Day 19 Post Transplant....

Abby had an eventful day she had PT (physical therapy) and because they gave her a line holiday on Thursday they had to start a new line. They decided to do the type of dialysis that is continuous. VS the type that is a every 3 days for 3-4 hours. That one is a lot harder on Abby and really wears her out. So they will keep her on this one till her Kidney kicks in. So Abby has been sleeping most of the day. She was responsive today though so that is good. She is just very worn out. We are hoping that this other dialysis will keep her more comfortable and eventually more alert.
Abby also had to have some fluid drained from her abdomen it was just a build up of fluid that was accumulating in the abdominal cavity. It happened because her Kidney isn't getting rid of excess fluid in her body. So I am sure she is much more comfortable now that it is gone. So like I said she has a lot going on today but right now she is sleeping and looks peaceful.
I am actually sitting by Abby's bedside right now. Abby is never alone she always has a family member by her side. Except for during shift change when they kick us out. I know that all of us feel the same way, right now we don't have anywhere else we would rather be. Even though right now it is 3:00 A.M. I am happy to be wither her. Abby still is very confused when she wakes up so we want to be here to ease her confusion and her panic. Abby sometimes looks really confused when she looks at us, but I have figured out that it is because she is trying to figure out the time line. She is really confused by the date on the wall. She also seems to be worried about us. Abby showed us her annoyed side today. They were fussing with her and they put a damp rag on her hand and she picked it up and threw it across the room. Way to go Abby we love to see that fighting side of you.

Day 18 post transplant....

So yesterday (day 18) started out very rough. Abby was not waking up and she was sweaty and shaky. The doctors said that she most likely has an infection either from one of her lines or maybe an abscess. They wanted to use a certain antibiotic that would be strong enough to get rid of most infections. The problem with that antibiotic is it could potentially wipe out her kidney. The doctors that are caring for Abby in the ICU and the Kidney doctors were discussing what they should do. They decided to start an antibiotic that is safe for the kidney, an anti-fungal and an antiviral medication for the next 4 days and see how she does.
They also did an abdominal and head MRI to check for signs of infection just to be on the safe side. We still don't know the results of that. I stayed with Abby till about 1:30 A.M. so my parents could get some sleep. She was a little out of it at first after her MRI which ended at 11:00 P.M. I just sat by her bed and held her hand. Every time I would stand up or move a little. Abby would squeeze my hand and not let me let go. That was a very good sign it let me know that she knew I was there.
They gave Abby a bath and changed her bedding. After they got her all tucked in and comfortable again she woke up. She looked at me with wide eyes and gave me a slight smile. She was a little confused but I think that is normal she had slept for 2 days and had been very sick. Abby has an oxygen mask on that more just goes around her mouth and it has humidified air to help moisten her nose and throat. So she was a little worried about that she kept pointing to it. So I would explain that it wasn't scary and it was just helping her a little. She then pointed to other things that were on her and I explained what they were and that they were all normal medical things and that she was ok. She seemed more calm at that point and less confused. She was holding my hand again and when I said I was going home she started to squeeze my hand and didn't want to let go. Also when my dad came in she looked worried I asked her if she was worried about dad getting sleep and she nodded. I told her that he had been sleeping and he was doing fine. That shows Abby's true personality she was worried about my dad even though she is the one who is sick. It was good to see Abby so alert she was a little confused but not too much. I really think she was just making sure she was okay.
So for today we are hoping she continues to get better. We would love for her kidney to start working but we will be patient. Thank you for all the prayers for our Abby.

Please Pray!!!

Abby is having a very bad day!! She has a very bad infection and they don't know where or what it is. She isn't waking up at all. She needs your prayers. They have an antibiotic they can try but it would wipe out her kidney. Please pray hard for our Abby we need her to be okay!!

Day 17 Post Transplant...

