In support of Emily Malone and her family

Emily Day 57 & 58- Update:

Emily is at her new facility - Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehab. So far, everyone we’ve met has been very nice. She will have OT, PT, and Speech therapy on the weekdays for approximately 90 minutes each. She started walking without her walker yesterday with someone holding the gait belt. Emily had to say goodbye to hospital gowns and put on clothes for the first time in 2 months. She feels a bit more confined, but knew the change was coming. Today, she was evaluated by each therapy group. PT walked her and took her to the gym for evaluation. OT decided it was a great day for her first shower since the accident. It was challenging, but she did most of the work. Speech was impressed that she was talking so well so soon. Each group will have a plan on Monday. Wound care changed her dressing yesterday and did a fabulous job. My fears have been put to rest. Both Select and Stallworth have top notch wound care nurses! We cried on Friday when we said goodbye to our Select wound care nurses. God has put many wonderful medical professionals around Emily through this recovery process! We have been extremely blessed! Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place her wound. Current measurements are 23 centimeters top to bottom and 8.5 centimeters wide. Challenges: Communication, mobility, and transitioning to a more rigorous therapy schedule.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray for the transition process to go smoothly at Stallworth. We continue to be amazed by the rate Emily has progressed over the past few weeks! God’s healing hands are definitely at work! We praise God for all He has done! Thank you also for your prayers!

Emily Day 55 & 56- Update:

Yesterday, Emily started the day with OT and she brushed her teeth at the sink and used the toilet in the bathroom for the first time. She was just using the portable potty chair by her bed. She is continuing to use the bathroom now. Speech worked with her on multi-syllable words and naming words in categories. She still has deficits, but did very well. PT came and she walked almost 300 feet with only one rest break. As of today, the Select hospital is mask-FREE…woohoo! Today, we finally got the insurance approval to go to Stallworth! Praise the Lord! She will transfer tomorrow at 2 pm. Mom and I will be there along with Amy. It will be a group effort!

NEWS: We are planning a celebration for Emily’s homecoming! Everyone that gets this update is invited! We want you all to come if you can. Mark the date: October 29th at 4 pm. I will give the address and more details in a separate update this weekend. Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place her wound. Current measurements are 23 centimeters top to bottom and 8.5 centimeters wide. Challenges: Communication, mobility, and transitioning to Stallworth Rehab facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray for the transition process to go smoothly at Stallworth tomorrow. You all continue to be an important part of Emily’s recovery! Thank you for your support and prayers!

Emily’s Surgeon Update:

Emily’s PEG tube was removed today! Yay! Her abdominal wound continues to improve and look good. However, she will definitely go home with the wound vacuum. The dressing will be changed twice a week by home health. In approximately 3 to 6 months from now, she will have a surgery to close the skin. This will probably be a skin graft procedure where skin from one part of her body is placed over the remaining opening. She will have monthly recheck visits with Vanderbilt until then. Then, she will have a second surgery probably another 6 months or more after the skin graft. This surgery will pull the abdominal muscles back together. Timing on the second surgery depends on many factors. She will be unable to work for 6 months to a year, according to the surgeon. Emily was concerned about not working. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Emily Day 54- Update:

Emily had another great day with all her therapies! Speech therapy said her sentences were 7 to 10 words last week between pauses. This week she is up to 30, which is normal! She still has memory loss and problems recalling certain words, but continues to improve daily. She walked up and down the hallway several times. She is ready for Stallworth, but it will be challenging for her. We probably won’t hear back from insurance for a couple more days. We are still waiting on an order from the doctor to get her PEG tube out. Hopefully, tomorrow it will happen. Tuesday is the appointment with Vanderbilt at 9:30 am. I will send out an update tomorrow afternoon because we want everyone to know what the plan is. 

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges: Communication, mobility, and starting the insurance process for Stallworth.  Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray we can get questions answered at the Vanderbilt appointment. Pray for the insurance process to go smoothly with Stallworth. Your prayers are continuing to be answered! She has come such a long way. The improvement in her speech in just the past week is beyond amazing! We give God ALL the glory!

Emily Day 52 & 53 Update:

Emily had a good weekend. She rested and had family visit. She seems excited about getting to walk more at the next facility. We won’t know until the middle of the week if insurance will approve, so we wait. Emily should be able to get her PEG tube out sometime this week. She doesn’t need it for anything since the tube feedings have stopped, and she is eating great. We are waiting to get an order from the doctor. Her ability to communicate continues to get better, but she still has trouble recalling words. Some big events this week… the Tuesday appointment with someone about her abdominal surgery and changing to another facility.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges: Communication, mobility, and starting the insurance process for Stallworth.  Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray we can get questions answered at the Vanderbilt appointment. Pray for the insurance process to go smoothly with Stallworth. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support throughout this recovery journey! God bless you all!

Emily Day 50 & 51 Update:

Since Emily is doing so well and lives are getting busier with work, updates are going to change again. Updates will be Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for the remaining inpatient rehabilitation process. Michael did a great job researching inpatient rehabilitation facilities. We could not have made a good informed decision without him. God was the coordinator by putting many people in our paths as well! If all goes well with insurance, we plan to transfer to the Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital sometime next week. The family believes she will get the best care there. Inpatient rehab usually only lasts 10 to 14 days at the most. Emily will be coming home soon! We have also discovered through research that the wound vacuum will probably be coming home with Emily. We pray that our questions will get answered at the October 4th appointment. She had another great day with her therapies! Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges: Communication, mobility, and starting the insurance process for Stallworth. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray we can get questions answered at the Vanderbilt appointment. Pray for the insurance process to go smoothly with Stallworth. We are awe struck by all that has taken place in 7 weeks! Emily has gone from the edge of death to coming home in a couple of weeks! We are so blessed! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Emily Day 49- Update:

Emily had another good day with Michael. It was also a busy day. She saw all three of the therapists. She wowed Speech therapy again today. The therapist is working on another plan to try to challenge her. She still has trouble pulling words and names from her memory, but is reading much better. Emily had a special treat with physical therapy today. She got to go outside and see the facilities fish pond. She was smiling ear to ear! PT also put a brace on her right leg to help with moving it better. Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges for the day: Communication ,mobility, and research for the next facility. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray we can get questions answered from Vanderbilt. Pray for the appropriate rehabilitation facility that will work with Emily and her wound vacuum. We are immensely blessed to have a wonderful support group around us. Amazing family and church family, wonderful friends, and exceptional coworkers have been with us from the beginning. We also have a community of churches and people we have never met touching our hearts and lives everyday through prayer. The miraculous healing of Emily continues to be a journey, but it is a victorious journey thanks to God and his people! We just want you to know, you are all special to us and dear to our hearts!

Emily Day 48- Update:

God is so good! Emily is improving greatly according to all the therapists! Emily’s communication and comprehension has greatly improved over the past few days. She is reading much better since this past Friday’s assessment. Speech therapy was astonished today and had to do a new assessment! Occupational and physical therapy both were amazed at her improvements since last Friday as well. It sounds like she definitely needs to transition to a full rehabilitation facility soon. The abdominal wound is still the tricky part of finding the next location. She still has an opening of 23 centimeters by 10 centimeters on her abdomen with the mesh underneath. It is healing well, but still needs supervision and dressing changes twice a week.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges for the day: Communication and mobility. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray we can get questions answered from Vanderbilt. Pray for the appropriate rehabilitation facility that will work with Emily and her wound vacuum. We have been overjoyed with the improvements in Emily in just the past couple of days. These steps forward would not be possible without the many prayers from Emily’s prayer warriors. Thank you so much for your consistent prayers, love, and support! Her family is blessed to be supported by you all!

Emily Day 47- Update:

Emily had a good day overall. Her sinuses have been draining due to allergies. This gave her some nausea before lunch, but it got better quickly. Therapy gave her a good workout after lunch. Her balance and movements continue to improve. Communication with Emily continues to be a challenge. Speech therapy will start working with her more this week. Today we got some good news! Emily is progressing well enough physically that she may be able to go to an inpatient rehabilitation facility in another week. However, we have a lot of questions about the wound vacuum and future surgery that need to get answered. This falls back to Vanderbilt and we have been struggling to get answers from them about our questions. These questions will probably affect where Emily ends up for rehabilitation.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges for the day: Pain control, communication, and mobility. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Pray that we can get questions answered from Vanderbilt. Emily continues improving daily! Again, thank you for passing the Emily updates on to family, friends, and church prayer groups! There are thousands of prayers going out for her! God bless you all!

