Hi-
As of today the key issues with Madie are her breathing and being able to eat via a bottle. Normally we all use about 21% of the surrounding oxygen to maintain a blood-oxygen saturation of 100%. Presently Madie requires 29-31%. This is an improvement considering that she was requiring anywhere from45-75% about 3-4 days ago. Speaking with the Doctor yesterday he told us that Madie needs some time to grow and mature. Her diaphragm (which is a key organ for the whole breathing process) is what the Doctor is calling floppy on one side due to a lack of muscle tone and he feels that this may have been the cause of her lung on that side to be a little underdeveloped compared to her other lung which is likely the cause of her breathing difficulties.

However like I said she is improving everyday and the number of times she defribulates (when that 100% figure above drops significantly) has decreased. Her ability to feed with a bottle will most likely improve when her breathing becomes more stable. She truly is the most adorable thin in the world and we will post some picture of her as soon as they take the tubes out of her mouth and nose. Madie does have some issues with muscle development that may or may not be correctable with therapy and surgeries but right now those are the least of our concerns; we just want to get her home and cross those bridges as we get to them.

As for Luke, well he is just the perfect little boy. He eats well and sleeps well sometimes sleeping 3-4 hours at a time which is huge at nighttime and certainly not a schedule that Ann and I were accustomed to with either Nathan or Zack (they ate every 1 1/2 hours).

Annie and I have been completely overwhelmed by the compassion and support from all of you. The flowers, gift cards and the fact that we have not had to make a dinner since we came home from the hospital is so greatly appreciated, yet even more overwhelming than the gifts is the fact that so many of you pray and care so much for this precious little angel that God has given us. Thank you all again so very much for your support and we will keep you updated as much and as often as possible.
Richard and Annie