So the roller coaster continues, Abby had a good night last night and a good morning today. She responded well to PT and was following commands. She had to do another round of dialysis today so that is 8 hours of dialysis in 2 days. It really knocked her out she was non responsive and sleeping all afternoon and night. She was having a hard time coughing stuff up tonight so they had to suction her and it really just made Abby mad and gave her a bloody nose. She is just so sleepy so it is harder to make her do things. It is a normal response from dialysis to be sleepy especially when combined with all the toxins in her body from her kidney not working.
It is hard for us not to get discouraged sometimes. We just would really love for Abby's kidney to start working. That would help a lot of things. She really needs to be more alert but it is hard for her to be alert when her kidney isn't doing it's job. She started tolerating feedings again today so that is good news. Abby has made a lot of improvements in the past 2 weeks. We just want to see more of Abby we want to see her make big improvements and for her to be herself again. We know she will get there and we know we have to be patient. And we are very thankful for the progress she has made. So we will just pray that her kidney will start working. We know prayer works, last Sunday when everyone fasted for Abby that day she was off of the vent. So thank you for all of the prayers on Abby's behalf. Our friends and family are the best!

Day 16 post trasplant...

Today has been another sleeping beauty day for Abby. She had dialysis today and was able to do the whole treatment this time so that is good. But because it has been so long since she had dialysis well longer then the normal 3 days. She has a lot of toxins and things built up in her system that need to be filtered out. So she was really out of it all day because of that and dialysis wears her out as well. So she really slept all day long and wouldn't wake up for anyone. Even when she would open her eyes a few times she wasn't really awake.
So today was supposed to be a big day for Abby, she has been writing a missionary and was waiting for him. And he got home today. Abby has been counting down the days till he got home since he left. Him and his cute mom went to see Abby tonight at about 9 and like I said Abby had been asleep all day and didn't really respond to anyone. Well my mom told her that he was there and Abby looked over at him and smiled. She stayed awake for the 30 minutes that he was there. So Abby really is our sleeping beauty and her Prince Charming came tonight and woke her up. I really think this will help Abby's recovery just having people that really love her and want her to get better. It will make her fight even harder.
We are so grateful for everyone who loves Abby. Abby is a beautiful girl with a great spirit and everyone who really knows her loves her. Keep up the good work Abby. You will be home before you know it.

Day 15 post transplant...

Today Abby has just been our sleeping beauty. She had a big day yesterday so I am sure she is warn out. Her Kidney still isn't working so she is still very disoriented so even when she is awake she isn't really with it. But that is okay we all know that she is still our Abby we have seen very alert moments. She just has so many things trying to heal in her body that she is just tired and needing to rejuvenate.
So the positives for the past 2 weeks Her liver is doing great her numbers are normal so that is good. She is off of the vent and her lungs look good. She is still breathing fast but that is more because of her kidney not working. She has had some very with it moments and so we know our Abby is our Abby.
So we still have a ways to go with her Kidney but everyone seems to believe that it will come back with time. Her gut still isn't working like normal yet either but that will take time too. She is still very groggy and confused but that is because of her kidney not her brain. So for now we will hope and pray that her Kidney will kick in because that should solve her other problems. We all love Abby so much and hate that she has to go through this. I know we would all take her place if we could.

Oh Happy Day 14 post transplant....

So it has been 14 days since the transplant and today has been a happy day. The happiest day in 2 weeks. So today Abby was extibated and it went well she has been breathing on her own all day since about 1:00 this afternoon. She looked so much better when we saw her today. She was the most alert I have seen her in 2 weeks, she was watching a movie on TV and stayed awake the whole time I was with her. She was able to whisper to us, her throat is still very sore but she has had a tube down it for 2 weeks so I bet it is sore. She is still very weak and still a little foggy. She still has a hard time moving and it will take time for her muscles to get strong again. She is starting to realize that things went wrong and that is hard to watch. Before she didn't know what was going on, but now she is putting things together. And she is mad and it makes us feel so bad. We don't think she realizes that she has had a transplant because she is still so foggy from her Kidney not working. So she is confused and doesn't understand why this is happening to her so she is mad.
We are so glad to be able to see Abby's beautiful face again without all of the tubes. She seems to be able to tolerate feedings now so she can get stronger with some nourishment. She doesn't seem to be in too much pain but she is agitated. She is acting a little mad at us right now. She probably remembers seeing us standing there while she was hurting and restrained and we weren't doing anything to help her. But I think with time and once she has another round of dialysis or once her kidneys kick in she will be a little more with it and not be so upset. And we might be able to explain a little bit about what happened to her. But for now we just want her to get some rest. I hope she is sleeping well right now. I think our family is sleeping a bit better tonight. Thank you all for the fasting and the prayers. She still has a way to go but she made some big steps today so today we had a little miracle and we feel blessed.