Emily Day 45 & 46- Weekend Update:

Since there is no therapy on the weekends, I feel like one update for the weekend is enough. It starts getting quite repetitious. Most of the prayer requests stay the same. The weekend brought visitors! Yippee! Visitors help the weekend not be boring, since there is no therapy. Everyone has noticed the improvement in her speech and recalling memories. Emily felt good all weekend since her UTI is gone. Her appetite has improved greatly. She is snacking all day long now. Communication with Emily continues to be a challenge. Speech therapy will start working with her more next week.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges for the day: Pain control, communication, and mobility. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down in her abdomen, no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Emily continues improving daily! Once again, it blesses our hearts the overwhelming support of our community and how God has used Emily to bring so many people together. The cards, the gifts, snack foods, and so much more that has been sent for Emily are greatly appreciated! The daily prayers continue to be felt and needed! Thank you all so much!

Emily Day 44- Update:

Another great day for Emily! She had no bladder spasms today! Yay! PT walked her down the hallway for the first time! I was literally bouncing with joy! Emily was excited as well. She has improved with getting out of the bed and standing since Monday. What I thought was an appointment with her surgeon, was a trauma follow up appointment today. We won’t get to speak to someone about her abdomen until October 4th. Today’s appointment was to see how much she has improved overall, and to look at the wound. We also found out that she will have a full traumatic brain injury assessment on December 5th. She has been in good spirits today and talking to the nurses. Communication with Emily continues to get better each day. She continues to use wrong words a lot, but is piecing phrases together much better. Speech therapy finished their language assessment today. They will start working with her more next week.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment Oct. 4th for a plan. Challenges for the day: Pain control, communication, and mobility. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her abdominal wound to heal. Pray for safe mobility as she transfers with assistance. Pray for her right arm to regain full function. Emily continues improving daily! Physical therapy has gone extremely well. God has been amazing! Your prayers continue to be answered! We love you all!

Emily Day 41- Update:

Emily rested well overnight. Her bladder spasms are getting better each day, but she is still having some. Today, she stood using a walker for both OT and PT. She is not able to stand more than a few minutes at a time, but she is building up strength. Her right arm has a little more movement in it than a few days ago as well. Before coming to Select, she was not moving her right arm at all. She had her cystogram today. We are still waiting for the results. Communication with Emily continues to get better each day. She continues to use wrong words a lot, but is piecing phrases together much better. Speech therapy plan to do a language assessment  later this week. Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment with the surgeon at Vanderbilt on Sept. 23rd. Challenges for the day: Pain control and controlling the bladder spasms. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her wound to heal. Pray for schedule changes, since some parents are going back to work part time. Mom goes to work for the first time in 6 weeks tomorrow. Step-dad will do the day shift. Pray for another good day! As always, THANK YOU for your continued support and prayers! We couldn’t do this without your prayers!

Emily Day 40- Update:

Wow! A busy day today! Yesterday, Emily’s bladder spasms kept her in a lot of pain. She slept all day and most of the night due to pain medicine. She started a bladder relaxant and an antibiotic for another UTI yesterday as well. The bladder spasms were better today. This morning she went by ambulance to Vanderbilt for an appointment with her orthopedic MD. All her breaks are healing well. She was cleared to start bearing weight on her legs. Yippee! In the afternoon, she saw both PT and OT. They both stood her up for for just a couple of minutes to see how strong her legs were. Everyone was excited to see her on her feet! The dietitian stopped by and discontinued her night stomach feedings. She has been eating very well today. Communication with Emily continues to get better each day. She continues to use wrong words a lot, but is piecing phrases together much better. Speech therapy saw her and plan to do a language assessment  later this week. The cystogram will be tomorrow morning. We really hope the Foley catheter can come out. Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment with the surgeon at Vanderbilt on Sept. 23rd. Healing bladder tear- cystogram tomorrow morning  Challenges for the day: Pain control and controlling the bladder spasms. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Pray for her wound to heal. Pray for schedule changes, since some parents are going back to work part time. PRAISE GOD FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS! Emily’s nights have improved so much, it is off the list! We are so thankful for a day full of many steps forward. It was a blessing after a rough day yesterday. Emily’s journey to full recovery continues, but she is closer every day! God bless you prayer warriors!

Emily Day 38 & 39- Update:

Emily had a good day yesterday. However, this morning the bladder spasms are back. When a spasm occurs, she is in a lot of pain. It probably also means she still has a UTI as well. She will start back on a bladder relaxant medication as well. She needs to drink more. We will start pushing her to drink more. On the weekends, she does not have therapy. She practiced all her exercises yesterday. Today is going to be a different day. Poor girl. 

Communication with Emily continues to get better each day. She continues to use wrong words a lot, but is piecing phrases together much better.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment with the surgeon at Vanderbilt on Sept. 23rd. Healing bladder tear- cystogram planned for Monday.

Challenges for the day: Pain control and controlling the bladder spasms. Communication and control of any diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Pray for her wound to heal. Pray for schedule changes, since some parents are going back to work part time. We are grateful for the continued support and prayers! God bless you all!

Emily Day 37- Update:

Good news! Emily is sleeping at night much better according to staff and her dad. Therapy continues to go well. Emily sat on the side of the bed to brush her teeth and wash herself! She did so good! Everyday she gets stronger. Her agitation during the day is very minimal. She is starting to remember more as well. The Cystogram was rescheduled for Monday to see if the bladder tear has healed.

Communication with Emily continues to get better each day. She continues to use wrong words a lot, but is piecing phrases together much better.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Appointment with the surgeon at Vanderbilt on Sept. 23rd. Healing bladder tear- cystogram planned for Monday.

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Adjusting to the new facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Pray for her wound to heal. Pray for schedule changes, since some parents are going back to work part time. Emily had a great first week with Select Specialty Hospital thanks to all the prayers going up. We expect more improvements during week 2. God continues to perform miracles! Emily being here is a miracle! Thank you God and thank you prayer warriors!

Emily Day 36- Update:

Emily had a great night of sleep. She woke up and said she was “in a good mood.” She is eating a little more each day. The goal is to get off the nightly stomach feedings. She is recognizing more people, but cannot recall names without being told. Therapy is going very well! Emily has started moving her right arm much more in the last couple of days. It was just folded up against her chest a week ago. She sat even longer on the side of the bed today.

Communication with Emily continues to be very inconsistent, but gets better each day. Many positive improvements, but a slight concern for the day. When the wound nurses came and changed Emily’s dressing, we could see that the mesh had pulled away and formed a small hole into her abdomen. She has a follow up appointment with the Vanderbilt surgeon Sept. 23rd and nothing will probably be done before then. 

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Cystogram will be tomorrow to see if the bladder tear has healed.

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Adjusting to the new facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Pray for her wound to heal. As expected, any prolonged recovery has ups and downs. Emily’s journey has been miraculously filled with lots of ups and so few downs. We know with continued prayers, this will be a small bump on her journey to recovery! We thank God for his many miracles and look forward to more!

Emily Day 35- Update:

Poor dad. He did not get much rest overnight. Emily was not agitated, just awake and needing watchful eyes. She continues to pull at any tubes she finds. Speech therapy did a swallow test with a small camera down Emily’s nose. Of course, this was uncomfortable but should be her last one. She now can eat a regular diet! Praise God! She sat in a chair for about 40 minutes today. Her future goal is 2 hours. Therapy sat her up on the side of the bed for about 12 minutes. They are increasing it by a few minutes every day. She did several leg exercises while sitting up on the bed. Woo Hoo! She continues to work on her arm exercises, and she is getting stronger. Her agitation has also improved greatly. She will get a cystogram on Friday to see if her bladder has healed. If so, her Foley catheter will come out. Communication with Emily continues to be very inconsistent, but gets better each day.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Bladder tear to heal.

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Adjusting to the new facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Pray for the family to adjust to a new schedule. God is so faithful! Seeing Emily today compared to 2 weeks ago, it is amazing! We are humbled and overwhelmed by the graciousness of God and our community of prayer warriors! We love you all!

Emily Day 34- Update:

Emily rested well last night! We think she is getting back to a normal schedule. Yippee! Therapy worked with her and gave her some exercises for the day. She liked the challenge. Her agitation has also improved greatly. Her PICC line was removed yesterday. This hospital removes central lines as quickly as possible due to infection risks. Praise God! Her sodium level is improving. She is almost at a normal level! Communication with Emily continues to be very inconsistent, but gets better each day.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Adjusting to the new facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Pray for the family to adjust to a new schedule. We are so blessed to see Emily excited about therapy. She is determined to get completely well. God continues to heal her and give us strength. Thank you for your faithfulness to pray!

