8:45 p.m.

Today was a very busy day for Mallory, our room had folks in and out all day long.  Mallory has been allowed to start eating again and was so happy to hear this, she has eaten very good today.  Dr. Heffron and Todd are going to continue to treat her based on the findings of the xray and CT scan from yesterday, she is still having a lot of shoulder pain.  Her labs looked good again today!  We met with the kidney specialist, Dr. Greenbaum, today to discuss her kidney issues.  He had planned to do an ultrasound but instead looked at the scan from yesterday and was pleased with how her kidneys "look", she does still have some stones in her right kidney.  He is planning to do some further testing but will probably wait until this other issue is resolved.  Other than the shoulder pain Mallory had a good day, she has been so hyper today and very talkative.  I am so proud of her, she was asking the doctors a lot of questions today, taking matters into her own hands.  Today the hospital was making a video to give to the very generous family that donated $25 million dollars to the Transplant Unit, Mallory and I got the opportunity to be a part of the video.  Basically, the video was made to thank the family for their generosity, it was so great to be a part of this. One of Mallory"s friends, Karissa, came by today and spent some time with us and brought Mallory a cute pair of pajamas pants with a matching tshirt, Thanks Karissa for the visit!!  Thanks for checking on us and have a good night.  Lisa

10:00 p.m.

Okay so I will explain things the best I can, I am somewhat confused so I hope this will make sense.  First of all, Mallory is getting morphine, adavan and/or bendaryl to control her shoulder pain.  The morphine works good, however it wears off after about 2 hours and she needs more.  Today she had an xray, after the results were read it was decided to do a CT scan.  After both tests were done and the doctors discussed the results, there was some confusion as to what is going on.  The films show that Mallory has some air bubbles (between the linings of the colon) as well as some swelling in her colon at the area closest to her liver. There is a medical term for this but I cannot recall it.  It is possible that this area could be infected so two new IV antibiotic meds were started today.  Mallory is not being allowed to have anything to eat or drink until we know exactly what we are dealing with.  The confusing part is that the films show this issue with her colon but she has no clinical symptoms to support the pictures, other than the pain.  At this point it is assumed that this is causing the shoulder pain, "referred" pain as they call it. Normally with these kind of findings there is a fever and an elevated white blood count.  We need to know for sure what we are dealing with, we need the antibiotics to work and we need her pain to go away.  The word surgery was mentioned today, we are hoping things can be "fixed" with meds and NO surgery.   I know this is very confusing, like I said I am still confused about what is going on.  I guess in a nutshell, the films show one thing but her body is not really supporting the finds.  We hope to know much more tomorrow and will give an update as soon as the doctors make rounds and tell us more.  The good news is that her liver and kidney numbers looked very good today.  Thanks for checking on us!  Lisa 

Be sure to see todays update below...you will then realize why this is on here again....

The significance of the Number 17..........

Since the number 17 is such a huge part of our family and some of you do not know the story behind it I thought I would explain.

My dad passed away on New Year’s Day of 2005.  At the time my sister, Bridget, was pregnant with her second child, who we all know now as Brantley.  Bridget was scheduled for a c-section in May of 2005 and the night before she was upset because she knew our daddy would not be around. So, that night she had a dream about my dad.  She dreamed that he told her even though he was not with her physically that he would be there and that she would know he was around when she saw the number 17.  Bridget told her husband about this dream as soon as she woke up, she wanted to make sure someone knew about the dream so if the number came up and she told everyone about the dream after it did we would not think she just “made it up”.

A c-section was scheduled for 7:00 a.m., everything was going according to plan, the doctor announced time of birth 7:17, Bridget and Derek could not believe it, they just looked at each other with amazement, so we all know Pawpaw was there!!

With that story told…the number 17 has come up many more times.  Mallory was 17 when she was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease, she had her first transplant on 7/17/2006, she was number 17 out of 18 in the homecoming court line up last year and she won Homecoming Queen.  She had her second transplant on 9/17/2007!  A few days after she was listed for her second transplant, I was balancing the checkbook, it was off by 17 cents and my next check number was 1717. So, I knew my daddy was around and looking out for Mal Mal! The number 17 has come up more times also, but I will not list them all right now.

So, as you can see that is a very important number in our family.  We all know Pawpaw is watching over his little princess and that he is her guardian angel!!!!!  I love you daddy!!!  Lisa 

9:00 p.m.

Ok so I will start this post with a very cool story.  Yesterday a friend from work, Rhonda, brought me a gift to give to Mallory.  It was a beautiful plaque, the plaque has a girl on it holding a heart, looks 3D, Mallory loves it.  Thanks Rhonda you are soooo sweet and we love you and treasure your friendship!!  The bottom of the plaque says "I have you in my heart", Phillipians 1:7.  So we are looking at the gift last night when I realize, the bible verse 1:7!!  It was so freaky, Papaw is here watching over Mallory!!!!  For those of you that do not know the story of the number 17 and the significance of that number to our family, I will do a separate post to explain, it will give you goose bumps.  Mallory had a good day today, she went for a massage and loved it.  Labs were done this morning, her liver numbers continue to be PERFECT, her bilirubin is less than 0.1, this is amazing!!  Her kidney numbers went down today also, exciting news!  Her EBV number was 460 which means positive for mono.  I emailed Todd right away, he suspects this is a false positive.  It is not unusual for a patient to test positive for EBV after a transplant.  Of course, if this number continues to go up I am sure some kind of treatment will be started, but we are going to pray for negative on the next round of labs.  Mallory is still having some shoulder pain so please continue to specifically pray for this pain to go away.   Hope you all have a good weekend.  Thanks for checking in and don"t forget to leave a note.  Lisa

9:30 p.m.    Gonna be a long update......

