Some Good News

The biopsy went well. The doctor was very pleased with how it went (minimal bleeding, good lung tissue, etc). She now has 1 chest tube below the incision area to help with healing and to drain off any fluid, etc from the procedure. They told her there was a possibility for 3 so one seems like the better end of the deal. Some results will be available fairly quickly while others they will have to wait several days for.

One specific prayer request...pray that the infection is not a fungus as the medicine they have to give her for that is very taxing on the kidneys and she is having some back pain that the doctors believe is related to stress on them.

Another praise is that she is staying fairly alert which means she is adapting well to the tube/vent (not as anxious...a praise!) so they are not having to keep her as sedated. She is communicating via a message board and able to interact. They also lessened her dependence on the vent this afternoon.

So all in all, still a serious situation but one that is celebrating some good news right now.

Biopsy

This is just a quick post (I don't have a lot of info) but Emily is currently being prepped for a biopsy of her lungs and should go into surgery in the next hour. I believe they are going in from her side so it seems a little more invasive than a scope but I am not sure. Please pray for her to not be anxious and for the doctors to have wisdom and skill in order for this to be a success. Also pray that this does not cause any further complications.

She was stable overnight but was very anxious even after the intubation. It sounds like they have brought her awake to prep her so Jason is getting to spend some time with her while she's alert and hopefully we will get some more info after that.

Intubated

Stephanie just called me to say that they intubated Emily about 5:00PM. Her heart rate began to increase and her breathing decreased so they knew they were about to come. Steph & Jason were able to prepare her as much as they could be Emily still had a lot of fear. She asked that they read scripture to her while she is intubated so please feel free to type out a scripture for them to read to her in the comments. Emily will be sedated the entire time she in on the vent. This is scary to think about on the front end but the hope is that she will be able to rest and relax more and her body will have a chance to fight off the infection. Please pray for this and be sure to read the post below too.

Moved to ICU

Hey everyone...it's Emily Tardy. Don't you just hate it when I'm posting on Em's blog? I sure do. :-( I didn't get to ask Em specifically if she wanted me to update this but I know that she desires your prayers so I ask that you take this info and do just that...PRAY!

Emily was moved to ICU today at UMC in Lubbock. Her O2 saturation levels have been low and it has become increasingly more difficult for her to breathe. She is currently on a forced air oxygen mask that is giving her 100% oxygen and her levels are now fluctuating between 94-97 which is better, but still concerning. Her heart is having to work very hard as well and there is talk about intubating because she will probably get extremely tired from the effort to breathe on her own and they would rather intubate prior to any emergency type situation, if one should arise.

As you well know from her post earlier this week, it has been very difficult and even more so now on every level. Please lift her up and comment so she knows that you are praying. Faith has been sick and her time with her has been limited but they brought her up to see her Momma this afternoon. I know how much Em hates to be away from Faith and combining ICU with a sick child and the possibility of intubation is A LOT to deal with.

Right now, she is to remain at UMC in Lubbock and her Transplant team at UAB is overseeing everything via phone. If this changes, I'll let you know. Please pray for wisdom for everyone involved as there are lots of decisions to make to manage her care. Pray for fear to be defeated and for hope to prevail. Pray for courage, strength, patience and healing from whatever infection is causing this. Pray that Emily can be restful when she is awake and that she can get good sleep as well.

Rough day

Well I don't have a lot of energy to write but I wanted to give ya'll an update. Today has been a very difficult day as I have been nauseous, in a lot of pain and trying to keep my fever down as it has been pretty high all day. I do have a praise though and that is that so far the most of the test that have come back show no rejection. They believe we are dealing with some kind of infection but they haven't been able to pinpoint which one. We are hoping that they will be able to find which infection it is so I can go home on meds. Thank you for your prayers. I really could use them as I feel emotionally and physically drained.


Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
Isaiah 58:8-9

Bronch went well

I had my bronchoscopy this morning and the procedure went well but we don't know the results yet. My fever, stats and pain continue to go up and down but I believe it is getting better with the antibiotics. (Sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better.) Not much else has been going on today as I've been pretty wiped out with the bronch but I'll try to work on getting some lake pictures up today.

Faith is so sweet, she comes up to see me every day and yesterday day she said, "Poor mama....you are sick......do you need a band aide?" Dora band aides are always the cure for everything to a 2 year old. =)

Sunday afternoon catch up

Sorry it's been awhile since I last posted something. It's hard to believe we are almost done with summer and it's always strange for me to see "Back to School" sales in July.
We had a great Mulkey family reunion last weekend at the lake. I'll post some pictures of all the fun when I get them downloaded. =) I was so thankful to have felt good during our trip and there were many family members that had never even seen Faith so it was great time. However, a couple of days after we got home my right ear become completely clogged and my sinuses went crazy! I then began to have pain in my chest and back and so I was admitted to the hospital on Friday. I believe I have mentioned that I am anemic but I guess it got really low so they gave me a blood transfusion and have put me on some meds. I'm also scheduled to do a bronchoscopy Monday morning to check for rejection.

It's been a long couple of days and I find myself more irritable then I would like to admit. I think we are on the right track for keeping better but I do appreciate your prayers that the bronch will come back well and that my lungs will clear up.

I do have a huge PRAISE though. My sister had 5 year MRI check up done to make sure her brain tumor has not returned and everything looks great! When she was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 15, we were not sure the journey that she would be embarking on yet God has been very gracious as she went through brain surgery, radiation and over came many obstacles. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Well, I'll try to update you on the latest health news and also on all the ins and outs of the past couple of weeks. Faith is talking talking talking and I'll have to post some of our funny conversations.
Hope you and your families are enjoying the summer!

4th of July Celebration

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July celebrating with family or friends. We have so much to celebrate living in America! It's easy to forget that our freedom came at a price and that so many sacrificed their lives to bring us to a place that we call "The Land of the Free." I hope that we never loose sight of the cost that brought our freedom and the truths and principals that America was founded on.

THANK YOU to all who have served their country or are serving now!!!

Well, we had a busy weekend doing all the many traditional things you do on the 4th. Even though it was crazy going from one thing to the next I just wanted to experience it all with Faith. This is how our morning started out though.......in the dog house! Yes, I told Faith to go open Maggie's door to her kennel so she could start her day and after some time went by and there was no Faith or Maggie, I had to check it out. Here is what I found.......

Poor Maggie, I think she had to go potty pretty bad!

2 in the dog house from Emily Mulkey on Vimeo.

Thanks to Ya-Ya's idea, Faith was patriotic from head to toe......or toes!

Hanging with daddy

Watching the parade with Nannie

Then headed to Nannie's Ice-Cream Shoppe for some yummy dessert

Maggie enjoyed her puppy cone too

Ice cream for two from Emily Mulkey on Vimeo.

Celebrating with family~

Swimming with cousin, Marin and daddy

Time for Sparklers!!!

(Maggie WATCH OUT!)

Too tired to finish watching the amazing firework show!

Family Vacation & Birthdays

Well I said I was going to post some pictures of our trip and I have finally got around to it! We were able to go to San Antonio to celebrate my 1 year and go on a much needed family vacation. It was wonderful to get away and we had a great time! Hayden, Callie & Landon came with us so that made it even more fun! If you haven't noticed yet Faith LOVES anything that has four legs, crawls or has fur......basically any animal, so it was very exciting to be able to take her to Sea World! She loved to watch Shamu jump out of the water but she also enjoyed feeding the dolphins. Whenever you ask her what Shamu does she will say,"Splash Splash Splash!"

Mama, Faith & Shamu!