Emily Day 33- Update:

Great news! Emily can eat again! She is extremely happy about that! She has been evaluated by all three therapies (Speech, Physical, and Occupational). They will each make a plan and start working with her tomorrow. She will see each therapy group three to five times a week. The staples in her left hip were removed. This was where the rod was placed to repair her broken pelvis. Her sodium level will get rechecked in the morning to see if it is improving. She had an okay night of rest last night. Hopefully, with the activities of the day, she will be more tired tonight for her dad. Communication with Emily continues to be very inconsistent, but gets better each day.

Old challenges: Abdominal surgery wound. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Adjusting to the new facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Pray for the family to adjust to a new schedule. Everyday we see progress. God has continued to heal Emily. This new facility will give Emily even more opportunities to progress. Thank you for taking part in her journey!

Emily Day 32- Update:

Emily is resting better and much less agitated today. Overnight with her dad in the room, she had one of her best nights! Yippee! Emily continues to be NPO (nothing given orally). She continues to get stomach feedings through her PEG tube. On Monday, she will get evaluated and hopefully start oral food again. Her sodium level has gone up a little, but 500 mls of sodium chloride were given today to help. Praise the Lord, she has not had any diarrhea with this new stomach feeding formula! Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better. She is getting a quiet weekend to rest. However, Monday will begin lots of evaluations from the different therapy teams. 

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Adjusting to the new facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the transition will go smoothly at Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to adjust to a new schedule. PRAISE THE LORD AGAIN! Emily is starting to rest better at nights! This request has been ongoing since her move from ICU. God continues to answer the prayers of his believers! Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for Emily!

Emily Day 31- Update:

Emily is adjusting to the move to Select Specialty Hospital. After Emily’s first night, the hospital decided to let a family member stay overnight. They don’t have enough sitters for all their patients. It sounds like she did NOT rest well. Her dad has volunteered to do nights with her and I will be doing day shift. Hopefully, she will get to the point where she doesn’t need an overnight sitter. We believe agitation has been higher today because of the move. Due to switching hospitals, Emily has been switched back to NPO (nothing given orally). This hospital wants their own Speech Therapy group to evaluate her before letting her have food again. Emily does not like this change! She is back to getting stomach feedings through her PEG tube. On Monday, she will get evaluated and hopefully start oral food again. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Adjusting to the new facility.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the transition will go smoothly at Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to adjust to a new schedule. PRAISE THE LORD! We are so thankful to be at the new facility! We are also thankful we have the weekend to adjust to a new place before the workouts begin. God bless you prayer warriors!

Emily Day 30- Update:

GREAT NEWS!! Finally, Emily is moving to Select Specialty Hospital today! No one is allowed to stay overnight at this facility, so it will be an adjustment. Visitation is only 10 am to 10 pm. Her dad is with her today for the transition. Emily does have another urinary infection. She started an antibiotic for it yesterday. She is currently on a probiotic, so hopefully no diarrhea this time. However, she had to start a new medication to relax her bladder because she is having bladder spasms from the urinary infection. She got some good rest overnight and seemed less agitated. Praise the Lord! Nutrition has added Boost supplement drinks to her diet. She is not eating enough consistently to get all the calories needed. Also, her sodium is low again. Currently the MD restricted her water intake and added the Boost drinks to increase her sodium. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of any diarrhea. Changing facilities today.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the transition process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to adjust to a new schedule. Such an answer to prayer! However, we believe it may be stressful on Emily. Please continue to pray for her and this transition for everyone!

Emily Day 29- Update:

Emily had some ups and downs with her agitation yesterday, but settled more at night. Yay! She got some good rest overnight with her dad. Hopefully, she is switching over. Since she ate really well yesterday, the stomach feeding was not turned on overnight. This kept her from having any diarrhea. Woo Hoo! Nutrition continues to monitor her food intake. Emily probably has another urinary infection. This is to be expected with her Foley catheter having to be in for such a long time. She will probably have to start another antibiotic. Select Specialty Hospital placement is pending insurance approval still. I talked to someone today and it looks like insurance is taking their time considering the specialty hospital. There is nothing we can do but continue to pray. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this awake phase. Wow! Four weeks in the Trauma unit! What a battle God has fought for Emily! She will have an amazing testimony to tell when she is completely recovered! This would not be possible if it weren’t for the consistent prayer coverage by her prayer warriors! Thank you for all your heart warming prayers sent every day. God bless you all!

Emily Day 29- Update:

Emily had some ups and downs with her agitation yesterday, but settled more at night. Yay! She got some good rest overnight with her dad. Hopefully, she is switching over. Since she ate really well yesterday, the stomach feeding was not turned on overnight. This kept her from having any diarrhea. Woo Hoo! Nutrition continues to monitor her food intake. Emily probably has another urinary infection. This is to be expected with her Foley catheter having to be in for such a long time. She will probably have to start another antibiotic. Select Specialty Hospital placement is pending insurance approval still. I talked to someone today and it looks like insurance is taking their time considering the specialty hospital. There is nothing we can do but continue to pray. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this awake phase. Wow! Four weeks in the Trauma unit! What a battle God has fought for Emily! She will have an amazing testimony to tell when she is completely recovered! This would not be possible if it weren’t for the consistent prayer coverage by her prayer warriors! Thank you for all your heart warming prayers sent every day. God bless you all!

Emily Day 28- Update:

Emily had a good day of rest yesterday and a good night except for some diarrhea. It was one of the best nights she has had with me, but I was sure she was exhausted from the previous 24 hours. We believe she is wanting more activity than she is currently able to get. We pray that this new facility will help to challenge her both mentally and physically as she needs. She continues to have times of agitation and not recognizing people, especially at night. Both Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy saw her at separate times today. They both got her to sit up on the side of the bed for a few minutes. She really needs to do this every day. They also worked with her right arm. The right arm continues to stay folded against her body. Emily has been eating her new diet pretty well so far. Select Specialty Hospital placement is pending insurance approval still. We don’t like the waiting, but not much more that we can do. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this awake phase. So many of these requests are repetitive at this phase in her recovery. However, they continue to be very important! Thank you again to all who continue to pass these updates onto others. The encouragement, strength, and answered prayers are continuing to be seen and felt. God bless you all!

Emily Day 27- Update:

Each day there is a new praise and a challenge. It is difficult to watch Emily fight with us. According to her dad, last night was definitely rough. Emily got very agitated in the early morning hours. She still does not understand where she is. We are trying to give the anxiety medicine on a regular schedule today to see if it will help. Her diet has been upgraded by Speech Therapy to “minced and moist.” She might like these foods better. Her stomach feedings are going back to nights only again. Select Specialty Hospital placement is pending insurance still. Hopefully, we will know something in the morning. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this awake phase. We continue to get songs, prayers, and words of encouragement. We greatly appreciate every one of them. Thank you for the important part you play in Emily’s long journey to recovery!

Emily Day 26- Update:

Great news this morning! Emily has been saying that she doesn’t feel her right arm. This morning she said that she can feel it some! We were both excited, and I could see the relief in her eyes. Thank you Heavenly Father! On the flip side, Sunday and Sunday night were more repetitive of her usual. She slept off and on better during the day then at night. The 3 am hour seems to be the roughest. This is when she decides she can get out of bed and leave. She had a round of diarrhea in the afternoon due to the stomach feedings, but was controlled with Imodium. As far as I know, Select Specialty Hospital placement is on track to take place Tuesday or Wednesday. We should know something on Tuesday. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this awake phase. Even though we are pretty exhausted, God continues to give us improvements in Emily everyday! He also continues to give us strength to make it through these rough nights. Thank you all for your prayers! We are striving forward because of the faithfulness of his people.

Emily Day 25- Update:

Skipped day 24. I completely forgot to send an update yesterday. I was out of it after staying up with Emily on Friday night. I had another night of being awake with her on Friday, but got good news this morning. Yesterday, the MD came by and said Emily’s sodium was lower than he wanted. This can affect her sleep and her confusion. She is also slightly dehydrated because she just isn’t drinking enough by mouth at this time. They have started her on some sodium tablets and sodium chloride infusions to fix this. She continues to do well with her puréed diet. However, she just isn’t eating enough to get all the electrolytes she needs. The feedings through her stomach tube are running all day again. I expected this. It will be a while before she can eat much at one time. Emily had dye injected into her bladder to check the bladder tear. The tear is healing, but the Foley catheter will need to stay in for a couple more weeks. As far as I know, Select Specialty Hospital placement is on track to take place Tuesday or Wednesday. Communication with Emily is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for the family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this new phase. Praise the Lord! Emily slept through the night! Yippee! Your continued prayers are being heard and felt! Thank you again Prayer Warriors!

