8:46pm Update

> Gwyneth Rose's CF screening came back negative (which is a positive). There are some more thorough tests that can be run when she's a bit older, but we're confident that they will also come back negative. She is a carrier of the CF gene, which simply means:

> If her future husband is also a carrier, they will have a 25% chance of having a child with CF.
> If her future husband is not a carrier, their children will not have CF.

She is on the jet vent, although she is almost down to 21% oxygen (the same that you and I get from the air we're breathing right now, which is great! They are also working at weaning her back onto the normal vent, and then giving the CPAP a go again in a few days.

> Tricia is getting stronger every day. The things that I can't lip read, she can communicate by writing or typing, which is great. Her eyesight is also back to normal, so she is able to see everything clearly and read if she wants to. I've read several of my blog posts to her, starting with a few days before her surgery/sedation, and read every single comment from This Post...she loves all that she is hearing.

She's had a few scares with the trachea, when she coughs so much that it plugs up her airway. They are weaning her off the vent, and reduced her oxygen to 65% today. They say if they can get her down to 50%, they'll begin letting her breathe for a bit at a time without the vent. They also may move her back down to 7800 once she becomes more stable.

Both of their cultures have not grown anything nasty, meaning, so far, no infections. The NICU docs are coming up with a plan to get them together soon (by soon, it may still be a week or so).

> Over $11,000 has been received for Tricia's Trust Fund in the past few days! Thank you so much! Tricia and I are both amazed at the generosity, especially of total strangers!

> Most men with CF cannot have children, but there have been exceptions, and it realy depends on the specific mutation of the gene and progression of the disease (I'm pretty sure about that).

> Somebody new asked in a comment about why our baby came so early...way too much to try to recap, so please, if you have the time, go back about 2-3 weeks and you should be able to catch up quickly.

> "OBX" is short for the "Outer Banks", the thin stretch of islands on the East Coast of NC that we call home.

> I've changed my blog header (the picture up there at the top) to include Gwyneth Rose.

Here's an updated slideshow of Gwyneth Rose (song: "Miracle" by The Foo Fighters)



Nate