So, yesterday Mallory came to the Bank to have lunch with me.  She, Kristen and I went to OCharley"s and we had a good time.  Today we had clinic and labs.  They decided they wanted to do labs again today because of her kidney numbers and see how they look after starting the IV fluids back.  Her liver numbers continue to be PERFECT!!!  GO IZZIE!!!  One of her kidney numbers did go down but one did go up slightly.  We now have a new plan for the fluids, she will drink at least one liter, get one liter of IV fluids and one liter in her feeding tube. The fluids that we will give her in the feeding tube will be a "special" recipe of water, salt, sugar and baking soda  We are also being referred to Dr. Greenbaum, he is a Pediatric Nephrologist, so I will call tomorrow for an appointment with him.  Her sodium was low on Monday and today so they are tyring to get those levels up.  We did ask them to start the periactin back (appetite stimulant), she has not been eating well, so she will take it three times a day.  Her feet are burning again when she puts them in water, possibly due to her low sodium and electrolytes being out of balance, we are hoping this will get better as her numbers get better.  Mallory is having shoulder pain again, Dr. Vos has recommended she get a 60 minute massage every week (NICE) and that she starts some kind of routine exercise program.  We are going to try to increase the fiber in her diet.  The doctors also made several med changes today. Todd did say that maybe when we go back to clinic in 2 weeks he will remove the feeding tube. As you can see from this post today was a busy clinic day.  When clinic was over we stopped by the PICU to see Alex, he was awake!!  He was responsive to our questions and we were so happy to see him.  He still has a long way to but I can see a miracle in the making, he is better than he was a week ago and we all need to continue to pray for him.   Thank you to all our friends and family for sending cards and notes to Alex, you guys are great!!!  By the way, if anyone needs a Organ Donor card for your wallet, please let us know we picked up a supply of them at the hospital today.  BE A HERO, BE AN ORGAN DONOR!!!  Oh yeah, Dr. Heffron saved another life today, he did a transplant on an infant, about 6 months old, we hear so far she is doing great.  God Bless you all and we love you!!  Lisa and family

Hi Guys! It"s Mallory! Here is what"s up for today! My nurse came this morning to draw labs and do a picc dressing chance. Today was Georgian Bank"s golf tournament to benefit the CHOA transplant unit! So there were a few people there from Children"s to volunteer/ golf .. like steven, todd, and rochelle. So we got my labs while it was going on and good news! My liver numbers look great! my bilirubin is 0.1! That is amazing! I keep joking saying that my car must have a high bilirubin, because its so yellow (from all of the pollen.) However, my kidney numbers had gone up quite a bit..which we dont fully understand because i am intaking three liters of water everyday, drinking it and taking it in through the NG tube. So Todd said..  ONE MORE LITER! Geesh! But we are doing this liter i.v. They dropped off a pump at our home so im getting the fluids right now. Hopefully all of this water will help my kidney numbers go down and STAY down!

So tonight we went a few places, my parents are looking for some furniture. On our way home we went and visited Michael at his apartment. (by the way Michael you are the best brother ever and i love you!) So when we walked in, Carla was there, with an apron on, in the kitchen cooking! It was so cute, they looked like a little family!

Well thats pretty much the news for today. Since it"s National Donate Life Month (yippee!) I am going to leave you guys with a few facts!! See you Later!

*Almost 100,000 men, women and children are currently on the waiting list for a life saving organ transplant.

*An average of 18 people die each day due to the lack of available organs!

*90% of Americans claim to support donation, however only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor!

***If you are not a donor.. become one!! I am alive today because of not one, but two generous donors, and not to mention about a million blood and plasma donors!!!

9:20 p.m.

Wow, what a weekend!  An emotional and busy weekend I might add.  We went to Egleston to visit Mallory"s friend Karissa, it was good to see her and we hope she gets well very soon.  We were hoping to get in to see Alex, but it is still immediate family only.  The good news is that Alex is doing better, he is awake and trying to speak.  His dad told us yesterday that the nurses were able to get him up in a wheelchair and take him around the unit, when they returned to his room he was able to get back in the bed "almost" by himself!!  The prayers are working.  Mallory made Karissa and Alex a card that I am sure they will cherish forever.  We also got to see Destin, talk about emotional!!!  He looked so good, very handsome.  We were so happy to get to spend a few hours with him and are so proud of him.  Mallory had a good weekend, she is tired tonight after the very short trip to Columbus but otherwise is doing well.  She will have labs tomorrow, so we are praying for good numbers.  She looks really good the last few days.  Tomorrow I will be volunteering at a Golf tournament sponsored by Georgian Bank to raise money for the Transplant Unit at Egleston.  Praying for good weather.  Thanks for checking on us and have a good night.  Lisa

8:00 p.m.