Emily Day 23- Update:

Emily is still pulling the night shift! She continues to not sleep at night. She talked all night long for her dad again (most of it was incomprehensible). He said she was a little less agitated last night! Yay! We continue working to keep her awake throughout the day, so she will sleep better at night. Emily is doing well with her puréed diet. She is only getting her tube feedings at night. The goal is to wean her off the tube feedings as she increases her oral calories. Select Specialty Hospital placement may take place as early as Tuesday of next week! Yay! The average stay is 21 to 28 days. Once she reaches a state that a rehab facility can accept her, then she will transfer again to an inpatient rehab facility. We don’t expect this to happen much sooner than 21 days, but it could because the Lord is at work! Emily’s cognitive ability is not ready for a true rehab facility. Communication is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: Pain and anxiety control without too much sedation. Keeping her awake during the day. Communication and control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for her family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this new phase. We are excited for Emily to go to a new facility and start some consistent therapy! Once again, your prayers have helped us find the next step for her. Thank you so much for continuing to be Emily’s Prayer Warriors!

Emily Day 22- Update:

Emily has become a night owl! Currently, she does not want to sleep at night. She talks all night long (most of it is incomprehensible) and her little mind doesn’t want to shut off. She also gets extremely agitated and fights trying to get out of the bed throughout the night. At this time, only one person can stay the night with her. Her dad and I have been rotating each night. She has definitely been a challenge for us. I cannot begin to imagine what is going on inside her head. I know she is very frustrated, confused, and sometimes overwhelmed by everything. We are working hard to keep her awake throughout the day, so she will sleep better at night. Now for some great news! Emily was evaluated by Speech Therapy and can start on puréed foods! She devoured the applesauce and looked so happy! She was also evaluated by Select Specialty Hospital for placement. Emily’s cognitive ability is not ready for a true rehab facility. This is a critical illness recovery hospital that focuses on rehab while she is still recovering from her abdominal surgery and brain injury. It is what she needs right now. Communication is very inconsistent, but continues to get better.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. She had her last day of antibiotic yesterday. Hopefully the diarrhea will get better.

Challenges for the day: Pain control without too much sedation and communication. Also control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal and for her to rest at night. Please pray the approval process will go smoothly with Select Specialty Hospital. Pray for her family to have endurance and patience with Emily during this new phase. Each day the blessings pour in from God’s people! We just opened a card signed with about 75 people and short prayers for Emily! My heart was rejoicing! I know God is going to completely heal her by the faith of his people praying! We could not go through this without you all!

Emily Day 21- Update:

Aside: Since this new schedule has started, I have not been able to get a morning update out. It is look more like an afternoon report. Thank you for understanding.

Well, another night of being awake with her dad. She had PT (physical therapy) come and sit her on the side of the bed this morning! Yay! She was quite wobbly, but still good to see! Then speech therapy came as well. She did talk to them and work with them some before getting too tired. We are working hard to keep her awake today, so she will sleep tonight. Communication is very inconsistent. Her voice continues to get stronger, and we are starting to understand her a little bit better each day. It is still only short phrases or a word here and there.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Her UTI is being treated with antibiotics. 

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature is remaining stable. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. Also control of her diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal. Please pray for the right rehabilitation facility for Emily when the time comes. Each day God blesses us with many improvements! She is still a long way from coming home, but she is on her way! It amazes me how God continues to work through his people! You all encourage us each day. Thank you for your prayers!

Emily Day 20- Update:

Poor Emily has her nights and days mixed up. Because the antibiotic for her UTI upset her stomach the first night in a room, she got very little rest that night. She slept all day Monday, and then was awake all night last night. I took the night shift. She only got three 30 minute naps the whole time. This means I only got two 30 minute naps. Sorry the update is late, but we are adjusting to a new schedule. My night was spent trying to make sure Emily did not pull out any tubes that needed to stay. She also continues to try to get out of bed to leave, even though she doesn’t have the ability to walk yet. However, she sat up in a chair for about 2 hours today! Yay! Amy (her PT cousin) exercised her arms and legs, and had her try to reach up and out with her arms. Her right side continues to struggle more. Her voice continues to get stronger, and we are starting to understand her a little bit better each day. It is still only short phrases or a word here and there. There was no diarrhea overnight and she started a probiotic to help. This seems to be resolved for now.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Her UTI is being treated with antibiotics. 

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature is remaining stable. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. 

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal. Please pray for the right rehabilitation facility for Emily when the time comes. Praise the Lord! She continues to improve daily! However, it will be a slow recovery to full health. Thank you for being part of this journey with us! God bless you all!

Emily Day 19- Update:

Yippee! Emily was finally moved to a step down room on the trauma floor! Visitation is 9 am to 9 pm. If you want to visit, please text me before coming. She had a very rough day yesterday with diarrhea. The antibiotic for the UTI is upsetting her stomach. This also increased her agitation. She would not be still and continually tried to get out of bed. She has only sat on the side of the bed once, and that was a week ago with PT by her side. Of course, she doesn’t understand that she can’t get out of bed and gets very worked up. She had to get extra anxiety medicine to help her sleep this morning. She continues to get more agitated as she is more alert. The MD is still trying to find a balance of her being awake and not fighting to get out of bed. This is still part of the process with a brain injury. Her voice continues to get stronger, and we are starting to understand her a little bit better each day. It is still only short phrases or a word here and there.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Her UTI is being treated with antibiotics. 

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature continues to fluctuate. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. Also diarrhea.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, for no diarrhea, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal. Please pray for the right rehabilitation facility for Emily when the time comes. Praise the Lord! She continues to improve daily! However, it will be a slow recovery to full health. Thank you for being part of this journey with us! God bless you all!

Emily Day 18- Update:

As usual, some ups and downs. However, there are a lot more ups than downs! God continues to work! Overnight, Emily was moved to a different room in the ICU unit. It is not a true step down room, but a small, quiet room to herself. The trauma team was a little surprised that this made her more agitated overnight. An anxiety medication was added for this morning, and she looked pretty sleepy. The trauma team still want to get her into a step down room, but probably not til tomorrow if one is available. They don’t want to move her again today. Some highlights from yesterday afternoon: Emily recognized Nana, Michael, and Shane’s girlfriend yesterday! She talked to her nana and really responded to her. Tears of joy from all of us! She is still struggling with getting agitated at times. This is part of the process with a brain injury. Her voice continues to get stronger, and we are starting to understand her a little bit better. 

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen. A wound vacuum is in place over her abdomen. Her UTI is being treated with antibiotics. 

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature continues to fluctuate. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. 

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal. Please pray for the right rehabilitation facility for Emily when the time comes. We continue to be encouraged and blessed by everyone in our community! We are overwhelmed with the support and prayers that continue to go up each hour for her! Thank you all so much! God has blessed us beyond measure!

Emily Day 17- Update:

Praise God! Lots of GOOD news this morning. Emily is well enough to leave the ICU unit. They are looking to place her in a different room, just not sure where yet. The MD didn’t expect it to happen before noon today, so same visitation hours today. The trauma team also wants her to go to a rehab facility soon. She still has the wound vacuum on her abdomen, but will continue to have that for several more weeks according to the MD. Once the wound closes some more on its own, an MD will consider surgery. The rehab facility will probably not be River Park because she needs lots of care still, but the hospital will let us know our options soon. It was a short visit this morning, but she said the phrase “I am in pain.” I also understood her saying “out of bed.” The nurse was going to try to get her in a chair sitting again. It was very exciting to hear these phrases from her. Her voice is getting stronger! Yay! 

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. Her abdomen is still swollen.

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature continues to fluctuate. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. 

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, for no new blood clots, and for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for her agitation to remain at a minimal. Please pray for the right rehabilitation facility for Emily when the time comes. Such exciting news and great progress! God is so good! Thank you for your continued prayers! They are being heard!

