Sorry for the long wait today. It was a long day with very little information until this evening.

Bill looked good this morning and had an uneventful night. He maintained as far as his vital signs and organ functions. His kidney function dropped off a little bit but we were told it was normal for that to happen after surgery as long as his had been.

There was a lengthy consult with Dr. Patel, Dr Yip, Dr. Agnew and another surgeon to see what the next steps should be. They have decided to leave him sedated through the week-end to let his body heal more. On either Sunday evening or Monday morning they will do a CT scan with a portable scanner to see what his brain is looking like. They are also doing a TEE which is a trans esophageal echo. I have probably spelled that wrong but it means that they are going to insert an ultrasound probe down his throat to do the ultrasound of the back of the heart. Depending on what this shows, they will then decide what the next steps will be.

There were some developments that are encouraging. He seems to be responding to touch and sound. Not only are his eyes reactive to light, when I went in this morning I rubbed his shoulder and told him Emily was here and we got a little blink! His eye didn't open but there was movement, like with REM sleep. Emily says that he always winks at her when he's been in the hospital so it was her wink! So, we've talked and touched each time we've seen him. His skin is warm and not clammy and he is not on the heating blanket anymore. He also now has a feeding tube in his nose so they can start some nutrition.

The best news of all is....(that's for the drumroll)...neuro has said that his brain stem is perfectly fine! When he started that phrase I think all of us held our breath and there was a collective sigh of relief when he finished! I could have cried and these would have been tears of joy! Dr. Patel used the phrase "cautiously optimistic" tonight which is the first time he has been anything but matter of fact.

The nurse he has tonight is the one he had the night of the dry run and she is super. I felt very comfortable leaving him in her hands. We've had a good dinner, Mom we went to Bob Evans and Em agrees that the noodles are not as good as yours! We're all back at the condo unwinding and updating people. Em and Bryan are getting ready to head to their hotel for the night and I'm probably not going to be much behind her.

So, again, sorry it's so late and there wasn't anything for you to see during the day. There may not be much news over the week-end since they may not try a lot of things. I will try to do better and not make you wait so long again. Thanks again for the prayers and good thoughts. We are so thankful to have such great friends and family.