The Old Lungs *Graphic*

Lindsay, Amie and I got to see Lindsay's old lungs today. We did not just see them we got to hold them, take pictures with them and kiss them GOODBYE!!!! Not really kiss...but you know what I mean. What an experience that was. I will probably never get the chance to do anything like that in my life again, but it was so nice to see an organ that is inside the human body. It was kind of sad also looking at her poor, unhealthy lungs. In the bottom pictures the lungs have pores with little holes and white 'stuff' surrounding the inside of the pores. Well the 'stuff' is mucus that should not be there in order for the pore to be bigger in order for Lindsay to breathe well. The mucus dries up and hardens making it more impossible to breathe. Now these lungs look like she was a smoker, but it is actually a dye they put on the lungs to preserve them. You all saw a picture of her lungs when they were 1st taken out. Then they were pink and white. Well the white that we saw was considered 'end stage' in a CF lung. You can still see them in these pictures. Who knows how much longer Lindsay would be alive if she still had them. And yes we had to go to the "Gross Room" to view them.

COTA Website Redirected For Now

So I've been told the COTA website (Lindsay's personal page) is not up and running yet, but you can still go onto http://cota.org/ , click 'find a family' and type in her name & state and it should bring you to her page. I apologize about that, but it should be up very soon.

Not Such A Good Night

Lindsay received her transplant 9 days ago! I can't get over how well she is improving. Last night was her first bad night with these new lungs. She was still in pain so she was given some pain meds and then she wasn't able to go to sleep so she was given a sleeping aid. Well it was either the combination of the 2 or the sleeping meds that turned her night into a horrific one. She was having the same dream over and over and it was quite bothersome to her so she stayed awake. It seemed to her that she was beginning to hallucinate because all of her friends were in her room making plans to go places and she tried to talk to some of them but they just ignored her and left. I called her this morning and she was very upset because she was confused and it was frightening to her. I rushed to the hospital to see if I can be of help to her in calming her down. She seemed to be ok besides her feeling alone and confused about these hallucinations. She was able to take a nap while I was there but when she woke up she began to see things that were not even happening. I didn't know how to handle it because I have never seen anyone do this. I wasn't sure if I should play along, or if I should tell her that what she was seeing was not happening. But I didn't want to do that in case I scared her even more. So when she told me some of her friends were in the bathroom I asked her if I should open it to see if they were there. She knew they were not there, but she saw them in the bathroom. Same thing with the T.V. she asked if I had turned the T.V. on, but it was never on. So I just asked her if she wanted me to turn it on for her. She has been off of her pain meds today and switched to Tylenol and she will not be taking a sleeping aid tonight. I hope last night will be the only night she experiences that. She didn't get discharged today because new prescriptions were made today and they are still at the pharmacy and we are waiting on an antibiotic to see if Kaiser is paying for it or Stanford. It mostly likely a go tomorrow. On a good note Lindsay was able to go outside and have a break from her room and all of the nurses. She was finally able to be outside and see the gardens. It was only for 15 minutes but it was nice for her to go outside and be free from her room.


Please NO SMOKING! You can't really tell, but Lindsay is smiling in these photos :)

Walking and Talking

A few of us went to see Lindsay today and she had another busy day. She went on a morning walk all by herself and in the afternoon she walked with a few of her friends. She finally took a shower today and she felt so much better. I think she had a good day also because we meet a new nurse and she was just the coolest but also VERY professional ;) We even snagged a picture of her before she stabbed Lindsay with her insulin! The picture is a little blurry.
Another Dr. came to update us on her discharge and we are still hoping for tomorrow. It could be another day if her new lungs don't expand. The Dr. told us that the lungs will expand but it usually takes patients a few days and some a few weeks. He noticed in her x-rays there is still some spacing that could be filled. He is not concerned because it is not threatening, but he would like to keep her for another day if x-rays are not better tomorrow. So please pray for that.

She has already raise $50 online for fundraising, so keep it up and tell all of your friends!
Hopefully Lindsay will be discharged tomorrow and if so maybe she can blog a bit for you all. Please keep Lindsay in your prayers as the Lord has many plans for her.