Emily Day 16- PM Update:

Since Emily is no longer critical, I am going to send out just one daily update starting tomorrow. The prayer requests are staying consistent now. I will keep the morning update, so people can continue to pray throughout the day for her needs. God has done many miracles on this journey and there are many more to come! These miracles continue to happen because of your faithfulness to pray! Emily continues to have periods of agitation. I believe it happens for many reasons- she is still confused about a lot, she can’t communicate, and she gets overwhelmed. We are continually trying to find ways to communicate and make her comfortable. As the trauma team keeps telling us, it will take time. She was off her oxygen when we left this evening! Wow! She tried a few ice chips, but vomited afterwards. No more oral anything for a few more days. She started an antibiotic for a urine infection today. Maybe this will help some with the fever. The afternoon was not as frustrating for the parents. We are a little more prepared for how she is going to act now. 

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. The swelling in her extremities is getting better every day.

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature continues to fluctuate. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. 

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, and for no new blood clots. Please pray for clearer communication to take place. Please pray for the right rehabilitation facility for Emily when the time comes. At the end of the day, we feel so exhausted that I wonder how we made it through. I am BLESSED to have God’s people praying for us and Emily! I know how we made it! God working through your wonderful prayers! Thank you for your faithfulness to pray every day for us! We love you all!

Emily Day 16- AM Update:

Once again, ups and downs of recovery. Emily was quite agitated this morning. We weren’t with her long, so we were not able to figure out what was wrong. She mumbles incoherently and is not able to say words very well. She continues to speak so softly that you can’t hear her. She was really trying to get out of the bed because she wanted to leave with us. Communication is very frustrating at this time. She was switched from Lovenox injections to Eliquis for her blood clots. The MD wanted to get her switched to an oral medication. The MD mentioned getting her moved to step down soon. Maybe in the next day or two. Once this happens, her visitation schedule will change. Hopefully, there will be a little more flexibility to our days.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. The swelling in her extremities is getting better every day.

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature continues to fluctuate. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. 

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, and for no new blood clots. Please pray for clearer communication to take place. Finally, we are getting to shorter updates! This is good news because she is no longer critical! Praise God! Now we have the longer recovery of her brain. Thank you for all your continued prayers!

Emily Day 15- PM Update:

Today, Emily was less agitated than yesterday. However, she has only recognized me and her dad so far. She is still unable to communicate. She mumbles incoherently and is not able to say words very well. She is also speaking so softly that you can’t hear her. She gets overwhelmed if you give her too much information. Even though she is able to move her right arm and leg, it takes her a lot of effort to do. Her left arm and leg she moves easier, but her movements are much more jerky. She was switched from the heparin drip to Lovenox injections for her blood clots. Probably on Saturday Emily will have a thorough swallow test to see if she can have anything by mouth. She continues to get nutrition through her stomach tube right now.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. The swelling in her extremities was much better today. 

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature continues to fluctuate. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. 

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, and for no new blood clots. Please pray for clearer communication to take place. She is trying so hard. I continue to talk to more and more people that are passing on the Emily Updates. I cannot thank you all enough for spreading the word to others! He continues to bless and heal through the prayers of his believers! We couldn’t do it without you!

Emily Day 15- AM Update:

Emily was awake again this morning! She was not in pain or agitated at the time. Today was the first day that the MD said he was very optimistic! However, we all know God is going to completely heal her! The MD does not want her to go to a step down room yet. He wants her mental status to improve some more. Maybe in a few more days. Her MRI came back good and her neck brace can come off! Yay! She will get a swallow test either today or tomorrow to see if she can have anything by mouth. She continues to get nutrition through her stomach tube right now.

Old challenges: Swelling from her surgeries. She is still swollen in her extremities and abdomen. The heparin drip is still going to dissolve the blood clots.

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature. Monitoring the heparin drip and potential for bleeding. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. She is still hard to understand at this time.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, and for no new blood clots. Please pray that there will be no new bleeding while on the heparin drip. Please pray for clearer communication to take place. She is trying so hard. God brings refreshing every morning! I continue to get such amazing songs, prayers, and words of encouragement from all. God is so good at knowing what we need. He continues to bless and heal through the faithfulness of his believers! We couldn’t do it without you!

Emily Day 14- PM Update:

Emily was awake a few times today. The MD is trying to find a balance between pain control and having some awake time. She still recognizes mom and dad. She did not know her cousin Amy. The longer she was awake the more agitated she became. She is confused about where she is and why she can’t leave. It was very hard to tell her that she had to stay at the hospital. She doesn’t comprehend that she is injured. When I try to explain why she is in the hospital, she gets panicked. It was unraveling for the parents. She gets a MRI tonight to see if her neck brace can come off. She had a CT scan to make sure that her brain bleeds are not being affected by the heparin. It was good. She had a PICC line placed in her arm and the central IV in her neck removed.

Old challenges: Swelling from her surgeries. She is still swollen in her extremities and abdomen. The heparin drip is still going to dissolve the blood clots.

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature is not fluctuating as much. Monitoring the heparin drip and potential for bleeding. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. She is hard to understand at this time.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, and for no new blood clots. Please pray that there will be no new bleeding while on the heparin drip. Please pray for clearer communication to take place. She is trying so hard. Please pray for the family to continue to stay strong. Thank you for everything! We love you all!

Emily Day 15- PM Update:

Today, Emily was less agitated than yesterday. However, she has only recognized me and her dad so far. She is still unable to communicate. She mumbles incoherently and is not able to say words very well. She is also speaking so softly that you can’t hear her. She gets overwhelmed if you give her too much information. Even though she is able to move her right arm and leg, it takes her a lot of effort to do. Her left arm and leg she moves easier, but her movements are much more jerky. She was switched from the heparin drip to Lovenox injections for her blood clots. Probably on Saturday Emily will have a thorough swallow test to see if she can have anything by mouth. She continues to get nutrition through her stomach tube right now.

Old challenges: Swelling from her abdominal surgery. The swelling in her extremities was much better today. 

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature continues to fluctuate. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. 

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, and for no new blood clots. Please pray for clearer communication to take place. She is trying so hard. I continue to talk to more and more people that are passing on the Emily Updates. I cannot thank you all enough for spreading the word to others! He continues to bless and heal through the prayers of his believers! We couldn’t do it without you!

Emily Day 14- AM Update:

This morning Emily was sitting in a big chair beside her bed! The nurse wanted us to see her sitting. She was not hurting while we were with her, but she was frustrated trying to communicate with us. She was awake and trying to ask us questions. It was great to see her awake and comfortable. It sounds like she might get a MRI today to see if her neck brace can come off. It will also make sure that her brain bleeds are not being affected by the heparin drip. She will get a PICC line placed today or tomorrow. This is a longer lasting IV line for her medications. She currently has a central IV in her neck, but the MD wants that one removed. She moved both legs and arms for us again, which was great to see with her awake.

Old challenges: Swelling from her surgeries. She is still swollen in her extremities and abdomen. The heparin drip is still to dissolve the blood clots.

Challenges for the day: Her body temperature felt warm, but she didn’t have a monitor on for it at the time. Monitoring the heparin drip and potential for bleeding. Pain control without too much sedation and communication. It makes my heart sing that communication is a challenge now!

Prayer Request: Please pray for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, pain control, and for no new blood clots. Please pray that there will be no new bleeding while on the heparin drip. I am still amazed and overwhelmed at all God is doing! We would not have the strength to be here without God and your prayers! Thank you PRAYER WARRIORS!

Emily Day 13- PM Update:

Lots of good news today! Emily was drowsy from pain and anxiety medicine most of the afternoon. However, the nurse said Physical Therapy worked with Emily and sat her on the edge of her bed! I wish I could have seen this. She also became conscious for her dad and I while she was hurting. She whispered several words and short phrases. We were absolutely joyful! The heparin drip was started to dissolve the blood clots. Her temperature did not get above 101 today! Yay! She still has a nasal cannula for oxygen set at 3 liters. 

Old challenges: Swelling from her surgeries. She is still swollen in her extremities and abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: She did great all day off the ventilator. Her body temperature was controlled. Monitoring the heparin drip and potential for bleeding.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her vitals to remain stable without the ventilator, for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, and for no new blood clots. Please pray that there will be no new bleeding while on the heparin drip. God is amazing! He is healing her body and brain! We are so blessed to have her with us. Thank you PRAYER WARRIORS! You are helping this happen!

Emily Day 13- AM Update:

Emily did well her first night off the ventilator! She was drowsy from pain and anxiety medicine this morning, so I only saw sleepy eyes. However, her night nurse said she whispered the word “freezing” to him because she was cold. This is the first verbal communication, and I am certain will not be the last! More good news, she was off the Arctic Sun machine and back to a normal cooling blanket this morning. Her temperature was 98.9! Hooray! We got some more clarification on the blood clots. She has a couple of small ones in her lungs and one in her left leg. Neurology cleared her to start a heparin drip to dissolve the clots. That should get started today.

