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One week and counting. It will likely be at least another week, maybe longer, that Cora's in the hospital. They did the echo, and there were no issues with her heart, which was an enormous relief. The doctor was very encouraging this morning. She said it was no longer a matter of "if" Cora will recover, but rather how long it will take. They don't want to rush her by taking her off the dopamine and such, and are weaning her very slowly, but they have turned down her ventilator and she's doing well with that. I'm looking forward to them removing the chest tube, and hopefully soon after that, the breathing and feeding tubes can come out as well.

We're spending another night at home tonight. We gave up the sleep room, as there is a family there with a child much sicker than ours, and we figured they needed the room more than us. They had locked down the PICU for hours while they worked on the baby. I'm not sure what's wrong with the child, but it seemed pretty scary. Seeing the surgical team rushing in there put knots in my stomach, knowing that was us just a couple days ago.

If there's one thing Cora has taught us, it's to never take a moment for granted. We had 20 wonderful days with our daughter, where we treasured every minute because of how grateful we were that she was alive and healthy when she was born. If those 20 days are all we would ever have with Cora, it would have been a comfort to know we hadn't squandered them. I remember thinking about this while she was having surgery, while trying to deal with the reality that she might die. We almost didn't have any more days with her, and as painful as that was, I never want to forget that feeling. I never want to take for granted the blessings in my life, especially my family. So, there's a New Year's resolution: appreciate every moment.

Happy New Year....

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