Mallory had a good day today.  She did have labs done today and her blood counts and liver numbers were better.  Her kidney numbers had gone up a little but nothing drastic.  She did meet Michael for lunch today then went by Kohls.  She bought herself a new dress, shoes and necklace (it all looks great on her) and she got some good deals.  Tonight we are just hanging out around the house.  Mallory is working on a couple of cards for some friends.  I spoke to Alex"s dad today and he said Alex said a few words today, which was great news!!  We hope you all have a good weekend.  Lisa

10:00 p.m.

Today and yesterday have been good days for Mallory.  Yesterday she met a few friends at Pine Mountain Middle School and helped judge the middle school cheerleading tryouts.  She even drove herself there and back, had a good time and was even paid for her time!!  Today she had labs done, Todd has decided to do them again tomorrow, her liver numbers went up some since Monday so he wants to check them again tomorrow rather than waiting until next Monday. Her kidney numbers did look better today.  Please pray that her numbers look good.  We hear that Alex has shown a little improvement, he is waking up some now and responding, his dad told me today that Alex had even smiled at his sister.  They are hoping he will start talking to them tomorrow.  Please continue to pray for him as well.  We get to see Destin this weekend and are so excited!!  Thanks for stopping in!  Lisa

8:45 p.m.

Mal had labs done yesterday.  Her liver numbers were great, Izzie is liking her new home!!!  One of her kidney numbers was slightly high but otherwise things look good.  Mal slept very good last night and had a good day today.  Keep those prayers going, they are definitely working!!  Michael and his new girlfriend, Carla, came by tonight and had dinner with us.  We enjoyed them being here and we really like Carla alot, she is so sweet and very pretty, I must say they look good together.  As far as Alex, as far as we know he is doing about the same and there are no real changes.  Please keep praying, miracles do happen.  Thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family for the cards you are sending to him, his dad said he has gotten quite a few from "Team Mal" supporters.  April is Donor Awareness month, we will share a few facts throughout the month on organ donation.  By the way the link to the word game is:   http://www.cooperis.com/quizzes/6letter/  Have a good night and thanks for stopping in.  Lisa

8:15 p.m.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  Yesterday Mal did not feel very well so we just stayed around here.  Today she felt a little better so she and I went to the mall for a little while, there was alot of folks there today.  Then we met Mike at Olive Garden for an early dinner, it was delicious.  Her itching seems to be better and so is her shoulder pain.  Tomorrow will be labs so please pray for good numbers!  A few days ago Mal found a new computer word game, she and I both are addicted, it is so fun!!  Destin called today and yesterday and it was so great to hear his voice, he gets a pass next weekend and we are looking forward to seeing him!  I want to get a picture of him and Michael in there uniforms, so proud of both of them!  Well, have a good night.  Lisa

8:45 p.m.

Mal had an okay day today.  She has been very tired and has just not felt too well.  The good news is that so far we are able to handle the itching at home. Her very good friend Alyssa came by and spent a couple of hours with her this afternoon, thank you Alyssa for stopping by you have been a TRUE friend to Mal through all this and we love you!  Mal has gone to bed for the night and Mike and me are getting ready to watch a movie.  Prayers are still going up for Alex, he really needs them.  Thanks for checking in and please be sure to leave Mallory a note.  God Bless you all!!  Don"t take your organs to heaven, Heaven knows we need them here!!  Lisa

9:20 p.m.

Hooray, we are home!!  We arrived around 1:00 today, it is so nice to be home again.  Munchkin was so excited to see us, she could not settle down.  It will be nice to sleep in our own beds tonight.  Mals liver numbers are perfect!!!  Her kidney numbers are a little too high but we are working on getting them down as well, her potassium was back to normal today.  She will have labs again on Monday.  So far so good as far as managing the itching at home.  We are both exhaused and she has had all her meds and is already in the bed.  Please continue to pray for Alex, I have had several folks ask if he has a website, unfortunately he does not so I will update as much as I can here.  Also, please pray for our new friend Karen, she had a heart double lung transplant last year and is now listed for a liver and kidney.  Please say a prayer for Mal"s two donor families, I am sure they are still missing their loved one.  On another note, after we left the hospital today, the lady was cleaning our room and accidentally set off the code blue for Mal"s room!!  It caused some excitement as many people did not know we had just left to go home and many folks came running.  Thanks to all the wonderful nurses in the Transplant Unit for taking such good care of my Mal Mal, we love you all.  April is Donor Awareness Month!!   

9:45 p.m.

Today was a good day for Mal.  Her liver numbers were great, kidney numbers are okay (little high).  Her potassium is a little too high, it has been slowly going up the past few days so the docs will just monitor this with her labs.  We have a plan for when we get home as far as the meds and the itching go, please say a special prayer that our plan works and we can manage this at home.  If all goes well tonight and labs are okay in the morning I think we will head home!!  I do not really have an update on Alex, but he stills needs our prayers!!  I hope to be able to do the update from home tomorrow!!!  Good night.  Lisa

10:45 p.m.

