Hospital update

We have been in the hospital a week today but I think I'm slowly making progress. The doctor took off the suction on my chest tube tonight so we will see if my lung can stay up without it, if it can they will then clamp the tube for 24 hrs and see how the lung does and then maybe pull it out. The doctor wants to make sure it is totally closed up before she pulls the tube! Which I fully agree, don't want to have to re-insert the tube if at all possible! Thankfully Jason is still here and I think he will head back to TX on Saturday because my mom is coming in for a couple of days. Thank you all for your encouraging e-mails, phone calls and prayers! Love ya......

Love~Em

In the hospital

Hi to all~

Well I'm sure word has got around I am back in the hospital. Christie (sister in-law) took me to the ER last night due to more pain in my chest and not being able to breathe. My left lung collapsed again but 30% this time and so I had to get a chest tube. It was a very draining night emotionally and physically to say the least and I know it was the prayers of so many of you and the Lord's mercy that got me through last night because I had nothing left. Thankfully the lung re-expanded when the doctor put in the tube but now it is a waiting game like last time until the hole closes up. Jason flew in today and my mother in-law is here helping with Faith so we have good support. Having the chest tube should not effect me going through with the transplant if it should come soon. We just continue to try to focus on all our blessings and believe God to walk us through this very difficult journey. Though my body is ready to have "new" lungs I try to treasure the time in waiting too, more time with my baby girl, time with my sister and always learning new things from the Lord. I also can't help but think my waiting might have something to do with my donor or their family. God might not be done working in their lives and finishing His plan for them. When it gets really hard it helps to remember I can only see one side of the coin but God sees all and just like a puzzle He fits and works through our lives and the people that intertwine with ours. I have had my share of tears this week but again I appreciate your prayers and support to us. Your e-mails, phone calls and prayers really do mean so much! We'll keep you posted on how things are going.........love you all!

Love~ Emily

Pumpkin Patch

We got to go to the pumpkin patch on Saturday and pick out the perfect pumpkin. Faith enjoyed pulling the pumpkin seeds out and of course tried to taste them. I found her with some slimy pumpkin stuff in her mouth!

I'm doing ok, my left lung continues to give me pain and shortness of breathe. Life can be heavy with all that is going on so I very much enjoy the times Faith and I get to go out and do some fun things. Her hugs, kisses, and smiles keep me going........We love you all!

love~ Em

Left lung collapsed

Hello to all~

I was walking out of church on Sunday with Faith and my left lung (the good one) collapsed for the first time. Praise the Lord it only went down 10% so I did not need a chest tube at this time but the doctor wanted to watch me for a couple of days just to make sure it doesn't get worse. We were disappointed this left lung didn't hang in there longer but I guess it once again shows me these lungs are giving out. The nurses were happy to see Faith again though! :-) We are hoping to go home today. Jason flew in late Sunday night so it's good to have him home. We know you all pray for us so we just wanted to keep you updated. Thanks for your prayers!

Love~ Em

It's fun to explore.....

I thought I would send some pictures of some of the busy activities Faith does throughout the day. As you can tell she is in the stage of exploring everything and leaving a nice tornado trail behind her. I know you must be thinking, "where is your mama while you are doing all of this?" Well lets just say as long as it is safe and keeps her entertained for the moment while I cook or try to do other things I am more then happy to let her have her fun. The life of a toddler is so busy, just wish I could transfer some of that energy to myself! Hope all is well with you and your families!

Love~ Emily

Happy 1st Birthday, Faith!

Well.......it's hard to believe we are already celebrating Faith's 1st birthday. God has been so good to us and we are just are so thankful to have this sweet, funny, silly & crazy little girl. We had a party for her last night and as you can tell she had lot's of cousins and friends to celebrate it with. She wasn't quite sure about her cake at first, she kept looking at me like, "Are you really going to let me eat this?" She would get a little bit of frosting on her finger and then suck it totally dry! She has NEVER had that much sugar before! It was a great party and lot's of fun but mama is little emotional about her baby growing up. =) I guess they all grow up whether we want them to or not. =)

It was good we had the party yesterday because today I had to go visit the ER again due to pain in my chest and so I am back on some IV's. My right lung has pretty well had it and so it has a very hard time fighting off any form of pneumonia or virus. Also, Jason heads back to TX tomorrow so we would appreciate your prayers for him and us. It's been a rough go in TX with the CFA there and it's going to take some time and a lot of hard work to get it in even some kind of order. The CFA store is in very bad shape and the crew there is NOT welcoming to Jason and Brandon so they could use your prayers.

Hope you and your family are doing well and thanks again for your love and support!

Love~Em

Our first call

Hey Everyone~

I know most of you got word today that we got our first transplant call. We got the call at 6:30 this morning so we headed to Birmingham and got there by 8:00. After some testing on me and the donor's lungs, the doctors decided to cancel due to the quality of the donor lungs. It has been a long and crazy day but we know your prayers were answered because the Lord gave us peace through it all. Yes, we were disappointed it didn't work out but we also know God has the right time and the right lungs for me. We are taking it as a practice round which is good. We now know what to expect and understand the process a little better. Pray the next time will be the real deal and hopefully sooner then later. Jason heads out to Tx on Saturday so I would appreciate your prayers as we get him ready. Thanks again for your support and prayers! Love you all!

~Emily & Jason

Iowa Trip

We got to go to my great Grandma's farm in Iowa to celebrate my Grandparent's 50th anniversary! It was a wonderful time and very special for me to be able to take Faith to see her great-great Grandma & great-great Grandpa as well as spend time at our favorite farm! Much to Jason's dismay my Grandma's farm has LOTS & LOTS of cats and she always has a fresh litter of kittens and as you can tell in the picture Faith befriended them very quickly. Also we were able to get the 5 generation pictures!

I'm off the IV's for now and there is no new changes with transplant.

Hope all is well with you and your families and that you are having a great summer!

~Emily

Our website

Hey Everyone~

We wanted to share with you a website some very special friends here in Cullman have put together for us concerning the lung transplant. They still have some things they are working on but for the most part it is done. It will be a good way to keep people informed when transplant comes. We again just feel so blessed to have friends and family who love us, support us, pray for us and encourage us.

~Emily


www.emilysjourney.com

Bows & Pickles

Thought you might enjoy things everyday pictures. We had to take a picture of some of the things Faith loves, bows and pickles. (Not usually together but she enjoys them both) Ryan is staying with us for a couple of weeks and he and I enjoyed putting the bows in her hair. Surprising enough she didn't notice them in her hair until one fell out and then it was over after that! And as far as the pickle, she loves to chow down on one! She loves sour things!

Quick update on mama~ I'm doing ok, I'm back on some IV meds (which I went for a couple of months without them so that's good). Hopefully it will help clear some of that junk out. We have not rescheduled the sinus surgery as of right now, and we just continue to pray and wait for some good lungs.

Hope you all have a great day! We love you!

~Emily