Hello again. It is now one week since Iliana was admitted to the hospital. Since my last post, we have been on a rocky road. Iliana had a very bad evening last Thursday night. She began having seizures and running a high temperature again. Her breathing became very labored. The machine she was on was no longer helping her. She was transferred to the PICU on Friday. She was placed on a machine called a BiPap. You could immediately tell the difference. She finally looked like she was resting. Although it was a difficult time, we could feel the prayers that were offered on our behalf giving us strength. It is absolutely true that God is able to bring peace in the middle of pain. I have to stop and say thank you to all of you who have diligently prayed for Iliana and us all. Prayer is powerful. It is our testimony.

Friday evening, while she was breathing calmly, Iliana's heart rate began to decline. That meant it would be another long night of alarms sounding, her nurse coming in and my constant concern to make sure she was still breathing. Saturday was another long day of waiting. Iliana would wake up a few times and fight with her machine, trying to take it off. She would then give up and go back to sleep. It was about 8:15pm when I asked the respiratory therapist if we could give her a break. The mask was not sealing around her nose and was blowing air into her eye. It was becoming red and she was irritated. She agreed to give her a minute. The moment she took the mask of, Iliana smiled and began to babble. It was as though she was saying thank you. She did well her first minute and it was decided we would keep her off for about 10 min. Ten minutes came and went. Then it was agreed by all that she could stay off until she went to sleep. As it turns out, she spent the entire night withouth any breathing machines helping her. The next day she was able to come off the IV and began to eat by mouth.

It was Monday morning, about 2:30 am that I noticed she was having trouble breathing again. She was place on the BiPap machine again until she woke up. The moment she did wake up she took her mask off. She did fine the rest of the day. I think it might be a couple of days until she is able to eat as much as she did before. She will probably continue using a breathing machine while sleeping, even at home. At this time, her doctor says that we need to wait until our equipment arrives at home in order to go home. So, Lord willing, if everything continues as it is now, we could be home in a couple of days.

God has been faithful to us every step of the way and I know He will continue to be. I have said it before, and I must say it again. He is the only reason we can walk this road with confidence. He is our only sustenance. We praise Him and give Him glory because we know that all of this is working to do His perfect will in all of our lives. Yes, it's painful. But I remind myself that as much as I love Iliana, it's but a drop compared to His love for her.