Scattered Thoughts . . .

It was our second sunny day in a row today! First thing this morning, we headed up to the hospital to see our warrior princess and her parents in their new PICU room overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains. We picked up some coffee and breakfast for ourselves as well as for Whitney and Wayne and continued on to the hospital.  We were fortunate this morning to have arrived early enough to meet with the team of doctors. Although Ellie had a nice burst of energy and consciousness yesterday and seemed to have a great day (albeit with some visible pain)... which was perhaps the most "normal" day for her since being in the PICU... she had a rough and rather dangerous night through the night. Naturally, the doctors addressed this while also showing concern about her continuing struggles and evolving problems. Ironically, Ellie was awake during this doctor visit and seemed to be listening intently as the doctors talked and carefully examined little Ellie.  Ellie r

When we awoke this morning, the sky was a crystal clear blue and the sun was shining brightly! We hadn't seen this in weeks! The day was off to a good start for a change.  We immediately headed toward the hospital again to visit with Whitney, Wayne, and Ellie, our little warrior princess.  When we arrived at the quiet, empty hospital it was early Saturday morning so the hospital was eerily quiet. We made our way to the PICU which is in the opposite corner of the hospital from the main entrance.  As we approached Ellie's room, we could see the door was open with no commotion in the area around her room... a good sign...  We stepped into the room and it was relatively quiet other than the warning tones and beeps indicating relatively minor issues... the tones and beeps cutting through the silence. Mom was sitting on her bed in the corner of the room, dad was still sleeping, and Ellie seemed to be resting quietly but breathing deeply... The nurses are in the room 24