Day 13 post transplant....

So right now everything just feels like a waiting game. We are waiting for things to happen. We are waiting for her Kidney to work, we are waiting for her to be extibated, we are waiting for her to tolerate feedings. I just wish I could wave a magic wand and make all of these things happen. But I can't so we pray and wait. Abby had an ok day today not much change. They did start TPN which is an IV nourishment. They keep trying to do NG feedings but she hasn't been tolerating them. She needed some form of nourishment to get better so they started the TPN. I really hope it helps her be more alert and start healing faster. She hasn't had much nourishment in the past 2 weeks so I am sure her body needs the nourishment.
The plan is to test Abby tomorrow to see if she can be extibated. If it doesn't go well they will have to decide what to do from there. They really don't want to keep her intibated much longer. We are hoping for a small miracle and that she will take a big deep breath tomorrow when they turn the machine off. She really has been doing most of the breathing on her own the machine just helps a really small amount. They are just worried because she is breathing really fast. They also need her to be able to cough and swallow. So please pray that all will go well when they do decide to extibate.
That is really all for today Abby was very tired today and a little agitated. But no significant changes that were negative or positive just stayed about the same.
Thanks again for all of the prayers and thoughts for Abby and our family. There are a lot of people and wards who are going to fast for Abby tomorrow, so if you want to join in on the fast for Abby we need all the blessings we can get.

Day 12 Post Transplant....

Today has been an exhausting day for Abby. She had Dialysis today, an EEG, a Neuro exam and is having to take a few antibiotics that are hard on her. She was pretty alert for her Neuro exam she followed the commands for the Neurologist. Abby has been pretty picky about who she will be responsive for. She usually won't follow the nurses commands, but she has been better for the OT and the Neurologist. She is a little more alert for her siblings versus her parents but we think that is because she expects our parents to be there. She is more surprised when we are there and she tries to be awake for us. We have really seen Abby's personality lately which makes us happy. We would love her personality to come out more.
The doctors are still going back and forth about the vent. The surgeons think she can come off of it but the Intensivest (ICU Dr) thinks she needs to stay on for a few more days. They just want to make sure she doesn't have an infection. That is why she is on the antibiotics more of a precaution. She did have a culture come back positive but it is for a bacteria that we all have on our skin. But because she is immune suppressed they are treating it before it can turn into anything. They still need her to tolerate feedings and for her Kidney to work.
Another concern for us is Abby's anxiety we just don't want her to give up or shut down. We are afraid that because every time she wakes up she is on the vent and tied down that she is going to not want to deal with it. Abby is a fighter so I know she will continue the fight. But I just want her to not be frustrated with how long it is taking.
So Abby still has a way to go on this long road to recovery. But she has made progress and we are happy about that. The biggest triumph of the day was her reacting more and showing more of her personality. She is worn out and a little anxious tonight but that is to be expected after the day she has had. My prayer tonight is that Abby will have a good day tomorrow. Because for now we have to take this one day at a time. Good night Abby we all love you and I know if you were up and alert you would tell everyone good night and that you love them.

Day 11 post transplant...