Old challenges: Swelling from her surgeries. She is still swollen in her extremities and abdomen. 

Challenges for the day: She is off the ventilator, so monitoring her throughout the day. Her body temperature. Monitoring the heparin drip and potential for bleeding.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her vitals to remain stable without the ventilator, for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, and for no new blood clots. Please pray that there will be no new bleeding while on the heparin drip. Glory to God for every miracle we are seeing! Thank you again for the encouraging words, songs, and prayers you are sending our way! They make each day brighter! We love you all!

Emily Day 12- PM Update:

Well, another emotional day for the family with many improvements for Emily. PRAISE THE LORD AND HALLELUJAH!! Let’s start rejoicing! Emily is officially off the ventilator! It happened right before making us leave for the evening! I am so happy for her! Being off the ventilator also means she is off sedation. She also had the drain in her brain removed today! Another big win! However, she has some new challenges. As I said earlier, Emily has a blood clot in the femoral vein of her leg and one in her lung. An Inferior Vena Cava filter was placed to catch clots trying to go from her legs to her lungs. They will continue her heparin injections for now, but are considering a heparin drip to dissolve the clots. Her fever got very high today at 104.2. A new machine was brought in for her. It is called the Arctic Sun Temperature Management System. It worked great! Emily’s temp went down to normal in a couple of hours! Thank you for the emergency prayers again. It was a bit scary for the family.

Old challenges: Swelling from her surgeries. She was very swollen in her extremities today.

Challenges for the day: She is off the ventilator, so monitoring throughout the night will be important. Her fever.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her vitals to remain stable without the ventilator, for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, for no infections, and for no new blood clots. Another day with victories and challenges. God gets the glory for some BIG victories! It blesses my heart that you wonderful people get to rejoice in these victories with us! Thank you again for all your prayers!

Emily Day 12- AM Update:

Today looks busy for Emily. She has a new blood clot in the femoral vein of her leg. Since she has the drain in her head, the plan is to place an Inferior Vena Cava filter to catch clots trying to go from her legs to her lungs. A CT scan is being done this morning to check her lungs for any blood clots. The trauma team has a suspicion that she may have a small one, but we won’t know until later. They were unable to get her CT scan done last night because her IV for the contrast quit working. They will continue her heparin injections for now. After Emily gets her procedures done for the day, then the trauma team is going to take her off the ventilator. Her lungs are doing much better. There was some talk of possibly removing her head drain, but Neurology wants to keep it in a bit longer. Her fever was 101 this morning. If she has a blood clot in her lungs, this might help to explain the fever. MD still doesn’t seem concerned.

Old challenges: Swelling from her surgeries.

Challenges for the day: Getting off the ventilator today!! Continuing to keep her head pressure stable without sedation. CT scan and IVC filter placement.

Prayer Request: Please pray for the removal of ventilator to go smoothly, for her fever to go away, for swelling to go down, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressure to remain stable without sedation and healing all over her body. Pray for her procedures to go well. We continue to have ups and downs with the recovery process. Blood clots are common with an immobile patient, just not what you want to hear. However, blood clots are very treatable! God has brought her a long way and I am super excited for that ventilator to be gone! Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

Emily Day 11- PM Update:

Well, the challenge for today ended up being Emily’s head pressure. Due to swelling in her abdomen from surgery and position changes, her head pressure spiked several times today. Her sedation had to be turned on again. The nurse asked us to step away for a while to let Emily rest without any stimulation. Around 5:30 pm she opened her eyes again and was responsive. The MD ordered a CT scan of her chest to check for any blood clots or pneumonia. We won’t know the results until morning. If it is God’s will, Emily will come off the ventilator tomorrow. She was weaned down to very low settings. I know it depends on the CT results. The cooling blanket was put back on and her temperature held at 100.

Old challenges: Continued healing from all injuries and surgeries.

Challenge for the day: Weaning off the ventilator. Continuing to keep her head pressure stable without sedation.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get off the ventilator tomorrow, for her fever to go away, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressure to remain stable without sedation and healing all over her body. We are praising God for the huge amount of support from our family, friends, community, and beyond! God continues to heal her through the prayers of his people. We love you all! Thank you for giving us strength through your prayers when we don’t have any!

Emily Day 11- AM Update:

No big changes overnight. Her sedation was off when we saw her, but she was pretty drowsy this morning. She opened her eyes some and squeezed our hands. The MD said small changes in the right direction are what we want. He doesn’t think Emily will come off the ventilator today, but if she continues to progress then he may take her off tomorrow. We are now in a holding pattern to let Emily’s body heal at a slow rate.  Due to her brain injury, the MD doesn’t want to remove the ventilator too soon. The ventilator was weaned down a little more this morning. Her head pressure continues to fluctuate, but no big spikes. Her fever was 99.3 this morning. The cooling blanket was off, but her temperature was starting to go up. I know the items below haven’t changed much, but prayers are still needed for them.

Old challenges: Continued healing from all injuries and surgeries.

Challenge for the day: Weaning off the ventilator. Continuing to keep her head pressure stable without sedation.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get weaned off the ventilator, for her fever to go away, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressure to remain stable without sedation and healing all over her body. We are praising God for each improvement! The MD stated that he is impressed with her improvement just over the past 24 hours! God continues to heal her through the prayers of his people. Thank you for all your support and prayers! Emily and her family feel them each day!

Emily Day 10- PM Update:

I believe today was a big turn in Emily’s recovery process. Once again, it was the first time Emily was conscious enough to know she was in a hospital and recognize her parents. However, with being conscious also came the pain of her injuries and some fear. Her heart rate and blood pressure went up higher than the MD wanted, so her sedation was turned back on. This made her sleep the remainder of the day. The ventilator was weaned down some today. Her head pressure continued to fluctuate, but no big spikes. Her fever stayed around 100 most of the afternoon.

Old challenges: Continued healing from all injuries and surgeries.

Challenge for the day: Weaning off the ventilator. Continuing to keep her head pressure stable without sedation.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get weaned off the ventilator, for her fever to go away, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressure to remain stable without sedation. Please continue to pray for healing all over her body. I cannot thank you enough for all the prayers for Emily! Please continue to pray for her family to have endurance. God is answering your prayers!

Emily Day 10- AM Update:

PRAISE THE LORD!!!! I am doing a hallelujah dance! This was the first time Emily’s eyes were open and blinking. She recognized us, squeezed our hands, and moved all 4 limbs on command. Her fever was 98.8 with the cooling blanket! Woo Hoo!! The MD said she looked much better this morning. They are focused on weaning off the ventilator today since she is alert.

Old challenges: Continued healing from all injuries and surgeries.

Challenge for the day: Weaning off the ventilator. Continuing to keep her head pressure stable without sedation.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get weaned off the ventilator, for her fever to stay gone, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressure to remain stable without sedation. Please continue to pray for healing all over her body. I cannot thank you enough for all the prayers for Emily! God is answering your prayers!

Emily Day 9- PM Update:

As I said in an earlier update, each day with Emily brings challenges and victories. Sometimes the victories are big, like a successful surgery. Sometimes the victories are small, like one degree difference in Emily’s temperature. Today, Emily’s nurse heard the concern in my voice about my daughter’s temperature being 103 degrees. This temp wasn’t budging even with an ice cold cooling blanket on her. By the end of the day, Emily’s temp was down a whole degree. Her nurse stuffed ice packs everywhere she could to get that girl’s temp down. I also kept a wet, cool cloth on her forehead. This was the first time it had come down that much! I also know that many prayers are being said for Emily’s fever. God be praised for that one degree today!

Old challenges: Letting her body heal from the last 2 days of surgery. She rested most of the day.

Challenge for the day: Weaning off the sedation and keeping her head pressure stable. The head pressure did spike once today, but not very high. Her sedation was restarted and it went back down. The neurologist said this will take some time.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get weaned off the ventilator, for her fever to go away, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressures to stabilize so her sedation can be turned off. Please continue to pray for healing all over her body. Please continue to pray for her family to have the endurance and patience for this long recovery. Some days it is easy to overlook the small victories and want something more. However, God has worked in so many lives through this tragedy and brought a county together in prayer!!! There is the big victory!

