it was a pretty "boring" day, just what the surgeon prescribed! Our parents got to go in and see Baby Cate for the first time today, she remained steady throughout the day. I made the mistake of saying she was "stable" while in her room and the nurses looked at me like I was stupid and that didn't notice that my child was on a ventilator and that her pulse was a flat line. They said, "Charlie, I would'nt say she "stable." So, I simply explained to them that if she wasn't stable, they weren't doing their job and I was cutting their pay by 50% until they could get her stable, to which they laughed and kept on working. Cate has two full-time nurses at her bed 24hrs a day. She kinda has alot going on with her all at one time. The Doctors and Nurses at TCH in the CVICU are some of the most knowledgable, deligent, patient, and encouraging medical personel that I have ever met. If the surgeon says he was her blood pressure at 40/over whatever, if its 41 they are frustrated with themselves until they can get it right, and they usually figure it out within a couple of minutes. Cate had some blood drainage problems from her chest today, probably from when Ali was singing to her and Cate about flung herself out of bed, to which she got a quick shot of sedative, needless to say Ali didn't sing to her again today. They did an ultrasound on her brain this afternoon and everything was CLEAR!!!! I am not sure if that means they did not see a brain, which she is my daughter, it might just be hard to see, or there was no swelling or bleeding, I am going assume it was the latter of the two. Dr. Salazar came in this afternoon to see about the bleeding problem, he and his crones cleaned house in Baby Cate's chest and then left her alone. Now, here is where the serious prayer request begins so pay close attention. Tommorrow morning Cate will be with the Surgeon and his team again. They will begin around 8:00am. They are going to try to ween Cate off the life support and see what happens. They will allow her heart to fill with blood because right now it is completely empty. Our hope is that it will begin to pump! If it does they will sit back and watch it pump for about an hour, monitoring it very closely. Most kids who are on the Echmo machine are on it for 3 to 5 days, by tomorrow morning Baby Cate will only have been on it for a day and a half. The surgeon turned the machine down a little this morning to allow a small amount of blood into Baby Cate's heart this morning and it began pumping, so he wants to see what will happen tomorrow. He said he will not leave her off the machine if he is not 100% confident that she will be able to manage on her own. He also said that we should not be dissappointed if she is not ready yet, she may need more rest. This procedure will take about 4 hours. So, from 8:00am-12:00pm we ask that you pray and you pray HARD!!! When the procedure is done I will post an update on the blog to let you all know what the outcome was. Dr. Salazar told Ali and I that we needed to take a break this evening and rest, I think he could see that we were both exhausted and he has confidence in the team in the CVICU to take care of Baby Cate. Ali and I got to go to dinner, OUT SIDE THE HOSPITAL, our family stayed back in case they called the waiting room for us. Ali and I relaxed, had dinner at one of our favorite resturants and then headed back. We stopped in kissed our sweet angel good night and are taking the night to get some sleep. Before I go I wanted to tell you all what happened today to Ali, because it is too amazing to make up and we both know that it was a confirmation from our Loving Father! As you know the title of the blog this morning was "Let the Storm Rage!" Ali's sisters, Jenny and Becca, showed up this afternoon from Louisiana. They went in to see Baby Cate and then they made Ali go outside and take a walk with them, just to get out of the hospital. They were walking down Main Street in front of the hospital and there was a Bible on the ground a ways in front of them and the wind was literally ripping the pages out the Bible. There were pages of scripture just blowing in the wind. Ali stopped and picked ONE page off the ground and this is the first thing that she read:

On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, "Let us cross to the other side." Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" They were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"

Praise to you Jesus Christ, Our Calmer of the Storm! As the seas rage in the life of our family we know with CONFIDENCE that you are at the head of our boat. We love you with all of our hearts and we place ALL of our trust in You! And most of all we place our sweet Baby Cate in your hands. Thank you!

We love you all! Please keep praying! Our Heavenly Father is confirming your prayers today!