Is this for real?

Unbelievable.  Miracle.  Amazing.  I can't think of many other words to describe my day here.

Between last week Tuesday and Anna's extubation yesterday, one of the hardest things about being here at the hospital was the look in people's eyes when they talked to us.  Nurses would get teary when they saw us back in the PICU.  I, personally, had a hard time dealing with the fact that the hospital workers were losing hope.

Today people have a much different look in their eyes when they see Anna and talk with me.  The therapists kept looking at one another in amazement because Anna could do things today that she couldn't do with them before her radiation and chemotherapy began.  Granted, Anna still has a long road ahead of her, but it's pretty reassuring to us that everyone else is excited, too.

We were moved off of the PICU this afternoon ... again.  We're now residing in our sixth hospital room, and it's a nice one :)  It actually has a separate sleeping room for parents.  And we're at the end of the hall, in a corner.  Knowing what we know now about the level of care in hospital units (the most critical cases are in the corner of the PICU right by the nurses station - we were there, twice), I feel comfortable that Anna is in a much safer place physically than she has been in awhile.  I'm still not quite sure how we managed to get this room, but I'll take it.

This afternoon Melissa brought Kate and Ethan by so that they could see an awake Anna.  For the first time in more than a month, Kate was able to give Anna a real hug, even though Anna was still lying in bed.  Anna was able to hug her back.  For a long time now, Kate has been saying "I just want to give Anna a hug."  Today she did.  Ethan followed suit and gave Anna his version of a hug, too, mainly just a pat on the head.

Anna has been pretty sleepy this afternoon and everyone is telling me that it is perfectly understandable and expected.  The best analogy I've heard relates to waking up after having your wisdom teeth out.  The kinds of sedation used are similar, however Anna has had much more for much longer and it's going to take awhile for the drugs to get completely out of her systerm.  Until then she'll feel pretty groggy.

She's still being watched very closely, but even though she's sleepy, the rest of her neurological checks are coming back very clear.  And ... she didn't need to have a "straight cath" all day!

It's so hard not to hope for the best.

Time for prayers

Thanksgiving
Please thank God for the miracle that Anna is still with us.
Please praise God that Anna does not yet need a catheter to urinate.
Please thank God for the exceptional care that Anna is receiving.
Please praise God for our new hospital room!
Please thank God that Avyn, the little girl whose family we have met here during our stay, went home today!  She's on a ventilator and will need in-home nursing care, but her family is HOME!
Please thank God for the strength and wisdom that Matt and I have had during this journey so far.

Requests
Please pray that Anna continues to improve every day.
Please pray that Anna has a successful "swallow study" tomorrow.  They want to do an x-ray movie of her while she swallows to make sure that everything is working as it's supposed to.  We hope and pray that Anna has not experienced any permanent nerve damage in this regard.
Please pray that Anna begins to sleep more "normally".
Please pray for Melissa, Kate, and Ethan.  They've spent a lot of time together lately, and are doing well, but could use some prayer support.
Please pray for strength for Matt this week.  Not only have we had some big highs and lows, but he's also working as much as he can this week, in addition to sleeping at the hospital a few nights.
Please continue to pray for all those involved in the benefit this weekend; we have no earthly idea how many people are actually involved in this.

In a different note, an article about Anna came out in our local paper today. The information in the article is pretty accurate.  However, our family comes across as a bit idyllic.  We've always said that we like our family and really like our kids.  But we're not perfect.  We screw up, a lot.  We yell when we shouldn't and do things that we regret.  We just usually don't publicize that kind of information or include it in a blog.

Thank you again for all of your support and prayers.