Today has been a pretty good day today.  Her liver numbers looked very good and her kidney numbers went down slightly.  She is still alittle dry but we have a plan for trying to keep her hydrated.  We are now trying to get her off the IV meds, so the IV morphine was switched to methodone, she will try to use bendryl in an oral form rather than IV.  She has ate pretty good today and is maintaining her weight.  We are hoping to get out of here very soon.  I really don"t have an update on Alex, he is still very ill and needs our prayers.  Have a good night.  Lisa 

10:00 p.m.

Hope you all had a nice Easter today. The Easter Bunny did find his way to Egleston and delivered an Easter basket to every patient here!!  Mike and Michael came down today and brought our Easter meal and we enjoyed it in the cafeteria.Farid stopped by to say hi and check on Mal this morning.  Mal"s liver numbers are still looking good but her kidney numbers did go up again, meaning she is probably getting dry again.  We will add 1.5 liters of water to her nightly feeds to try to get and keep her hydrated.  The thought was we might go home tomorrow and try to control everything there, however, she did not have a very good day so that might not happen.  As fars as Alex, he is slightly improved.  Thanks for checking in.  God Bless you all and please keep those prayers going.  Lisa

Hiii it"s Mal. Today was pretty good.Momma went home to cook for tomorrow and Michael came and spent time with me. Also, the easter bunny came a little early...and i got a hollow easter bunny. Mmm! So im still kind of itchy but my pain is getting better. I just kind of hung out today nothing too exciting happened. Except that i have been eating ALL DAY i guess since i couldnt eat yesterday i made up for it by eating everything in sight today! Im itching right now but i cannot get benadril for another hour, so im going to get ativan! were watching family feud. Some of these people are crazy! um thats pretty much the extent of today. Oh and todd told me that tomorrow i have to get an E.G.G.  haha hes so silly..

Okay...bye!

Mallory

9:25 a.m.

Labs this morning showed that Mal was starting to get dehydrated again, so the continuous IV fluids were restarted.  Her liver numbers looked great today!!  Dr. Romero decided to give her the "stuff" used before a colonoscopy again today so it was started at around 2:30 this afternoon, so she will be on a liquid diet until some time tomorrow.  Mal is still getting the IV meds for the shoulder pain and the itching, we are thankful for these meds as they do help tremendously.  I plan to go home for a couple of hours tomorrow and cook some food for our lunch on Easter Sunday, Michael will keep Mal company.  Thanks for checking on us and have a good night.  Lisa

9:45 p.m.

Today has been an okay day for Miss Mallory.  Her liver and kidney numbers are continuing to look good.  She is still itching and having the shoulder pain and using the IV meds to control both.  She had another xray today, after reading the results they decided to increase one of her medicines.  The new additional labs they ordered came back, the one to test for the allergic reaction was normal and the one to check her bile acids was slightly elevated, this may or may not be contributing to the itching.  Not sure yet when we will get to go home, we need to get the itching and shoulder pain under control.  Lauren and her mom came by today to visit and brought Mal some fun stuff to keep her busy, Thanks guys it was very nice to see both of you.  No change on Alex.  Thanks for reading!!!   Lisa

9:15 a.m.

Mal has not felt very good today.  Her kidney numbers and liver numbers were stable, the two new tests are not back yet.  The "stuff" did work and she is finally getting some relief.  She is still having the itching episodes and pain in her right shoulder.  Still trying to get to the cause of both of these.  She had to go 24 hours on clear liquids and was ready to eat a good dinner tonight, so Mike and Michael came down and brought Longhorns.  From what we hear Alex is about the same, still not doing well but is stable.  Thanks for checking in and praying for Mal and Alex.    Lisa

9:40 p.m.

Today has been about the same as the past few days.  Mals labs are pretty much staying stable, her liver numbers went up a little and her kidney numbers went down a little.  It is crazy how quickly things change with her numbers.  But, all in all her numbers are stable, the ones that are high are not REAL high.  Two new labs were ordered today to try to help find the source of the itching, the results are not back yet, but should be in the next day or so.  The doctors have decided to give Mal the "stuff" they use when doing a colonscopy to help clean things out to try to ease her discomfort.  The good news is that Mal is not having to drink the 4 liters of "stuff", instead we are putting through her feeding tube.  Praying it works!!   Alex is about the same still in ICU on a ventilator, he was taken to Emory for a few hours today for a special test, so we hope it will help the doctors figure out what is up with him.  Thanks for checking in, don"t forget to leave Mal a note, she enjoys reading them.  Lisa

10:30 p.m.

