This week so far

The GOOD is even more amazing, the BAD is better, and the UGLY is gone!  :)
We have had a truly wonderful week here (all relative, of course).  We are still in ICU, Ry still can't stand on her own, and we're still getting respiratory treatments every three hours for her collapsed lung.  So that's the blah, blah, blah for the past week.  Let me tell about the great things she is doing! 

• She is able to ride her scooter one whole lap around the unit and wants to many times a day.  Even at 10:30 at night!
• She is off of oxygen during the day and on high flow at night just to give that left lung a boost.
• We removed the feeding tube yesterday and she has tolerated all her meds just fine.  Even when she cries because she doesn't want to take them, she still knows its important and eventually will take them down.
• Items 2 and 3 means that after three months solid we have removed everything from her beautiful cheeks!!!  And I had forgotten how sweet they are.  (It took two days to convince Ry that we should take the oxygen cannula from her nose.  She had it for so long that it was traumatic for us to want to simply remove it.  We had to give her time to get used to the idea and then ready or not, we finally just took it out.)
• With help she can go from a sitting position to a standing position.  She wants to just get up and go so bad, it's a huge step to see that want to in her eyes now.  This is HUGE progress.
• She is silly!  I mean really silly!  Last week I told you how much I missed that little laugh and her smiles.  I just have to say again, it's such a beautiful thing!  Gilly and I love her so much and we can't get enough.  It is the best feeling in the entire world to watch her be happy.
• She wants to "show Daddy" everything she does.  She will put a grape on her forehead and say "I show Daddy".  She will put on a sticker and say "I show Daddy".  She will stand up during therapy and say "I show Daddy".  She will put sprinkles on her ice cream and say "I show Daddy".  It doesn't matter what it is, we have to take a picture and send it to him.
• Her play time is like a two year olds play time should be.  She's no longer so deliberate and cautious.  Instead of playing with only the white sand, she is now mixing colors and not afraid to spill a little on the table.  This is refreshing.
• She is friendly.  She is now talking to her nurses and doctors and allows them to do more and more.  There were times when no one except me could change her diaper, take her temperature,  take her blood pressure or give her a med.  But now I can even leave the room to go to the bathroom or change laundry over just down the hall.

Tomorrow she will have her second heart cath and biopsy.  In addition, they will bronc her to try to open that lung up even more and remove any mucous plugs they find.  It is refreshing that we have seen a little improvement, but it still only about a quarter to a third of the way open.  They have decided not to remove the PD so we will have to wait until her cath in two more weeks to see about removing it.  This means we're guaranteed at least two more weeks in this place.  It's been a great stay, but now I'm desperate for a little time away from here and a little privacy with our family.  However, I do thank the Lord every night for our blessings, besides what's a measly couple more weeks.  I am just thankful that Ry is doing so well and that's enough for me.
I promise to try to post tomorrow while Ry is in the Cath Lab.  I want to post lots of recent pictures including pics from Halloween and all the other fun things we've been up to. 
Say a prayer that the cath yields some favorable results and she does well while under anesthesia.  Sleep tight and check back soon!