As soon as I walked into the ICU this morning, Liya’s mother was waving me into her room with a huge smile. “Look!” she said proudly. “She’s been off the ventilator all morning!”
Sure enough, Liya was sleeping peacefully and breathing on her own without the ventilator! By the time I arrived, she had been four hours without oxygen support and her saturations were still pretty good.
With the Gaza border closed due to tensions between Gaza and Israel, it’s a difficult time for Liya’s family. Both her parents are in Israel, while their older children are staying with relatives back home. Even so, Liya’s mother told me today that it’s okay, she will stay here until she’s sure Liya is strong enough to go home.