We started off the day with labs, her liver numbers are stable and the kidney numbers did go down again today.  Mal is getting constant IV fluids and has been ever since we arrived on Saturday so needless to say she is feeling bloated!!  Todd"s reading of the ct scan was correct but it also showed that her bile ducts are just slightly dilated.  This could be from one of her medicines that is used to help the bile flow, it is possible it is flowing faster than what her ducts can handle so the medicine has been discontinued.  Dr. Romero has ordered two additional labs for tomorrow, one is to check her bile salt level and one is call and IGE test, which is to check to see if she is having an allergic reaction thus causing the itching.  We hope one or both of these tests will give us some answers on the itching situation.  Mal is also still having some shoulder pain.  Alex - he is still not doing well and needs our prayers, I do not have alot of details but know he is very sick.  I have had many people ask how to send him a card:  CHOA  Egleston, Patient Alex Rampenthal, 1405 Clifton Road, Atlanta GA 30322.  I am sure he would appreciate any notes and cards you would like to send.  Thanks for checking on us and for continuing to pray.  Good Luck Michael on your first day as Firefighter tomorrow we love you!!!  Lisa and family

9:15 p.m.

So our day started and 5:00 a.m. and is still going.  We were awaken by lots of noise in the hallway then a few minutes later we heard a Code Blue called, it was to Alex"s room.  He is now in the PICU and needs our prayers more than ever.  Without going into too many details, he is not doing well at all.  He is a fighter though and with his determination and our prayers going up for him we will get him through this!  Mal has felt just okay today, the itching is under control thanks to the IV benadryl and her shoulder pain is under control thanks to morphine.  The ct scan was done and the "preliminary" report is basically the same as her last scan, her bowels are not moving as well as they need to be, so meds are now being given for this.  We have not gotten the "official" report but should have that tomorrow.  Her liver numbers today are great!! Kidney numbers did go down from yesterday but are still too high but at least they are headed in the right direction.  The craziest thing is now going on, every time she gets up to walk, her feet turn VERY red (they looked burnt) and her veins become very noticeable.  Our wonderful nurse, Kelsey, called Todd and he was not real concerned about this issue as he thinks it is related to her prograf. I believe they are going to call in an allergy doctor to see Mal so we can try to find the source of this itching.  I forgot to mention last night that my sister Bridget her husband Derek and their kids Brooks and Brantley came up yesterday and spent some time with us, it was so nice to see them and Mal was pleasantly surprised.  Oh yeah, Destin called today, he sounded great!!  Well, have a good night and I will update again tomorrow night.  Lisa  Pardon any typos!!

5:00 p.m.

Mal is back at Egleston, she was admitted about 30 minutes ago.  We were not able to control the shoulder pain or the itching at home so they had us come in.  First order of business will be IV benadryl, labs and to start fluids.  Todd mentioned doing a ct scan, not sure when this will be done but I would suspect not until Monday.  Please keep those prayers going and for Alex as well, we stopped by to see him and he is not doing well at all.  Thanks for checking in and have a good evening.

Lisa

10:45 p.m.

Well, It is official, Michael graduated today and received his firefighters badge!  Michael we love you and are SO proud of you, you have turned into a fine young man!!  Mal is still itching and having shoulder pain.  I spoke to Todd today and he advised me on how much and how often to give a couple of her meds, whether she is itching or not to see if we can get this under control at home. We will try this and call Todd tomorrow if things are not getting better or if they have gotten worse.  Alex is still not doing well, we hope to go see him again soon.  Thanks to everyone for the continued prayers for Mal and for adding Alex to your prayer list.  We are praying for Mal"s pain to go away and the itching to stop, if we are not able to get a handle on this she might be admitted, so we are going to pray hard and remaining optimistic!!  Have a good night.  Lisa

Hey everyone. Just a quick update tonight from mal! Today was good..the weather here was so great so i took munchkin on a walk. I have a request and that is to pray for me to stop itching. it started today and i am itching like crazy! Also, alex isnt doing so well, so please continue to pray for him!

Thank you and goodnight!

9:20 p.m.

Today has been another very good day.  Labs were done today and we had clinic.  Mal"s numbers are looking very good and the visit to clinic was a good one.  She does still have the feeding tube but Dr. Romero is confident it will be removed very soon, he even pinky promised Mal!  She has gained some weight, we (Mal and me) had made the decision to cut back on the nightly feeds so she would eat more, Dr. Romero was okay that we had done this and told us to just keep doing what we are doing.  Todd removed some dead tissue from the small opening at the incision site, which is looking much better.  We do not have to go back to clinic for 2 weeks and labs are changing back to 2 times a week, Monday and Thursday, this is all great news and we are very excited.  Todd thinks Mal has FINALLY turned the corner!!  YIPPPE and Thank you Jesus.  Oh yeah, we did stop by and see Alex, please keep those prayers going for him.  He did have a bile duct blockage and needed to have a stent placed yesterday, so he still really needs our prayers.  We took him some treats and decorated his room with some pictures that Mal drew for him.  That oughta do it for now, have a good night!!  Lisa

10:00 p.m.

Today has been a very good day for Mallory, she has had 3 very good days in a row and it is very exciting!  Mal had labs done today and they were good, a few of the numbers are too high but they are stable and not off the charts.  She has gained weight and is eating very good these days (including a chocolate easter bunny and a chocolate shake tonight), we are confident the feeding tube will be removed soon.  The itching appears to be gone and she is looking great!!  I am so amazed by her strength and am so proud of my sweet little princess.  Please keep those prayers going for Alex, he is still at Egleston his liver numbers are coming down but his bilirubin remains high, he might have a procedure tomorrow to check for a bile duct blockage.  Alex, hang in there sweetie, we love you and are praying for you!!  Have a good night. Lisa

See update below....just wanted to let everyone know that we have added new pictures, be sure to check them out!

