Abby had a good day today. Although she did not get her chest closed . . . in the traditional manner. They were not able to close her sternum because there is too much scar tissue and when they did attempt to close the sternum there was too much pressure on her heart. What they were able to do was put in two titanium plates in her chest to keep her sternum and chest stable. Dr. John is hopeful that the sternum and the scar tissue will then heal on its own, in a couple of days or a couple of weeks. So, in the traditional manner her chest is still open, but were on our way to close it - Abby style.

On a very positive note, they did an ultrasound of her bladder and kidneys and they saw some urine in her bladder and her kidneys looked good - we just need to give them the opportunity to work. Before the surgery today, Dr. John showed us the latest X-ray of her lungs and they look good! We compared them with an X-ray from 12/21 and they are so much better it's almost unbelievable. The next thing that we are going to work on are her lungs- they will start to ween her off of the ventilator to see if they can take her off of it - no time frame but it is a step in the right direction. Abby also got a broviac put in, which will help cut down the risk for infection. Abby tolerated the surgery and is recovering. Thanks so much for the prayers - looking forward to seeing you on Sunday.