Go Ira Jo: He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted! Job 5:9

What an amazing weekend this has been for us!

Starting this weekend out, Linden and I prayed so hard that our presence would be a great help for Ira during her recovery and her growing process. We also prayed that God would allow us to see Ira make some great strides during our stay...and of course God answered our prayers.

Linden and I got to the hospital late Friday (July 1st) night, stayed the night at our hotel, then spent all day Saturday (July 2nd) at the hospital holding and loving on Ira Jo. Saturday evening we just really felt that we needed to get away for a just a night and have the next morning to relax and have a bit of fun before returning to little miss, so we decided to secretly take a quick 2 hour drive down to Lake Cumberland, and surprise my parents and Ada Lou for the night. We left the lake Sunday (July 3rd) around lunch time and headed back to the hospital. During our travels back I saw that I had missed a call from the hospital and they didn't leave me a message. Usually, the hospital calls with an update on Ira and if I don't answer, they leave a message. Well, this time they didn't. We didn't really think a whole lot of it because we told them we would be back Sunday afternoon and that I was staying all night, so we just figured they would tell us what the updates were when we got there. Well we walked in, and there was a new nurse working on Ira, so we were introducing ourselves and I just so happened to turn around to set my bag down real fast and that's when I realized there was something written on her board.

{Plan...wean vent, extubate Mon?}

Me- What's extubate Monday on Ira's board for?

Nurse- Oh, they didn't call you and give you the update?

Linden- They called, but no one left a message like normal...

N- Oh, well then I guess I better tell you the news! Tomorrow they are going to try and extubate her!

(Cue Linden and Is' completely confused facial expressions!)

N- That means tomorrow they are going to take this breathing vent tube out of her mouth and put in a nasal cannula! Her past couple of blood gas counts have been perfect and at rounds this morning everyone thinks she could possibly come off of the breathing machine, so we are going to try and take it out tomorrow and see how she does!

Tears...lots of tears streamed down our overly excited faces!

God had heard our prayer and was about to answer it!

Monday (July 4th, Best Independence Day Ever!) Ira Jo got her breathing tube out at 3:30 in the afternoon, and of course, first thing this mom did was dress her baby and pick her straight up! Very first time ever being able to pick her right up from her bed and hold her up against me without having a handful of nurses around to help!

So badly we wanted to tell you all yesterday when it happened, but doctors and nurses said that some babies don't do very well and need to have the tube put back in, so we decided to wait to see how she did throughout the night, and see what her stats were when we got here this morning, and what do you know....she's doing great!

One big prayer answered, and boy does it feel good! This was exactly what Linden and I needed! Finally, we can feel like and can see that Ira is making great strides, and this is giving us the push we need to be extra patience for her last surgery! Doctors said this morning, all we are doing is waiting for her to grow and develop a little more before her second surgery!

{Prayers Requests...her body uses all the vitamins and extra support through her feeds correctly and she continues to grow and develop. Her lungs continue to develop and do great without the vent, and that she starts growing regularly everyday with her weight and length, so when the time comes for surgery, she will be ready and will be able to recover quickly!}