10:45 p.m.

Just a short update.  Mallory had a very good day today, she and Michael did get to go to the aquarium and they had a great time together.  She does have a slight headache tonight but is doing very well.  For those of you that don"t know Mal loves her pretty dresses, tonight she went into her closet and started trying on some of her dresses, she looks just beautiful!!  If she is feeling okay tomorrow she and I will drive to Egleston to visit Alex.  Keep those prayers going they are working!!  Don"t forget to set your clocks forward tonight.  Good night!!  Lisa

10:30 a.m.  

Sorry there was no update last night I just never got around to getting it done.  Friday was better for Mal, it was a good day until last night when she developed another headache, so I gave her some meds and she went to bed.  She is sleeping in today so we pray when she wakes up she will feel better!  As far as her labs yesterday, liver and kidney numbers have come down.  A few of the numbers are still a little high but they are headed in the right direction!!  Praise GOD!  The itching still comes and go but has also gotten better.  Her blood pressure is back down to Mal"s normal.  So, other than the headache last night she had a good day.  My mom and Robert came yesterday, Michael came over last night and we all went to dinner at Doug"s in Emerson, if you have never been to Doug"s and you live in this area you must check it out, good ole country food and it is delicious!  Afterwards, we came back to the house and played Dance Dance Revolution, it was fun and we laughed pretty hard.  Michael and Mal played guitar hero, then we watch a movie Broken Bridges, very good movie I might add.  We all enjoyed our family time together.  If Mal is up to it today Michael is taking her to the aquarium in Atlanta, yes believe it or not even though she is scared of fish she still wants to go.  The shirts are in so I will be contacting those that order soon, finally, if I have extra I will post and let everyone know!  Please pray for a few friends, Alex is still at Egleston and needs us to keep those prayers going for him.  Kayla Cantrell is a teenage girl that passed away yesterday from a brain tumor, please pray for her family.  Karen Arrowood a friend that had a heart double lung transplant last year in Janauary and is now waiting on a kidney/liver.  She is at Emory and it looks like Dr. Heffron will do her transplant, which is great news.  Here are the links if you want to read up on Kayla or Karen,  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kaylacantrell

http://www.karenarrowood.com/5.html

Thanks so much for checking on Mal and for remembering her in your prayers!!  Sorry for the long post, I guess I had a lot to say!  Have a good weekend.  Lisa

8:40 p.m.

Today started off with a headache, MAJOR headache.  Mal"s blood pressure has been very high (at one point it was 160/117).  So, after I arrived to work I called Todd, told him about the high blood pressure, itching and headache. The itching has slowed down, it is not completely gone but is better.  Todd told me it was okay to give her Imitrex for the migraine, to monitor her blood pressure throughout the day and update him tomorrow.  We are still trying to control the itching with bendaryl and adavan.  It is probably safe to assume she is dehydrated, we are giving her water via the feeding tube.  The headache is gone but the medicine for it just makes her feel crummy.  She has really not ate much today.  Mike did get her out of the house this afternoon, took her to get a cappucchino and they just rode around for a little bit.  Labs will be done again tomorrow and we are praying for liver numbers to go down!  Please pray for my sweet girl that she will wake up feeling much better tomorrow.  Lisa

10:00 p.m.

Well Mal is still itching.  It seems to come and go, we are still trying to control it at home.  As of right now we will just take it day by day and see how things go.  Labs were done today, her liver numbers did go up some and her kidney numbers are staying stable.  No call from the docs so I guess there will be no changes at this point and we will wait to see how labs are on Friday.  Michael came over tonight and picked Mal up, they went out to eat together to Fuddruckers then came back here and watched a movie together.  It is so awesome to see them spend time together and love each other so much.  They will always have each other!  Michael will graduate from his Firefighter/EMT school on Friday the 14th.  We are SO proud of him.  Oh yeah, tickets go on sale tomorrow for Rod Stewart, I am so excited, I just must try to get tickets so I can go!!!!  Have a good night and thanks for leaving Mal a note.  Lisa

10:00 p.m.

Well, dang it, the itching is back!!  We are trying very hard to manage this at home.  I spoke with Todd today and he advised me on dosages for some of the meds used to treat the itching.  So, we have given more than usual and will see how the night goes.  Mal has been nasaly today and very tired, I am sure it is related to all the medicine she is taking right now.  We will see how the night goes and go from there.  Please pray that this itching will go away and stay gone.  Mal will have labs again tomorrow so we are praying her numbers will be down even more.  Thanks for stopping in.  Lisa

9:30 p.m.

