The little engine that could...

While he doesn't show it (notice that he's screaming at the top of his lungs), Pierce really was relieved to have the tube out today.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can... those are the lines that I imagine running through Pierce's little mind right now. And guess what, he IS doing it! He's impressing everyone with how well he's doing. Today has been a good day. A day full of advancements. I wish I could bottle these emotions/feelings and pull them out on the days where we seem to make no progress. But for now, I'm staying in the moment. Encouraging our little boy on and praying that he does not ever have to be reintubated. In addition to coming off the ventilator, we learned today that Pierce's brain scan showed that his ventricles have stabilized in size. This means that the clot is being re-absorbed by his body and that the blockage is correcting itself. For the past week or so, the staff has not been able to draw much fluid off from his VAD shunt, which meant that there wasn't any extra to draw off (that's a very good thing!). Needless to say, we (the staff included) are all growing optimistic that Pierce will fall into the 10% of children with hydrocephalus who do not require a permanent shunt. That would be amazing!! Please continue praying. God is hearing your prayers and answering them. We are so thankful for how He is working Pierce's life today.

Earlier, on twitter I asked you all to also pray for Pierce's best bud- Liam. Liam was born 2 days after Pierce with an abdominal wall/bowel defect. Despite the diagnosis, Liam's parents were assured that most babies recover fine with surgery. Liam has been doing well these past 6 weeks in the NICU and just last week underwent surgery to correct the defect. Plans were made for Liam's parents to take him home within a few weeks. Then today, tragedy struck. Liam developed a serious infection at the surgical site and had to undergo emergency surgery. He is now struggling to recover. His parents are reeling as this was completely unexpected and as you can expect, very heartbreaking. They are looking at a very long road to recovery and at this point know that Liam will most likely be in the NICU for many more months. While our situations are different, my heart breaks for our dear friends. So tonight, I'm asking you to please, please pray for Liam and his parents. Pray that he will recover much faster than doctors expect. And pray for complete healing for Liam.

Love to you all.
Lindsay, Nik and Pierce