Feels Like a Miracle!

Well...I have some amazing news. Carol is off the ventilator! You read that right, she is breathing on her own and starting to talk (she is VERY hoarse). I'll admit, I'm a little in shock. It is so so so wonderful that she is able to talk with her family and she seems to have made it back from the very edge of life, the brink of death. On Thursday things seemed pretty much the same. On Friday she began to open her eyes and have moments of eye contact and seemed to be waking up, but we weren't sure. And then this morning she was begging for the tube to come out! They took it out early this afternoon and she is now on just oxygen. Yes, she still has a LONG way to go. Her kidneys and liver are still not functional, although she did make some urine for the first time today :), and she is still struggling with infection and of course there is the ever looming cancer.


However, we feel a miracle has happened and praise God that He allowed us all this time to talk with her and communicate and be fully present. What an amazing blessing God has given Carol, Philip, Tamara and Allen (and all the rest of the family). I feel that it may make all the suffering worth it even if she with us for just a short time. She is still a little foggy, but seems to have little to no brain damage at this time. Again, we are witnessing a miracle. Thank you everyone for all the prayers. Please continue to pray for her health and also for her mental well being. She, of course, seems very concerned about loosing her fingers/fingertips. Please pray that God can give her peace and that she can feel his presence. Continue to pray for the family. Philip is coming home on Tuesday and I am sure it will be hard to be so far away while she is still so sick. Hopefully we will have more good news soon! I leave you with a pic:

Here is Carol with Tamara and Philip this afternoon. She has a remarkably positive attitude. Philip says she looks more than 100% better in the photo than when they arrived.