Our good news continues today. After a restless night, Leo settled down this morning and the respiratory team decided to wean him fully off the ventilator. At 3pm, our little guy had the endotracheal tube removed and cried out loud for the first time in four days. His hoarse little squeak was beautiful music to our ears.

Leo will need a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine in the short run to increase his oxygenation and reduce his work of breathing. However, this is adminstered via nasal cannula and is less invasive than the endotracheal tube he had in place for the past several days.

The latest blood culture at 8pm showed no new growth with Leo's bacterial infection. Translation=time to insert the PICC line. This procedure will occur late tonight. Ben and Kami are planning to remain with Leo until this is successfully completed.

While we know there are tough days ahead, we are grateful that this day has provided us a number of reasons to celebrate.