Hope is still alive.

The surgeon told us yesterday that her best educated guess is that Aaron doesn't have a lot of infected intestine. But that she couldn't be sure until she opened him up. Despite that, he had a lot going for him - he was otherwise perfectly stable, and his blood gases were coming back acid-free (a sign of limited infection).

As of this morning, his last blood gas test came back with great results - meaning he was still largely acid-free, and that he had weathered the stress of yesterday's procedure well. These are both good signs.

1. he's acid-free, meaning he probably doesn't have a lot of infected intestine
2. he's still stable, meaning he handled yesterday's procedure and has a good chance of handling today's

This is all good news. But it doesn't mean that he's a sure bet to make it through this ordeal unscathed. He still needs all of the prayers that everyone is offering up for him, but he does stand a good chance. And that's all we can ask for right now, I suppose. =/