HOME SWEET HOME!!!  So, we are back home.  Mal is doing much better and the itching seems to be gone.  Her liver numbers had gone down some today, two of the are still too high but are going down.  Her kidney numbers went up again today but only slightly, she was given a bag of IV fluids before we were discharged.  We will continue to do feeds at home and she is to either drink or get via the feeding tube at least 2- 3  liters of water every day.  Labs will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a visit to clinic next Wednesday, we will have this Wednesday off.  Otherwise, everything is going well, the medicine they gave her to help with sleeping seems to be working very good as she is sleepng much better.  Please pray for our friend Alex, he is back at Egleston because of increased liver numbers and needs our prayers.  Please also pray for a friend/coworker Kimberly as her mom has cancer and is not doing well at all.  Thanks for checking on us, remember to leave us a note when you stop by.  You have probably noticed a changed on the home page, you can click on "Doug" or "Izzie" to read part 1 and 2 of Mal"s story.  New pictures are coming soon.  Good night.

10:00 p.m.

So, labs were stable today. Her blood counts are much better, liver numbers down slightly, one kidney number stable and one went up.  The number probably went up because they stopped the continuous fluids because her blood pressure was so high.  Her itching has gotten better and we think we might can control it with oral bendryl.  We hope she can go home tomorrow.  Some good news is that the medicine they have her on to increase her appetite is working, she has been very hungry and eating very good.  A few other issues that she is having is that from time to time her face will get flush and feel warm to her, and one of her legs seems to give out on her from time to time.  I am sure this is nothing big but we will mention to Todd and Dr. Heffron tomorrow.  Mal has been so bored, we watched a movie today, and she has been walking the halls looking for stuff to get into.  I believe at some point she even went in the playroom and played with some kiddie toys, too funny.  Well that is about all that is going on today. Check on us tomorrow to see if we went home!!

Hello Everyone.

Today has been a really good day. I am still itching some, but not nearly as much as i had been. I got so bored today. I kept  leaving the room and hanging out at the nurse"s station. Tonight Michael and Daddy came by. Me and Michael walked around and just goofed off and it was fun. Earlier i went to the gift shop and bought him a stuffed dalmation! it was so cute! i love my big brother so much!!! right now my shoulder kind of hurts... i think it might be from the blood pressure patch though. everytime i put a new one on my arm and shoulder gets really sore! Oh and i have been eating like a PIG today! i guess thats a good thing though! well i think that"s about it!Oh yeah, everyone please pray for Karen Arrowood... she is the sister in law of Coach Fak and she has had a heart/ double lung transplant AND is being listed for a liver and kidney, so please say a prayer for her!!!!

Thanks for checking up on me, Mal

So my mom made a post (see the one below) but i wanted to include all of the funn stuff we did!

I drew alot of pictures and made a get well card for todd! then steven came by to chill, and the craft cart came. she had stuff to make princess wands so i def wanted to.. and i made steven make one too! and then we just hung out some more until idecided i needed more art supplies. so camille my nurse unlocked the art closet and we got to get what we wanted! so we grabbed ALOT of stuff and it was hard to carry...and my mom spilled red blue and green tempera paint all over my floor!! i laughed so hard! But she got it cleaned up. Then we played chutes and ladders(i won) and cranium.then i played MASH with my mom, dad, and two nurses. After that my nurse hannah brought in a tape to show us. it was a tape of her when she asked simon cowell a quesstion on oprah!! how exciting! and now im just resting with my duck, pierre.

Mal

9:30 p.m.

Labs today were better, her kidney and liver numbers both went down.  Dr. Heffron came by earlier today to say he wanted to keep her here until probably at least Monday and continue to give her fluids so she is well hydrated.  However, this evening her blood pressure was very high (last check it was 160/104) so a call was made to Todd and he decided that maybe she has enough fluids on board so they stopped the IV fluid for now.  Her blood counts were low this morning so she did receive 2 units of blood earlier today.  The itching seems to be getting better, it is not completely gone much is much better than it was upon our arrival.  Labs again tomorrow and we will go from there.  Thanks for checking on Mal.  Lisa

10:20 p.m.

So today was a pretty good day for Mallory.  Her liver numbers were down, which is great but her kidney numbers are up.  Dr. Heffron is still not sure what is causing the itching.  The medicines have kept the itching down tremendously, when it begins to wear off the itching comes back again but not as bad as it was.  Because her kidney numbers are up they are pumping in more fluids, sometimes when the BUN is up it can cause itching so this is one "guess".  We will probably never know what is causing this itching but the doctors are confident that it will go away, for Mal"s sake I hope this is soon.  She has had alot of meds today and has been very loopy, we have had quite a few laughs!  Still not sure when we will get to go home, we will see what labs are tomorrow and how her itching is and reevaluate.  Thanks for checking on us and keep those prayers going.  Lisa

5:15 p.m.

So, we are back at Egleston and Mal has been admitted.  Yesterday the itching started again so we were told to go to Egleton, this time the clinic area not the ER (thank God), iv meds were given and we were sent home.  The itching was off and on again all night and started back in full force today so they decided to admit her.  They have a cocktail of meds they will try to see if they can get this under control.  We are still not sure what is causing it.  You just would not believe the marks on her body from the scratching!!