My cup runneth over, I am so full of emotions tonight. Abby has had a better day today. She had to have more tests and doctors are still trying to decide what to do with her ventilator. They keep changing their minds which is frustrating. But we feel that we want Abby to be 100% ready to come off of her ventilator. We don't want to have to reintibate that would not be good at all. So we are okay with her resting and getting strong for a little bit longer. And I stressthe words little bit, we are ready for her to make some big steps forward but only when she is ready. She still isn't as responsive as we would like her to be, but she is waking up a little bit more. I am actually at Abby's bedside right now she is a little confused when she opens her eyes and she looks so tired. But she has been fighting hard no wonder she is tired. We still need that dang kidney to kick in. We really feel that would solve a lot of Abbys problems. The stuff in her body that the kidney would normally get rid of is putting her in a fog. And it is making her not feel good so she just wants to sleep.
Abby is making progress, but it is slow. All we care about is the result as long as she gets better we will wait for her. Through this long journey one thing has stayed constant and that has been the love and support of everyone who knows or who has ever met Abby or anyone in our family. I am just amazed at how many people who have reached out to us. Of course our extended family has been wonderful. They have supported us through all of this. But so many people even unexpected people are reaching out and praying for Abby and for that we feel blessed. My mom said yesterday that her faith has been restored in humanity. I can't go 20 minutes without someone asking about how Abby is doing or telling me that they are praying for her. Even at work people who know have just been so loving and concerned for our family. The other day I ate lunch with my mom at the hospital and for those who don't know my mom works at the same hospital. So we ran into a lot of her coworkers and the firts thing they all said is do you need any of my sick hours. They were so willing to give my mom their hours so she could be with Abby. So many great people in this world and they are all pulling for Abby. We do feel so blessed to have the family, friends and ward members in our lives.
Please keep the prayers coming for Abby she still has a long road ahead of her. She really needs to be more alert and follow commands better. And of course we need her kidney to do it's job and get rid of all of the toxins. We have been told by many that they will be fasting for Abby on Sunday. We really appreciate that and are so happy to have so many wonderful people in our lives.
Be strong Abby, and breath deep we are all praying for you and we love you so much!

Day 10 post transplant...

So I am not going to lie today hasn't been the easiest of days. It has been a roller coaster, she had some very good moments today where she followed instructions. She gave the thumbs up when the OT asked her to and when they asked her to lift up 2 fingers with her right hand she did it right away. The doctors told my mom they were going to try and extibate her today. Then later they said she was still breathing too fast so they didn't feel comfortable extibating her yet. They also want her to be more awake. So they stopped the pain meds so she could be more alert.
As the day went on Abby became more anxious and non-responsive. Her heart rate is high and she is breathing very fast. This is not good, we are thinking she is in pain. But she won't tell us what is wrong she just gets very agitated. The doctors want her to be more awake but if she is upset or in pain she shuts down. We are all frustrated right now. We want Abby to be comfortable and to make progress, but today it seems like we don't have either of those things.
We really need her kidney to work and for her to calm down. We also need her to tolerate feedings better. On the plus side her lungs look good and so does her liver. She is still on the road to getting better. We were just hoping for a faster road.
It is hard today because if things went smoothly in the first place she would be going home today since it is day 10. But we still probably have weeks this is just not the way we wanted it to go. But we are grateful that Abby is still with us and that some things are getting better. We just really need prayers right now. I know everyone has continued praying for her, but we are asking that the praying continues. We are praying for her kidney to start working and for her breathing to get better. We are also praying that the doctors can figure out the best way to help Abby so she can be comfortable and make progress.
We love our Abby and want her to be healthy and happy and to be herself again soon.

Day 9 Post Transplant.....

Abby has had a tiring day, and will probably sleep well tonight. She had to have a CT scan today to make sure her bowels are ok. The doctors were a little concerened about her bowels because she hasn't been tolerating feedings very well. The CT scan came back just fine, she is just probably not used to the amount of protein that they are giving her through her G-Tube. She is still on the ventilator, we were really hoping to have her off of it today. Her lungs looked a lot better today not as much fluid around them so that is a good sign.
Abby had another round of Dialysis today which wipes her out. The Dialysis helps get off the extra fluid she has so that will help with her breathing issues as well. She was a little less alert today then she has been. But that is explained by her kidney not working. Some of the levels in her blood that are elevated because of her Kidney not working very well cause her to be a little out of it. So we are not too concerned about that. She would respond to us if we said something she wanted to hear. She really was only ignoring the medical personel today. But the nurse she had today was a cute guy who was still very sweet with her. He even joked around with her which probably helped.
When I walked into her room today I said "Abby I have your phone with me and there is an email from Jake on it that he sent last Tuesday, do you want me to read it" Her eyes flew open and she nodded her head and watched me the whole time as I read it. So right now she is tired and her body is working hard to heal itself. So her being sleepy and not responding is just because she wants to be left a lone. And who can blame her I would just want to sleep too.
Abby is a tough girl she has had a rough past 9 days but is showing improvement. Her liver is doing good still so we are happy about that. We all miss our Abby and can't wait to laugh with her. And we know that isn't far away. Abby has a really good attitude and once she is off the ventilator we know she will be laughing with us. After we all cry of course.
We love you Abby keep breathing deep and you will be free from those tubes soon enough!

