They extubated Emmett this afternoon (Monday) - somewhere around 1 p.m. - and he's breathing on his own. Alisha indicated that his oxygen levels never even fluttered when the tube was removed. He was so frustrated with that tube! He is on his bi-pap machine and the full face mask. Bi-pap is normal - the Buzz Lightyear mask is a step beyond his usual elephant trunk nose mask - it will stay in place until the secretions in his lungs are cleared.

As he is not being sedated we are really seeing his personality. In fact, look at the photo and you'll see that both of his hands are raised. He's getting tired of staying in bed. You'll also realize that he is no longer being restrained. That may be gone but he is still frustrated and miserable. We knew it would happen. We knew that Emmett was going to be miserable. What else could you expect? When you take a bunch of drugs out of the equation and start bringing a little boy from his sedated slumber back into the world of awareness then you get a miserable little guy. That's sort of good, I guess, because that's part of the process of getting well. Coming out of the eye of the storm does mean some really rough patches. But oh my goodness - it's not nice for Emmett. He is not sleeping well and that means that last night Alisha and Josh did not sleep well. The aches and pains of his illness combined with the aches and pains caused by the medical intervention mean that he literally aches all over. Over the past ten day's Emmett has been poked and prodded more times than we can count. He is letting his mommy and daddy know that his tummy hurts. His head hurts. He doesn't like the tube down his throat hurt. And he wants to roll over when he wants - not just when the nurses allow. But right now there is not much that his mommy and daddy can do! They cannot even pick him up yet. Just comfort him from the side of his bed - and they're right there.

When he saw his new Daniel Tiger balloon he laughed. At least, he tried to laugh. At that point the tube was still in place. When it first came out, he couldn't do anything but grunt. No words. Now it's "Up! Up! Up!" and "Back! Back! Back! Please!". This will be followed quite quickly by "Side. Side. Side!". He still wants to roll over lots - but that's not easily allowed. He pats the mattress on the side that he wants to roll to ... but nothing happens. He actually stopped patting and grabbed his other arm and tried to pull himself over! You ache with sadness wanting to turn him but can't as he still has IV's and such attached to him. His medical team has a plan and that includes being rolled. And your heart bursts with pride at the fight that this little boy exhibits. Are we finished with this RSV storm? Not yet, but without complications it certainly seems like we're almost through the storm.

Now the question is, how do you occupy and amuse a little boy who is in isolation and cannot leave his bed?

...

And those great ideas took all of 20 minutes. What's next! Alisha and Josh are going to be busier than ever!