hoping for a happy ending...

Today started with another trip down for another chest xray to make sure everything was really ok.  Only today, she made it all the way down and back up in her wheelchair! YAY!  She was back to bed the second we got back to our room, but within 30 minutes wanted back in her chair again.  Her body is so tired of being in bed, it's cramping up and she is feeling it.  We spent some time this morning fixing up her hair really cute (that always makes a girl feel better...) and by 10:00 Keith and Sari arrived to spend the day. My sister and her husband stopped by, and since Shawnie was feeling up to it, we all went together to the sacrament meeting held here at the hospital for families.  Shawnie had to sit in the front center and Keith was so embarrassed because her IV pole with all her stuff on it, was right in front of the speaker. We weren't sure she would make it through the 30 minute meeting, but by the time they got through all of the songs and the sacrament, there was only time for a 5 minute speaker and then it was over and she had made it just fine! By this afternoon, she was up for over an hour making pom-pom creatures that her friend Carole brought by.  This evening some of our favorite friends surprised us with a visit all the way from home and before we knew it, the day that she was sure she'd never make it through was over!!  The doctor that came by this morning allowed us to turn off the suction that was pulling everything out of her stomach to see if her body could tolerate it.  After a couple of hours she had to go back on for 30 minutes to empty it, but then has been off of it the rest of the day and has been feeling fine!  This means that her bowels are waking up and things are starting to move through.  Our prayers tonight are that the swallow study they do tomorrow morning will have a happy ending.  They are going to put barium down her nose tube into her stomach to make sure that it's not leaking where they cut it open.  If everything is sealed up, she can start clear liquids tomorrow (WAHOO!).  If it's not, it could be up to another week (boohoo). She didn't think she could make it another day, I cannot imagine having to tell her she's got another week... I asked her today what she wanted me to post on the blog and she said, "I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry." She is obsessed with eating and was even excited tonight when they decided to pour medicine down the tube into her tummy instead of the other not very fun way...
Keith did sneak her several ice chips tonight (naughty) and she ended up with the hiccups.