What a world wind!!  Sorry there was no update last night about the labs but we were at the ER and did not get home until 3:30 a.m. this morning.  So, here we go.  First of all yesterday morning out nurse, Cortney, came out to draw labs, well the picc line would not work, she has two lines and neither one would work so she had to stick Mal!  A call was made to the liver team and we were told to come to Egleston to check the line.  I was at work and planned to leave at 11 to go pick up Mal and head to Egleston.  Mike called me a few minutes before I planned to leave to tell me he was able to get the lines working, no trip to Egleston.  Finally in the afternoon we were given the lab results, all her liver numbers have gone down, GREAT news.  Those prayers are working.   Mallory started having severe itching around noon yesterday, after trying benadryl we called Todd and he advised us on another med to try, which also did not work.  I ended up calling him back around 7:30 p.m. and we were told to go to the ER for IV meds.  After 6 hours, 5 different meds and no explanation for the itching we finally made it back home around 3:30 a.m.  Without going into all the details it was a VERY frustrating visit to the ER!!! Her itching was so bad she looked like she was sun burnt and had tiny red spots coming up under her skin.  The last med given was valium, basically to put her to sleep so she would not itch.  She did finally go to sleep and was no longer itching.  Please pray that when she gets up and about today that it does not start again.  Thanks for stopping in.  Lisa

9:20 p.m.

The weekend has been good and uneventful for Mal.  She did get the chance to hang out with some friends.  On Friday night she went to dinner with Farid, on Saturday she went to the mall and dinner with Adrienne and today she had lunch with Haley.  Thanks to all of you for coming by to hang out with Mallory.  So, she has kept busy and is eating well.  Our wonderful home nurse Cortney stopped by Friday night and Mal showed her some of her Dance Dance Revolution moves, thanks Cortney, we love you and you take great care of Mal!!  Michael came by several times, we always love it when he is here!!  Today I went to Kennestone to visit a mom of a coworker of mine that is battling cancer, please pray for Kimberly and her mom.  Mike, Mal and I went to the avenues for a little while today and ran into Coach Fak and Baby Emma, she has grown so much and is such a cutie pie.  Well, tomorrow is labs, please pray for decreased liver numbers.  These results will dictate the next step, which we pray is nothing, just good numbers.  Thanks for checking on us and good night.  Lisa

Hello All, it is Mallory again!

So yesterday, after i got my dose of Salumedrol, we were free to go! We came home and relaxed, Farid came over to visit and see that i was okay, and then we got ready for David Copperfield! That was so much fun, he is amazing, and we totally loved his performance! Last night i had another case of the itchies. I don"t know why but i can not stop itching.. especially my feet and toes!! But i eventually got to sleep. This morning i had labs done to check and see if the iv steroid worked and if my liver numbers were any better. After waiting what seemed like forever.. we finally got my lab results back! My liver numbers did go up some. Mom talked on the phone with Todd, and he doesn"t want to do anything about them yet. He said that the steroid might not have had time to work yet, since it hadn"t been 24 hours since i got it and i had labs drawn. So on Monday i have labs done again, and we will go from there. If the numbers haven"t improved i will probably need another dose of Salumedrol, or perhaps a biopsy. But we"re all confident that the numbers will soon go down! So keep praying that everthing will go great!!! We will keep everytone updated!!!

Hello everyone. it"s Mallory!

So here"s whats goin down. This morning we had labs done and my liver numbers had gone up even more! We really aren"t sure why they are going up. But fortunately, I still get to go home today! Dr Heffron came by and decided to increase my prograf and to give me a dose of iv sterroids, and then I can go home! We will repeat labs tomorrow, and if they are not any better Dr Heffron will decide what to do from there, but he"s confident that the steroids willdo the trick! I am so glad that we get to go home, we have tickets to go see david copperfield tonight! Dr Heffron said it is cool that he can saw people in half nd put them back together.. so i said, "Dr Heffron.. you can do that too!!"

Well anyways, we will keep you all updated on hpw everything turns out! thanks for your prayers!!

8:45 p.m.

Okay, Mal had the CT scan done today.  We do not have the "official" report yet but Dr. Heffron, Dr. Romero and Todd have looked at the pictures and are very pleased with the results.  Her liver looks very very good and the damage that was done to it back in October (during a stent procedure) has improved tremendously.  Dr. Heffron also said all her "ducts" are in a row, meaning her bile ducts look good too.  Dr. Heffron said the liver numbers were probably elevated due to cholangits (liver infection.) He also said that the reason for all of the pain could be because her bowels (intestines) aren"t moving very well, so they are cramping and causing the pain in the lower right abdomen, a new medicine has been ordered. So the plan is that if the liver numbers are better tomorrow, Mal will probably be discharged! Please Pray that her numbers come down and her pain goes away!!

Thanks for checking on us!!

5:20 p.m.

So, we are back at Egleston.  Mal woke up not feeling well at all today, had a horrible headache, pains in her abdomen and shoulder and was throwing up.  So, of course, we called the liver team and was told to head to the hospital.  After we arrived they did labs, gave IV fluids, gave her some nubane and benadryl for the pain and admitted her.  Her labs have come back and her liver enzymes had gone up since yesterday so the plan is to do a CT Scan tomorrow, we hope in the morning, see the results then we will go from there.  While we are not excited to be here we are remaining confident that our prayers will be answered and this will be a short stay.  Lisa