Hi Friends, We are now in hour number 73 of Dirk's brave journey. Just a quick mention of Dirk's medical team here at Children's Memorial; The surgical team of Mavroudis, Backer and Stewart are awesome. Dirk was the 83rd patient to recieve this type of surgery. From now on , 83 is the Wieringa official lucky number! His Cardiologist, Dr. DeFreidis has been wonderful, instilling faith and confindence in the Dirkster from the beginning. It is appropriate to thank Dirk's past help as well, Dr. Pipit, Dr. Replogle and Dr. Campbell are all very tall shoulders for his current team to stand upon. To all thanks for taking such good care of our baby. That being said, Dirk is doing fine, he has had all but the 3 chest drainage tubes, the Oxygen Saturation sensor and 4 IV lines removed. He is now on nose prong oxygen, is sitting up, talking and even having a sip or two of orange juice and water. He has been talking on the phone a little as energy allows. The tough part now is for him to clear his lungs so that his oxygen saturation can get up to where it needs to be. He has been a brave cougher and is working very hard to expand his lungs. He is still a bit wary of his pace-maker and likens the feeling of a strong heart beat (something he is not really used to) to the feeling of a train passing. All I can say is "Get on Board Dirkster, a beautiful new day is a comin!" We hope to have him in a regular room and on some solid foods by Monday. What a miracle this has all been. Thanks again so much for your thoughts and prayers, they have been working great! God Bless, amd Thanks again, Dirksters Family