Day 8 Post Transplant...

Today wasn't too eventful which I guess is a good thing. We would have liked for her to have had some huge step forward. But we are happy with her small improvements for now. She was really tired today so she wasn't as alert but did respond to people talking to her. Her ventilator is turned down very low so she is close to being extibated. She still has some fluid around her lungs from her kidney not working. So she will have dialysis again in the morning to help get rid of some of the fluid. And hopefully that will get her breathing even better and then maybe she can get off of the ventilator.
Her liver numbers have come way down so we are very happy about that. Most of her issues right now are linked to her kidney not working so we are anxious for it to start. With her just having one kidney it might take some time. When Caleb had his liver transplant 20 years ago his kidney stopped working too. It took 3 weeks for it to start working again so we will wait patiently.
Right now we are happy that Abby is making progress and that she is able to communicate a little bit more with us. She will shake or nod her head to answer our questions and she will mouth words. She is still a little uncomfortable but they are trying to stay on top of the pain management.
That is really it for today, thanks to all who have prayed for Abby and keep them coming we need that kidney to start working.

Day 7 Post Transplant....

So it has been a week since the transplant. Abby is still in SICU but things are looking up. She is still on the vent but it looks like she might be able to come off of it soon. She is taking a lot of breaths on her own and is a lot more alert. She had lots of smiles today so that felt so good to see her smile. Her kidney is still not working but the doctors are very optimistic that it will start with time. Her liver numbers are improving so we are happy about that.
Abby responded a lot today to people walking in the room, she smiled with every visitor. She reacted to names and to us showing her pictures. It was really good to have that interaction with her. It feels like forever since we have seen her smile even though it has only been one week. But after the week we have had it felt like forever.
We are all still a little sleep deprived and that is normal after this fight we are all fighting with Abby. But now that things are looking up I hope we all especially my parents will get some rest so we can be here for Abby. As her recovery continues she will need a lot of support. Especially when she is awake more and out of the ICU. But I know it is hard for us to leave her side right now.
That is really all for today not much changed today just small steps forward. But we will take any steps forward. Hopefully tomorrow we will have some big good news. We love our Abby Jean so much and we feel blessed to have her in our lives. This is a journey she does not have to take alone we are here for the long run.

Day 6 Post Transplant

So today has been okay they removed Abby's chest tube, it was put in to take out fluid and air from her chest cavity. Since they took that out Abby has been breathing a little better. She is still on the ventilator but it is just helping her a little, she is doing most of the breathing. She has been a little agitated but not as bad as yesterday. An aunt of ours suggested music to help calm her so she can be less aggitated and be on less sedation. My dad used his iphone and turned on pandora radio and selected uplifting music. As soon as my dad put it on her pillow she made what looked just like a smile and I am sure it was. Abby loves music she loves to dance and sing more than anyone I know. So it makes sense that Music would calm her down.
Speaking of music some of you probably noticed that I put music on the blog. I wanted to explain why I chose the songs I did. So the song "Just the way you are" has always reminded me of Abby. Abby is beautiful not just on the outside even though she is gorgeous. But on the inside too she has unconditional love for her family. She also loves children and special needs people and would do anything to help them. But I don't think she realizes how beautiful and special she is. So that song has always reminded me of Abby.
The song "I hope you dance" well like I said before she loves music and she loves to dance. So I thought that song was perfect because I know she will dance again and I can't wait for that day.
The song "Somewhere over the rainbow/what a wonderful world" I mostly chose this song for the wonderful world part of it. My dad likes this song well our whole family does and it has special meaning to us. But my dad thought it fit because Abby chose to stay in this world so it IS a wonderful world.
The song "I'm yours" well for one I have always liked this song but right now I think we all will give ourselves 100% to Abby's recovery. Especially my parents who have not left her side. They will be there and so will all of us siblings untill Abby is well and home.
The song "I'll stand by you" well as you can see we love Abby and we love eachother so much. We have always stood up for eachother and helped eachother ever since we were little. So Abby knows we will all stand by her and support her for the rest of her long life.
So for now we are pleased with Abby's progress her liver continues to get stronger and same with her breathing. We still need that kidney of hers to kick in and for her to get off of the ventilator. So we will continue to pray for that.
Today I am thankful for my family and I am especially thankful for the way we were all raised. We all have faith and a relationship with our Father in Heaven. We also have unconditional love for eachother. And we were taught to appreciate music and have a love for music and the power it has. So these things have made us survive during this trial.
So that is it for today, but I need to mention some "angels" some certain family members of ours. They went to my parents house cleaned up the house and the yard. Even washed windows and left a lot of food for them. They know who they are and so do I. But I want them to know how much that ment to my parents. More than you could even know. And for that we are all grateful!

