More good news! Helena has been moved from the PICU to a normal floor. She is no longer on an IV or receiving oxygen. She is being fed regularly (Mary's milk) through a nasal/gastric tube to her stomach. Mary actually put the NG tube by herself yesterday, "on the first try," she adds.

Today, they were going to try feeding her with a bottle; she has been practicing with a pacifier for the last few days, and does a pretty good job. Aaron said that she has actually been using her fist to hold her pacifier in place--"an absolutely brilliant child." It looks as if she will be able to go home ahead of schedule, possibly as early as Saturday, but probably next week.

Yesterday, Mary and Aaron were given the "care and feeding" instructions for when Helena returns home with them. They got a lot of information and were a little overwhelmed by the responsibility. Over the next few months it looks as if they will need to stay close to home, not travelling very far from Chicago, and will need to protect Helena from a lot of activity or large groups of people. After the second surgery in February or March, she will be able to handle quite a bit more. At any rate, her recovery so far has been remarkable--even the resident cardiologist couldn't believe how well she was doing.

Right now, Mary and Aaron have set up camp with Helena in her room, and will stay with her until she is released.

More soon...

Karla (Mary's sister)