Emily Day 9- AM Update:

Good news! It was a quiet night for Emily. She rested well and didn’t have any high spikes in her head pressure. Neurology said the head drain will stay in a few more days to make sure her pressure has stabilized. The spikes were due to lots of position changes and increased swelling after her surgeries. Nothing major has been scheduled over the weekend, so she can rest and heal.

Old challenges: Letting her body heal from the last 2 days of surgery. Emily has a lot of expected swelling due to the surgeries.

Challenge for today: Weaning off the sedation and keeping her head pressure stable. This is not a new challenge, but has been a consistent battle for her.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get weaned off the ventilator, for her fever to go away, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressures to stabilize so her sedation can be turned off. Please continue to pray for healing all over her body. I want to end by giving God the glory for all the miracles he has done the past 9 days. Thank you for your prayers and being a part of Emily’s healing!!

Emily Day 8- PM Update:

Wow! What a day! Emily went to the OR to get a pin placed in her pelvic bone. Her head pressure did not tolerate today as well as yesterday. It spiked high in the OR. The surgery was completed, but the neurologist was concerned. After Emily came back to the trauma unit from the OR, her head pressure spiked again. That is when several people got a text message. Immediately prayer warriors from several states were praying! God answered your prayers in a big way! Emily’s head pressure came down and the CT scan taken an hour ago showed no new damage! God is so good!

Old challenges: Recovery from yesterday’s surgery. Emily has a lot of swelling in her belly, as expected.

New challenge: Recovery from today’s surgery. 

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get weaned off the ventilator, for her fever to go away, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressures to stabilize overnight so her sedation can be turned off. Thank you everyone for stopping to pray for our daughter when asked! I know your prayers protected her head from new damage! We are forever grateful!

Emily Day 8- AM update:

Emily is scheduled again for surgery today. The orthopedic team wants to fix her broken pelvis. It is scheduled for 1 pm if everything goes well. I forgot to let everyone know yesterday that her bladder tear is healing on its own and did not need surgical repair. Praise the Lord again!

Old challenges: Her head pressure has continued to improve, but continues to remain a challenge for procedures. Emily continues to run a high fever. It was 103.5 this morning. The MD is not too concerned at this time. The trauma team says this is normal for a brain injury. The superficial blood clot in her arm is getting better. She is receiving heparin injections to prevent any more.

New challenge: Another surgery. I know she needs the pelvis repaired, I just didn’t expect it to be right after another surgery day.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for her to get weaned off the ventilator, for her fever to go away, and for no new blood clots. Please continue to pray for her head pressures to stabilize, especially with another trip to the OR. Please pray for her orthopedic surgery to go smoothly and be successful. Please pray for her family. We are emotionally exhausted from a week of ups and downs and continue to need your prayers. Thank you with all our hearts!

Emily Day 7- PM update:

Wonderful news! Emily finally was able to have her abdominal surgery today! Praise the Lord for his goodness and answering so many prayers! I was never told how high her head pressure got, but it did spike. However, they were able to keep everything stable enough to complete their goals for today. The packing was took out of her abdomen. A mesh was placed and attached to the underlying fasciae or skin. She has a wound vacuum and the top layer of skin will not be closed until later. She also had a feeding tube placed into her stomach. She came back very drowsy for the rest of the afternoon.

Old challenges: Her lungs have improved greatly, but continue to pray for the ventilator to be weaned off completely. Her head pressure has continued to improve, but continues to remain a challenge for procedures. Emily continues to run a pretty high fever of 100 to 101. The MD has not been concerned, but mom is getting concerned.

Emily has a superficial blood clot in her arm, but is receiving heparin injections to prevent any more. Emily has a broken pelvis bone that needs repair. This has been postponed due to other more critical injuries. The orthopedic team would like to address this soon.

New challenge: Recovery from surgery. 

Prayer Request: As I read through all the challenges listed, I am reminded how broken my little girl is. I am so thankful that God loves healing broken people!! 

Please continue to pray for her head pressures to stabilize. Please pray for her fever to go away. Please continue to pray for no new blood clots. Please pray for her orthopedic surgery to get scheduled once her body is stable. Please pray for continued healing all over her body! Once again, our small community is making a big impact in Emily’s recovery! Thank you with all our hearts!

Emily Day 7- AM update:

Praise the Lord, again! Emily’s head pressure remained at almost normal levels all night! (Yippee!) Such good news. 

During the morning report, the trauma team decided to proceed with surgery today. There have been a few changes to the plan. The original plan was to slowly close Emily’s stomach with several surgeries over several days. The reason for this is swelling. Emily already has a lot of swelling due to her trauma, and surgery also causes swelling. Any extra swelling at this time will affect her head pressure. As you know, this has been an ongoing challenge since day 2. The trauma team has now decided that Emily’s body may not tolerate several surgeries over several days very well. Instead, a mesh will be placed and attached to her underlying fasciae or skin. This mesh will allow room for the additional swelling to take place, but still have the abdomen mostly closed. She will still have a wound vacuum and the top layer of skin will not be closed until a later time. Another addition is to place a feeding tube into Emily’s stomach. She has been getting nutrition through a feeding tube in her nose, but those are used for short recovery times. Changing to a stomach tube will make it easier for medications and feeding for the longer recovery. 

Old challenges: Her lungs have improved greatly, but continue to pray for the ventilator to be weaned off completely. The chest X-ray from yesterday looked good. No new fluid after removing the last 2 chest tubes yesterday. Another ultrasound was done on Emily’s legs looking for blood clots yesterday. We are still waiting for the results to be read. Please continue to pray for no new blood clots.

New challenge: Abdominal surgery. (AGAIN) This will be the third attempt at Emily’s abdominal surgery. Since her head pressure has been so sensitive to position changes, she has been too unstable to lay mostly flat for the surgery. Pray for her head pressure to continue to remain stable. Pray for me and her immediate family today. Since I am a nurse, I have a little too much knowledge on what can go wrong during surgery. We are anxious for our little girl.

Prayer Request: Pray for God’s will to be done. Please pray for her abdominal surgery to take place and that the surgeons can accomplish their goals. Please pray for continued healing all over her body! We cannot thank everyone enough for all the prayers and encouragement! She has such a long journey and want you all to continue to have a part in it!

Emily Day 6- PM update:

So many praises today! Emily’s head pressure stayed below 15 all day! This was without any sedation. We even saw 10 a few times! (That is a normal reading.) She squeezed her Nana’s hand and made Nana cry, of course. Some first’s were she moved her head and she moved both feet voluntarily! Praise the Lord and Hallelujah!! She only has a short burst of energy. After about 10 minutes, she is out for a couple of hours. We still don’t know the extent of her injuries, but now we can rule out full paralysis of her limbs! I will be rejoicing about this for many years to come!!! She is unable to talk because she is still intubated and on a ventilator. The MD said the ventilator will not come off until Emily is more awake and alert. She is still at risk for aspirating into her lungs if she were to vomit. The last two chest tubes were removed today as well. An X-ray was done of her chest a few hours after the tubes were taken out and we will get results tomorrow. Once again, surgery is planned for tomorrow. We won’t get a final decision until the morning.

Old challenges: Her lungs have improved greatly, but continue to pray for the ventilator to be weaned off completely. Another ultrasound was done on Emily’s legs looking for blood clots. We will not get the results until tomorrow. Please continue to pray for no new blood clots.

New challenge: Abdominal surgery. This will be the third attempt at Emily’s abdominal surgery. Since her head pressure has been so sensitive to position changes, she has been to unstable to lay mostly flat for the surgery. The trauma team really wants to surgically repair her bladder wall tear and attempt to close her abdomen tomorrow. Pray for God’s will to be done. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the day to accomplish these goals.

Prayer Request: Please pray for her abdominal surgery to take place. Please pray for continued healing all over her body! There have been so many precious prayers being sent our way in text, in songs, and in thoughts! We appreciate each and every one and ask that you continue. She has such a long journey and want you all to have a part in it!

Emily Day 6- AM update:

Emily had a peaceful night after having her abdomen repacked yesterday. PRAISE THE LORD! It was the first night that her head pressure remained below 20 all night! The MD said no surgery or procedures are scheduled today. The trauma team wants her to have another restful day of monitoring her head pressure before attempting surgery. Tentatively, surgery is planned for tomorrow. The night nurse said Emily continued to move her arms voluntarily throughout the night! Woo Hoo! However, she was not as responsive to her dad and I. She did try looking at us, but seemed like it was a lot of effort. We didn’t push her and left her to get rest until 12 noon.