Day 5 Post Transplant....

Today not much has changed, Abby has continued to make small improvements. We still are working on getting her off of the ventilator. They have really been letting her wake up more so they can get her breathing. She has been pretty agitated today but that is to be expected. They have started a new kind of dialysis so they will only do it every 3 days or so instead of running it all of the time. So that is nice for her not to be hooked up to 1 more thing.
Her liver numbers are still improving so that is good. We are very optimistic and we try and reassure Abby every time she wakes up that everything is ok. That is important right now to keep Abby calm so she can continue to improve. That is really all for today, we were hoping for her to be off of the ventilator today but she isn't quite ready. But that is okay we want her to be ready before we take that big step. We wouldn't want her to have to be intibated again so we will be patient.
As for the family today was ok for us as well. Today was our dad's birthday. He was insistant that we didn't celebrate until Abby could join the party. So we just had pizza in the cafeteria during shift change. They kick us out of her room anyway for and hour and a half. That is the only time we can get our parents to leave her alone. She really has had a family member by her side this whole time. We might drive the nurses crazy, but we know it helps keep Abby calm. And we do stay out of the way and try not to ask too many questions. I have to say though that the nurses have been very nice and have been supportive of us. Once Abby is out of the ICU it will be easier for my parents to sleep at the hospital so that will be nice.

So today was a good day no steps backwards makes for a good day. So here is hoping for another good day and hopefully some really big good news tomorrow.

Day 4 post transplant....

Abby has made some progress today, but some of it has been hard to watch. Abby's liver numbers have been improving with every blood draw. They are still pretty high so we are hoping and praying that they will continue to drop rapidly. They are weaning Abby off of a lot of the sedation and anty-anxiety meds. So that is where the hard part comes in. Abby is a lot more agitated and isn't as calm as she was while sedated. But that is what needs to be done to get Abby breathing on her own. The doctors turned off the ventilator for a bit today to see if Abby would take breaths on her own, and she did. They have also been able to take a lot of her IV lines out and other monitors as well. So that is a very good sign. They have also decreased her blood draws to every 12 hours instead of every 6 hours. The doctors have been very optimistic and believe Abby will continue to recover.
Abby's kidney is still not working so that is another hurdle we have to get over. But again the doctors are optimistic that with time it will start to work. For now the dialysis is getting the toxins out of her body. But like I have said before she can't take the anti-rejection meds until it starts working. So right now we are praying for her kidney to start making urine.
So it has been a pretty good day for Abby she is continuing to make progress in her recovery and for that we feel blessed. Abby is a little more uncomfortable and anxious but it is a necessary evil to get her off of the vent and more responsive.
I have to take a minute now to express how thankful I am for family especially my family. A lot of people have made comments about how great they think it is that my family is so close. I have always thought that all families were as close as we are. But I think we are pretty special Courtney and Caleb have spent every extra minute at the hospital either by Abby's side or waiting with some other members of the family. We have been there for eachother through all of this nightmare. We have cried together and laughed together we have held eachother and helped eachother up when we have completely lost it. We all miss our Abby and long for her to be an active part of our lives again. We know she is going to be laughing with us soon and I can't wait for that. My parent's have always worried about all of the trials we have had to go through and feel guilty and I know they do. But none of us feel cheated at all we have a great family and if anything we are stronger because of the life we have had. We are very blessed to have eachother and especially blessed to have Abby still in our lives.

