Emily was agitated most of the day today. They weren't able to start the new medications to help her wake up today, but the combination of consistent very low sedation, the withdrawal of the anti-seizure medication, and possibly a new infection kept her heart rate up much of the day. There was a period mid-morning when she was very clearly asleep - her breathing was slow and regular, her hands and arms relaxed, and her heart rate was very low.

After a day or so of very little, very clear secretions from her lungs, today she had much more trouble with coughing and cloudy secretions. The doctors are doing tests to determine if she has a new infection. The respiratory therapist had to increase her oxygen feed this afternoon and she did much less well without the respirator today. Some new infection might explain this as well.

As many people have said - her body and brain just need more time to heal. Your encouragement is much appreciated.

It occurred to me that we haven't updated "what happened" and lots of folks may not know the whole story.

The weekend of 3/31-4/1 was the last weekend the Winter Park freestyle team would ski together for the season. The kids train so hard all season long, that the weekend was dedicated to skiing for fun. On Saturday 3/31 Emily and her fellow team members and coaches enjoyed new snow on the back side of Parsenn Bowl. On Sunday they were skiing in the terrain park. On their second run in the terrain park, Emily got too much speed going off one of the big table jumps and went really high. Her coach got nervous and skied down to check on her and found her unconscious. A witness told the ski patrol she landed on her feet and feel forward into the snow. From the time she fell until she landed at St. Anthony's was less than 1-1/2 hour - so everyone responded incredibly. She got incredible care on the mountain, at the clinic in Winter Park, and in the Flight for Life helicopter.

This weekend is the final competition of the season at A-Basin, and her fellow Winter Park teammates will all be wearing ribbons in her honor and will make "Emily's run" before the race begins. Let's all think good thoughts about 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.