Gisele has been doing better. To fix the spells of respiratory distress, Surgery was going to replace the left chest tube so that the air would stop getting around her lung. Thankfully they took one last look at her lungs and did some tests, and found the air was not problematic enough to warrant the procedure. It's always tough for her to go through procedures. Needless to say we're pretty thankful she doesn't have to undergo the procedure at this time.

They did an ultrasound on her head this morning and found that the bleeding in her ventricles has cleared. The medicine given to help the clots appears to be clearly working because her head looks less swollen. Since ultrasounds are on the grainy side, we're not sure about how any of the clots look. She won't have another MRI for a few weeks but that's okay. She's showing signs of improvement and that's what counts.

-Tiffany

A note to her nurses and doctors:

Thanks guys for everything you do for Gisele. We take comfort knowing you're taking great care of our baby and loving on her. We might watch monitors and get a little jumpy sometimes, but we know you guys are doing a really great job. Thank you!

Here is the latest update. I wanted to clarify that Gisele's situation is still very critical.  There are different things going on with her and the Dr.'s are trying to prioritize her care. One of the major issues occurring is that Gisele has a bunch of clots in the veins in her neck that drain blood from her brain. Because of the clotting her head has become very swollen the last couple of days. The Dr.'s have started a medicine that helps break down the clots, but this is a very sensitive balance because the baby needs to be able to clot in other areas of her body and brain where there is some bleeding in the ventricles (spaces between brain tissue of spinal fluid). The Dr.'s are monitoring this closely. The goal is to relieve the clotting in her neck so the veins can drain the liquid in her head and the swelling will go down.  

The 2nd major issue that Gisele has is Chylothorax, which means her chest is producing a ton of fluid around the lungs. The recent scare was when air was accumulating around her left lung making it difficult for her to breathe. The tubes in her chest drain the liquid but she is producing and losing so much fluid that she is losing a lot of immune properties. The Dr.'s have been trying to  replace this fluid. They have also been giving Gisele medicine to help stop this fluid but it hasn't been working yet.  If this medicine cannot stop the fluid the Dr.'s may have to step in and operate in a week or two.  

Please continue to pray for Gisele. Anytime she has had any kind of surgery it sets her back tremendously.

Today's update from Tiffany :
Her breathing is getting a little better. It's been under control. So she's been swelling because she has clots. It's very treatable. They'll start treatment tonight. sounds very promising. Everyone in the NICU is great. I just want to hug them all.