"Quit Monkeying Around & Donate" - Jared Mulic

www.cotaforlindsaym.com

Happy Mother's Day

Sorry I didn't Blog yesterday, but I needed rest and a break from it all.
A group of us meet with Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to help us get organized and ready for any fundraising events we will be holding to raise funds to help pay for Lindsay's lung transplant expenses. Out of pocket expenses are estimated to be about $55,000. We have a very ambitious group and creative ideas for events. You can now go online and donate at http://www.cotaforlindsaym.com/ You may also write a check, but it needs to be made out to COTA and in the memo put 'Lindsay M.'
I didn't see Lindsay yesterday, but I spoke with her today and she is still in pain from the chest tubes been taken out since yesterday. The nurses say she should not be experiencing this much pain still. So they may want to keep her an extra day in the hospital and on top of that one of her prescriptions will not be ready until 2pm tomorrow. They will not let her discharge unless she has all of her prescriptions with her. So I will be waiting for a call tomorrow when they are ready and I will shoot up to the hospital to see if they will let her leave or not.
Please pray for Lindsay that the Lord will subside her pain so she can be more comfortable because she has been through so much. She will also need prayers that her body will not reject the lungs and for her to stay healthy because she is more susceptible to infection. But importantly give praise to Him that she is alive & well and that she can live to see her dreams with these new lungs.
I just got a text from Lindsay that she weighs 97 lbs! She went in at 89 lbs. Praise God!

Go Fish

I stayed with Lindsay last night in her hospital room and I now have a better understanding of why people don't like to stay in hospitals! We went to bed kind of late and she woke up twice to cough and at 6 am a nurse came to check her vitals. There must also be something about sleeping in an unfamiliar place that doesn't help either.

Unfortunately, Lindsay's morning x-ray shows she has fluids in her chest, so they will not be taking out the chest tubes until tomorrow :( She didn't get her PICC line either, but she got a Tunnel Venous Catheter instead. It is the same thing except it is put into her chest instead of the arm. A persons body can handle a few PICC's in a life time and Lindsay has already had 4. It eventually damages the vein and is harder to get placed. So the nurse went with the Tunnel Cath instead. We are still on schedule for moving to the apartments on Monday and answer to prayer...it will be covered! We were told at 1st we would have to put down some deposits (cleaning & linens) and pay a daily rate. It would have been anywhere from $15 - $75/day. We were hoping for $15 but as of this morning we received good news that it will be taken care of. We have been praying that the Lord will provide for us and He is doing just so! Lindsay's spirits are high...she is singing, laughing, smiling, planning her future, and she is getting back to her normal self. (Besides when medicated)

Here is the fun stuff...
Since Lindsay has her chest tubes in, she is experiencing a lot of pain. When they are taken out she expects to be fully independent. She has been taking pain meds, but yesterday the nurse decided to 'up' the dose since it wasn't helping much. Her first larger dose was given last night with Sid and I in the room. Although it is not the goal to knock her out, it is to subside the pain. Lindsay spilled water on herself so we changed her and the bedding. I cut her finger nails cause they were a bit long. By this time her meds kicked in. The second we put her back in bed she was out! Sid saw her tongue hanging out of her mouth. It was hilarious! I feel bad that it is comedy to me at her expense, but there is nothing like watching your sister act with heavy medication. Today she was having more pain so she got more pain meds. I broke out the playing cards so I can play because I knew she was going to sleep. But she saw them and wanted to play anyway. I decided on Go Fish because I felt it was the easiest game to play. I wish you were all there to see it! I passed out the cards and she started taking from the pile. She never asked me for any cards she just started taking them. I called her a cheater and she finally realized what she did. She was slurring her words a bit so I laughed as she told me to 'Go Fish' and later in the game she asked for an '8' so I gave it to her and she tried to pair it with an 'Ace.' When I asked her for matches she told me I was evil "taking from a crippled person." By the looks of the pictures I should have won but Lindsay won the game. I have a new camera courtesy to the Allen family, so now I can keep you updated with pictures as well. Enjoy!

*Lindsay took this one of herself*

*Morning Dose*