Steps Forward

Ali is inching forward. Yesterday during Charity's visit, Ali really responded to her voice and touch. Ali made little fists and squirmed and coughed. Her little heart began to beat faster; all obvious signs of excitement and response to her mamma.

Charity was able to hold Ali. That took a team of people, but the nurses made it happen. The medical staff was excited to see this because they had been kicking around the idea of removing the breathing tube. They began to prepare Ali for this, last night by switching from solid food to an I.V. to make sure she was adequately hydrated before the big event.

Today, Jim, Ali's paternal grandfather, and Aunt Blanche arrived for a visit. With us all standing by, the doctor, nurse, and respiratory therapist went to work moving tubes, wiping, listening, pulling, and watching. Other nurses left their posts to watch it all go down. Everybody was on pins and needles hoping for the best and ready to act if Ali wasn't ready.

Ali let loose with a string of raspy coughs. This is good. For the first time, beneath the raspiness, I could identify her unique vocal sound. It was Ali's voice forcing out those coughs.

In the picture to the right, observe that the breathing apparatus in the pictures above is gone. They just have a small oxygen feed in her nostrils.

Kudos to the San Francisco police. The officers that were present at the hospital came by to visit Ali today and were very kind to me. I appreciate their professionalism and offers to help me navigate the city.