Thursday 9:30 p.m. ET

Somehow, we came under the impression earlier in the week that there had been a day or two during which Eli's cultures had been clear of infection, but it turns out that that was not the case. She's had contaminated cultures for seven days running and it has occurred to the good folk at neurosurgery that now is a good time for Plan B. Said Plan B involved injecting an antiobiotic whose name I cannot recall directly into the valve rather than into her system generally through an IV. We're just glad there is a plan. The doc squad wants to see two consecutive days of clean cultures before they'll consider inserting a new shunt, so we're praying that Plan B works and post-haste.
Lia and her mom swapped places this morning after Eli's breakfast so Lia could take a much needed break from the hospital and spend some much needed one-on-one time with Julia. As it happened, coming home for the morning made Lia sadder and more homesick than ever. And after Lia went back to the hospital and Julia came home with Nin, Julia wept and wailed and modestly gnashed her little teeth for almost two hours before collapsing into her afternoon nap. All of this seems so unfair to Julia; she continues, though, to have a lot of fun capturing her grandmother's heart. We all spent the evening together at the hospital, and it may have been the best time we've had since Eli's return there. Julia was in rare form, bouncing off the hospital walls and smiting the hearts of onlookers with inexorable smiles. We all had a lot of fun, and Eli was thrilled as she always is to see her big sister and hero. Hopefully, they'll soon be roommates again. Eli's happier and keener-eyed than she's been since we learned of her illness, which helps mitigate the drollness and crampedness of life at Yale-New Haven hospital. She's really a remarkable little girl.