Love those dolphins

When it's really HOT outside ice-cream sandwiches just don't last very long

Pooped after a long day at Sea World

Well we did Sea World 1 day and then the next 2 days we were doing our own splashing and swimming at Schlitterbahn! I was a little more worried about the water park with Faith only because she is NOT by any means a dare devil when it comes to the water. She loves the water but she likes to play by herself in a quiet and calm setting. We played in the kid around for awhile (which was very nice) but then I decided she was just going to have to be brave and go on some of the big rides with us (I didn't come all the way to Schlitterbahn to play in the kid around all day! hehe) We strapped a life jacket on her and put her in her own baby tube and we set off to go down some of the tube rides. I have to say she did VERY well, she even went down the drops by herself (only because they don't let you hold onto their tube while you go down, they make sure though that you are right in front of them). Every time we would go through a "rapid" or drop I would call back (daddy held onto her tube)," Are you OK?" and I would get the same answer every time........"I BREEZING (freezing)!" Poor baby, purple lips and poops in the pants because the first drop scared her, she was quite the trooper but by the afternoon she was enjoying the rides more.

We had an awesome time and it was great to celebrate with my brother, sister and brother in-law!

Ya-Ya (Callie), Faith & Mama hanging at the pool

Ya-Ya & Ray (Callie & Hayden)

I breezing, mama!

We got to eat at our favorite restaurant there, The Gristmill! Yum Yum Yum, it was soo good!

The end of another long day

Feeding the Dolphins from Emily Mulkey on Vimeo.

Untitled from Emily Mulkey on Vimeo.

Also I celebrated another birthday. My brother, Landon and my birthday are a day apart but we are 10 years apart in age. So we have been partying all week! I have to say I'm a little tired from the week so I'm enjoying being home on this raining Sunday afternoon. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying your summer!

My sweet hubby took me out for my b-day

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY LANDON!

Nothing like a picture with your bloomers showing......or diaper

Conversations you might hear in a public restroom

It has been so fun (yet sad) to watch Faith grow in her ability to understand things, communicate with others and see her personality come out more and more. However with that said once they start talking you never know what might come out or when it will come out. It becomes not an IF it will happen but a WHEN it will happen and then you either have to laugh or be highly embarrassed by the situation. We had one of those this week. Of course, I never thought I would be posting about me being in a public restroom but this was too much to pass up.

I had to go get my routine blood work done at the hospital this week and it just so happened that I woke up having horrible cramps and constipation. I decided I could make it there but after I had checked in I had to excuse myself to the restroom. So here I am sitting in the restroom with Faith, feeling like I'm about to explode and in much pain and my daughter turns to me and says very sweetly but quite loudly, " Mama.......it really hard?" She continues to say this over and over again (that's one thing about toddlers they NEVER say something once!) I'm trying to acknowledge her and thank her for her concern for me but wishing she would just bring her voice down a little! Then, to top off the conversation that I'm sure everyone is enjoying.......she proclaims in a VERY loud screech (which she does at home), "EEEWWWW.......STINKY POOPS!" Now, everyone has a moment by moment play of our time together in the bathroom stall. I had to smile and laugh......what else do you do?


To give you a quick health update, I'm doing pretty well. I've been struggling with nausea, throwing up and dehydration (24/7) for about 3 months now (and NO I'm not pregnant so don't get concerned) however, I have had 4 good days this week. The doctors have been constantly changing my meds trying to figure out which one is causing me to be so sick. Yet, with my anti-rejection meds there are only so many you can switch too and have to stay in the right range so that your lungs don't go into rejection. My kidney function has been pretty high recently and they feel it's due to the nausea and dehydration so that is a little concerning. That's partly way I go in every week for labs to check it and continue to pray it will go down. Like I said before it is always a balancing act to keep everything working well. I try to focus on all the good things the Lord has given me and not focus on the difficult ones.

We were able to go on a family vacation to celebrate my 1 year anniversary and it was a great time! I hope to post some videos and pictures of that next week!