Extubated

As of a little over an hour or so ago, Sam was extubated. No more breathing tube!

I want to say two things before I try to get some much-needed sleep:

1) Thank you all for your thoughts today! I'm always amazed by how inspiring Sam's story is to others; he's an amazing kid, and I know he would appreciate all the good thoughts people sent his way today.

2) I'm also amazed at how quickly long-unneeded habits can return. I find myself repeating the habits--habits that I'd forgotten I'd even developed--that got us through this the first time around, over four years ago.  We set Sam's room up identically; we set the "sleep room" alarm reminding us to call for a room each night (turns out I still had the phone number in my contacts list); we follow the same patterns of shift-taking so that both Kristin and I can each sneak in bits of rest throughout the day; we practice tunnel-vision, almost not even seeing the other patients who, while we care about them, can't earn our attention in this moment.  It's remarkable how quickly we remember how to endure.

To endurance,
Jason