"'Hi, Mom.' Anything. Even if it's just a whisper," she said.
With the tubes out, the medical team waited.
After a few minutes off the ventilator, Alexx's heart rate continued to climb and oxygen levels dropped.
The teenager was re-intubated, and the ventilator was turned back on.
Morris still did not get to hear Alexx's voice.
With the new school year approaching, Alexx's case underscores a growing fear among public health experts and educators across Arkansas -- that children may be more susceptible to the new strains of covid-19 circulating in the community.
On Friday, Arkansas Children's Hospital had seven covid-19 patients with two of them on ventilators, hospital spokeswoman Hilary DeMillo said.