Day 3 Post Transplant

So here we are at the end of day 3 it has been a pretty good day. Abby has continued to make small steps forwards towards her recovery. Abby still has had some panic attacks when she wakes up which is understandable. They have decided to put her back on the sedation so that she can stay comfortable and not get so agitated. They had to turn her ventilator up a little bit tonight because she isn't breathing deap enough on her own yet. Her liver is doing much better with each blood draw her numbers are dropping quite a bit which is a good thing. It still has a way to go but we are hopeful that it will. Her kidney still isn't making urine so that means it isn't working. But the doctors seem hopeful that with time it will start working.
Abby has come a long way since Sunday but still has a way to go, so keep the prayers coming. For now they are only letting siblings grandparents and parents in the ICU to see her because they are trying to wake her up more so they can get her breathing on her own. She is on edge right now so they are trying to limit the number of people in her room. But as soon as she is out of the ICU she will need lots of visitors to fill the long boring days. So as soon as that happens we will let all of you know.
Now that I have filled you in on Abby I will let you know how her family is holding up. It has been very hard for mom and dad. For those of you who know our family well you know we have been through this before. Caleb our brother had a transplant 20 years ago and just about the exact same thing happened to him. We are starting to wonder if there is something that caused both of them to have the same problems during surgery. My mom describes it as being hit by lightning twice. So it is hard for us to understand why we have to go through this again. It has been the worst kind of deja vu. We are all a little tired and food is the last thing on our minds. As soon as Abby is out of the woods we will all be able to eat and sleep a lot better.
This will be a long journey for all of us but mostly for Abby she is going to need a lot of love, support and prayers. We are all longing to hear Abby's voice and laughter it seems like forever since we have.
So for today we are thankful that Abby is improving. We are also thankful for the Doctors who worked on Abby they really went above and beyond and were heart broken when things went south. Please continue to keep Abby and our family in your prayers we really can feel the love.

Here is hoping to another good report tomorrow.

Day 2 post transplant

The Journey continues, today is Tuesday October 12 Abby has made some progress today. The biggest concerns right now is her Kidney and Liver. The liver took a hit when her heart stopped so did the kidney. The liver has some dead cells and her numbers are high which is a bad thing, but they are coming down. The liver doctor said that livers are strong organs and they can regenerate and grow new cells so he is not too worried for now. She can't take the anti-rejection medication yet because of her Kidney issues. If her Kidney isn't working the medicine for anti-rejection would just collect in her Kidney. Abby only has 1 kidney so it might take a little longer than normal to start working again.
They are starting to wean Abby off of the sedation so they can start working on getting her off of the ventilator. When I was in her room today the respitory therapist was suctioning her mouth and the tube. Abby woke up and I mean really woke up and she was scared. I have never seen someone look so terrified and confused. She has to be restrained so she doesn't pull anything out. So she was wanting her hands to be free and she was so confused she didn't understand what was going on. The nurse was telling her that she was waking up from surgery and that she was okay. My mom held her face while I rubbed her legs we tried to calm her down the best we could. But at the time there was about 6 medical personel in the room. We think she thought something was really wrong. They were finally able to give her a medicine to calm her down and they adjusted her legs and other medical equipment that they think was bothering her. I hated seeing her so scared but the nurse assured us that it was a good sign.
My mom and I were talking today about Abby and we thought we needed to clarify something. Medicine was a factor in Abby's decision to have this transplant. But Abby wanted a chance for a normal life a chance to have a baby someday without worrying about getting too sick. She wants to be able to eat protein and to not have to worry about getting a minor flu. With her disorder a minor flu could really be dangerous. She just had to do what she could to have a life she deserved. Even though she is having a rough time right now she still can make a full recovery and have her chance for a mostly normal life. A chance to live the way she wants to live, and who would't want that.
So right now we are just praying that Abby's Kidney and Liver can heal and be in working order. She is moving in the right direction right now and that is amazing. Especially considering the staff who was on the night she was so unstable was surprised to see her the next day. Abby is a fighter and we all know that, so we know she can get through all of this.
We also want to say how great the nurses have been to Abby we have been really impressed with the care she has been recieving. So as of the end of today it has been a pretty good day in this journey we just hope that with each day things continue to get better.

