We're back at the hotel now.  Although, we can't spend much time with Mom at the hospital, it's always hard to leave her there.  Before we left, Dad was able to talk to the Dr. Baez and the intensivist.  Fortunately, there has been continued progress.  Her intracranial pressure has continued to reduce, which is a great sign as we look for the swelling to subside on the left side of her brain.  When we left, she was just one point outside the high end of the normal range and significantly down from where she was when we arrived in Santo Domingo.  Also, they took her off the sedation and paralytic meds for three hours to begin testing her neurological function by watching her response to external stimuli.  She moved both her legs and right arm voluntarily - nothing from the left arm this time around (she moved it yesterday), but we are told not to worry too much about that yet.  All in all, this is another good sign.  The biggest issue were managing to now is her hemoglobin - its is still a bit low and we need to make sure it goes up so her brain is getting as much oxygen rich blood into her brain as possible.  This is biggest hurdle for getting her ready to fly to Miami - we are hoping to see progress in this area tomorrow.  This was another good day with continued movement in the right direction.  Go mama - she is one tough cookie!!!

Before we sign off for the night, I wanted to say a few things about Dad.  After I wrote my last post, I realized I had failed to comment on the way our Dad continues to lead our family through this tumultuous journey.  He is a great man, and though he is hurting in ways none of us could have ever imagined, he continues to stand as the spiritual and emotional head of our family.  We love him dearly.  He has taught us how to be men and women of principle, integrity, and faith - I can't say we have always been good at internalizing those lessons, but he has always been teaching.  We have continued to learn from him over the last few days.  He committed to his wife 34 years ago to stand by her side as a companion and helpmeet and he's lived that commitment to its fullest in these dark hours.  We have all commented about the example he is setting for us and our children - we go to bed at night wanting to love our spouses a little deeper and renew our commitment to consistently putting their needs before our own.  We will forever be grateful for the standard of love and compassion he and my mom have established - we pray we can live up to it.

My mom's suffering has made us all a bit more aware of others that may be suffering around us.  We recognize that we haven't cornered the market on emotional and physical pain - there are so many others out there (including many of you who are so kindly participating in this blog, like our good friends the Reeders) who stand in need of extra love and healing during trials.  By helping us become more empathetic and loving, our mom's experience has an individualized life-saving element to it for each one of us.  Please look for opportunities over the coming days to reach out to those in need, to lift the heads that hang down, and tell someone you love them.

Thank you all again and good night.

Love,
Brandon and crew