Old challenges: Her lungs have improved greatly, but continue to pray. The urine culture came back negative, so the antibiotic was stopped. This means the first urine test was a false positive for a urine infection. (That happens sometimes.)

New challenge: Blood clots. Due to Emily being unconscious and immobile, she is at high risk for blood clots. Emily currently has a superficial blood clot in one of her arms. This is not concerning and being treated with heparin injections. However, the trauma team is concerned about deep vein blood clots and clots in her lungs.

Prayer Request: There are not many updates this morning, which hopefully means she is starting to stabilize more.

Please pray for continued healing and that there be no new blood clots. We love and appreciate you all!

Emily Day 5- PM update:

The procedure to unpack, rinse out, and repack Emily’s abdomen at bedside went really well today! God heard your prayers and Emily’s head pressure stayed at a good level throughout the procedure. The MD said that surgery may be attempted again tomorrow, but still uncertain. If they attempt surgery, it will be to fix the bladder wall tear and to partially close her abdomen. During today’s procedure, everything in her abdomen looked good. The only organ that needs fixing is her bladder. Urology did not run a scope into Emily’s bladder today because her urine output was good.

Old challenges: Please continue to pray for Emily’s head pressure. We saw a big improvement today! Her lungs still continue to improve everyday. The ultrasound done to check for blood clots in her legs was inconclusive due to the swelling in her legs. The bladder infection is continuing to be treated with antibiotics.

New challenge: Blood clots. Due to Emily being unconscious and immobile, she is at high risk for blood clots. Since she had bleeding as an issue her first few days in the trauma unit, they couldn’t give a blood thinner. Emily currently has a superficial blood clot in one of her arms. This is not concerning and being treated with heparin injections. However, the trauma team is concerned about deep vein blood clots and clots in her lungs.

Prayer Request: Because of your prayers, we continue to see much improvement! I am still rejoicing over this morning! Please continue to pray for her to be able to have surgery on her abdomen, if it is the Lord’s will. I believe today was just not the day. Please pray for continued healing and add that there be no new blood clots. Once again, God has given us the strength to endure because of a praying community! We love and appreciate you all!

Emily Day 5- AM update:

Praise the Lord! An amazing morning surprise! Emily was looking at her father and I through half open eyes and responding to commands! It was the first time she actually cut her eyes to the right and to the left with us asking her. She also squeezed our hands on both the right and left with us asking her! We of course broke down with tears of joy! God is working through all of those prayers! Everyday has brought us some victories and some disappointments. The OR team  has already decided that surgery is not going to happen today. Definitely a disappointment, but probably a smart choice since the head pressure continues to be an issue. Instead they will unpack, rinse out, and repack her abdomen at bedside. This has been packed and sealed with a wound vacuum since Thursday. Urology will also attempt to run a scope into Emily’s bladder to check on the  bladder wall tear. No surgery or fixing of anything can be done at the bedside, but at least the team can look everything over for any major concerns. Some more good news! She finally had a bowel movement! This hopefully means her bowels are working, which was also a big concern. Her urinary output was better overnight as well. Old challenges: Emily’s head pressure going up still remains a big challenge. Her body continues to be very sensitive to any change in position. Especially her head being down in the bed. This makes almost any scan and especially surgery difficult to accomplish.   Her lungs continue to improve everyday. The ultrasound done yesterday to check for blood clots in her legs was inconclusive. They plan to get another one. New challenge: Emily does have a bladder infection. Antibiotics will be started. Her fever was high this morning, but being addressed.

My heart was so blessed by all the responses for prayer this morning. Even though we were hoping for different results, I believe God postponed the surgery. He knows what my little girl’s body can tolerate and I want him in control of this whole recovery process. The glory belongs to God for each and every victory, but Emily would not still be alive without these thousands of prayers going out! Please continue to be Emily’s prayer warriors and I will update again this evening.

Emily Day 4- PM update:

I will begin tonight’s update by addressing some less important issues before addressing the continuing big challenges. Due to Emily continuing to be unconscious, there is still no way to determine what damage has been done to her brain. However, we continue to see improvements in some of her responses. Another chest x-ray was taken and her last 2 chest tubes may be taken out tomorrow. The lungs have come a long way thanks to everyone’s prayers. They continue to titrate down on the ventilator. ( Isn’t it great that the lungs are now a lesser issue!) A standard ultrasound was done to check for blood clots in her legs. We will not get results back until the morning report. Now for the bigger challenges. The urologist came again and flushed her urinary catheter. Another blood clot was flushed out and unclogged the catheter. The urologist also said that not all the fluid is coming back out after flushing and is going “somewhere” in her body due to the bladder tear. Emily is starting to get too much fluid building up in her arms and legs because it is not leaving through her bladder as it should. Emily really needs the abdominal surgery to take place. Emily’s biggest issue right now is the pressure in her head. She continues to be very sensitive to any position changes in her head. This has been why she has not gotten the abdominal surgery. Please pray for God’s intervention tomorrow. Pray that he will supernaturally keep her head pressure down long enough for her surgery to be a success. I know that I keep repeating this phrase. Please pray that the OR team can accomplish the goals of making sure there is no uncontrolled bleeding, making sure the intestines are healthy, and fix her bladder wall tear. 

I know many prayers went out today and even more will go out tomorrow. I believe tomorrow is going to be a different day in the OR and God is going to work even more miracles in my daughters life! You are amazing! We love you all!

Emily Day 4 AM update:

We got some really good news this morning. The nurse said Emily moved both arms overnight voluntarily possibly while dreaming. She has only had reflex movement in response to pain before now. She spiked a fever overnight, but the MD said this is normal with all her trauma. Her urine output had gotten low overnight. The urologist came during the night and flushed her urinary catheter. A blood clot was flushed out and unclogged the catheter. More will be determined about her urinary output after her surgery today. The pressure in her head remained at a good level overnight. Today the OR team wants to do her abdominal surgery. Once again, since Emily is still at a critical state, the surgery will be very risky. I will send out a text letting people know when the surgery has started. There are so many things that could go wrong causing them not to accomplish their goals. The goals are to make sure there is no uncontrolled bleeding, make sure the intestines are healthy, and attempt to fix her bladder wall tear. Please be in prayer for her that these goals can be accomplished. This team of doctors have been amazing and the Lord has been with them and Emily every moment.

Thank you for your prayers and  support! The McMinnville community has been amazing!!!

Emily PM update:

The MD has seen the MRI of her head and said there are a few small bleeds, but nothing he would be concerned about. Her intracranial pressure went up to 30 (over 20 is too high) so they put her back on some sedation 😔. The MD really wants to do surgery tomorrow, but again, watching that brain pressure. Her abdomen remains opened and “packed”.  OR surgeon came by and said there’s a possibility that her intestine might be damaged or obstructed because she’s not had a bowel movement. Urology has not been by today. She had a really good pain response today, so still improving. Please keep the abdominal surgery for tomorrow in your prayers. There are so many things that could go wrong causing them not to accomplish their goals. The goals are to make sure there is no uncontrolled bleeding, make sure the intestines are healthy, and attempt to fix her bladder wall tear.

Thank you again for all the prayers! We see them working!

Emily Day 3- AM update:

Emily is holding her own. They took her for an MRI last night because she was not waking up like they wanted her to coming off sedation. No results from MRI yet. This morning, she is responding to pain stimuli on both upper and lower extremities and opening her eyes to pain-  IMPROVEMENT! No surgery today - possibly tomorrow to repair torn bladder wall. She’s had two chest tubes on each side and they are removing one on each side (another improvement).They also started food in the feeding tube overnight. The blood pressure medicine and ventilator continue to be titrated down slowly. The biggest challenge for today is still the swelling in her brain. This continues to be monitored and controlled. We continue to cover her in prayers and for God to do the supernatural!

Emily Day 2- PM Update:

I believe today went mostly as expected by the doctors. The blood pressure and oxygen levels maintained pretty well. She did get some more blood and platelets. A feeding tube was placed, but the feedings will probably start tonight. Her sedation was turned off at noontime to see how she would do if she woke up. The doctors want to check her neurological functions. (This was new because they originally said she would stay sedated.) She has been sedated since arriving at the hospital and was unconscious before that. Unfortunately, she did not wake up before we had to leave her. We are hoping that she will be responding better tomorrow. The drain in her head worked well, but had to be monitored closely as expected. I suspect that I won’t know about surgery until tomorrow morning when we go for bedside report.

Thank you all for everything!