The Journey this far.....

We (Abby's family) first want to start off by thanking everyone for all of the prayers that are being said for Abby and our family. They are being answered and for that we feel very blessed. Abby is a very special girl with a special spirit and she has started this new journey. It has been a rough start, but she is strong and if anyone can get through it she can.

Abby started this particular Journey Saturday night at about 10:30 P.M. she got a phone call that she was next on the list to get a liver. Abby was unsure what to do, her new medicine has been working but it is a trial medication so for now it is free. But we didn't know what the future would bring and if the medication would be affordable. Abby prayed and fasted about her decision and she decided to go a head with it. She felt good about her decision and was ready to embrace this journey.

Sunday morning we all gathered in Abby's hospital room A beautiful blessing was given to Abby by her dad. The blessing mentioned a new journey starting for Abby and that many great things would come of it. She was taken to holding around 11:30 where they asked her questions and told her what to expect. They were very positive about the whole thing because Abby is young and healthy. They wheeled Abby away around 1:30 she shed a few tears but was calm and she even smiled and made jokes, which is so Abby. It was hard to see her go through those double doors but we had to have faith.

The first part of the day was uneventful even the last surgery report at 7:00 was good the nurse said all went well they should have her in SICU in 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Time went on and the next thing we heard was from her surgeon who came in a little after 9:00. He started by saying the liver looked good but Abby's heart stopped once during surgery but they got her stabilized. Then he went on to say she had a bad reaction to something and her lungs were filling with fluid and it isn't stopping. He tried to stay positive but he was sugar coating it. My parents quickly followed him down to SICU waiting area. The doctors and nurses in the Operating room were working as hard as they could to stop the fluid. She wasn't getting any better, they took her to the SICU.

At the SICU they had multiple doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists working on Abby. My parents wanted to see her, the nurse said "you would be watching her die." My parents couldn't take that as an answer and went in they weren't going to let her go or leave her side. Caleb and my dad gave her a blessing and we all felt a little better. But things were still looking grim her brain activity did not look good. She was no longer sedated but wasn't responding to pain and her pupils were fixed and dilated. We were not giving up we have seen miracles before in our family and we knew we could get another one. Abby did not look like Abby anymore it was very scary, and things were just not getting better. Her o2 saturation was way too low and they were struggling to get it up and her kidney was shutting down. We didn't know what to do we prayed even harder we started calling people to pray we couldn't loose our Abby. Then at about 4:00 A.M. our mom came in and said with a smile "she opened her eyes." Those were the best words we have heard in a long time. We all wanted to see this for ourselves. So they let us all into the SICU which was probably a sign that the medical team thought Abby wouldn't make it because they were breaking rules for us. So we all took turns saying her name and having her look at us. The feeling of that moment is hard to describe other than complete joy. For the next 3 hours that we were all there things were getting even better she was trying to focus her eyes and she was wiggling her toes. Even though we didn't get any sleep we were all smiles.

It was a rough night we had some break downs but if it wasn't for the love and support of our family members it would have been worse. We had 3 of our aunts there Julie Ann, Julie and Sherry and our cousins Stephanie and Kelly. They shared our sorrow and our Joys with us and comforted us when we needed. We also had our soon to be sister in law there for the ride as well and she was a great comfort and support, we feel blessed to have her in our lives. Caleb's friends also came they even went and bought bags of food for us. We didn't eat it until it was cold because until we got the good news we couldn't swallow but even the cold fries tasted good at that point. So thank you Brian and Madi.

So now the Journey brings us to Monday well from 7:00 A.M. and on. Abby had to have a chest tube put in to relieve some of the fluid and air that had collected in her chest cavity. But the fluid is pretty much gone. The swelling has gone down quite a bit. Her heart rate and blood pressure have been good. They were able to turn down the ventilator a bit too. They have Abby sedated and keeping her pain managed. They are still a little concerned about her Kidney output I just barely got word that they are going to put her on dialysis for now. Her kidney still could get better this will just help things along.

Abby is improving but now out of the woods yet so please keep the prayers coming and feel free to leave comments for Abby to read when she gets well.