I was holding Briana's hand and talking to her. She looked up at me and squeezed my hand! She knew daddy was there with her.

I love to see Briana smile, it just melts my heart!

Malia and I went to visit Briana last night. My highlight was when I got to hold her in my hands while the nurse changed her bed sheets, it was pretty awesome! Holding Briana made my day. Notice Briana's left arm behind her head while she's relaxing/sleeping, just like her daddy.

She's doing well with the exception of some adversity she still needs to overcome. But she's a Kelly so she'll knock it out of the park! : ) I just talked to the resident on staff at the NICU and she said that Briana has pneumonia in both of her lungs. She also has an infection in her throat from the ventilator tube however, she is currently on antibiotics to treat both infections. Hopefully both infections will be gone by Tuesday so they can operate and fix her heart on Wednesday. They will do another culture test to see if the infection is gone and see if she's suitable for heart surgery on Wednesday to close the PDA. If not, they will put the surgery off until she's infection free. Please join us in prayer so the surgery goes well with no complications.

She has had a tough time taking breast milk feedings since birth and they weren't sure why. Today they did a Lower GI test to see what was going on and they found a block in her intestines. The block was hardened Meconium stool. Meconium is the stool that baby's first have from the amniotic fluid they swallow when in the womb and is a tar-like substance. The Meconium stool hardened in her intestines causing a block which created the stomach problems she's been experiencing. In a nutshell, she was constipated. After the procedure she passed the Meconium stool that had been blocking her intestines. They are going to start feeding her again tonight and will monitor her progress.

Overall she's doing well. She's stable, is taking breaths by herself (in between the ventilator O2 pumps), is smiling and happy to see her parents when they come to visit. She has a fit every now and then but that's OK! We're just glad she's not lethargic anymore.

Malia has been doing a phenomenal job visiting and comforting Briana every day. I can't say enough about my lovely wife. She has been great through this experience and has a heart of gold. She's a awesome mom, thanks babe!

I wish I could visit Briana every day too but someone has to work! : ) This whole experience has been very distracting from work and other aspects of life, but FUJIFILM Medical Systems has been very supportive and understanding during this stressful time. I feel very, very blessed to work for such an awesome organization. I cannot say enough about who I work for and the people I work with, they are a stand-up people who really care about you. We have received an overwhelming out pour of support from everyone we work with. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

Unfortunately, I will be in Puerto Rico next week for work, the surgery was planned yesterday last minute. But my Mom volunteered to go with Malia during the heart surgery on Wednesday. THANKS MOM!!! It's nice having a Mother that is a RN with a Masters & PHD in Nursing. Mom drills the nurses with lots of questions when she visits and gets the "clinical" low-down on Briana. Its awesome and reassuring.

Well, that's it for now. I'm sure Malia will have more to post when she gets home.

Thanks again for all of your support. Take care and God bless all of you! We love you!

Paul and Malia