Update #2  7:20  Been here 11 weeks today!

Mal had another good day!!!  She walked 3 different times today and did a few exercises with Physical Therapy.  She is still very tired and although we know it will take some time she will eventually regain her strength and be able to have her life back again!!  Everytime I see her walk down the hall I am so amazed at the amount of faith my little girl has, she has so much strength!!  The Occupational Therapist today was amazed at her attitude, said she wished she had more patients like Mal.  Last night when we came to 4East, Mal was cheered on and welcomed back with open arms...the ICU nurses were amazed, said they had never seen a patient get a welcome like Mallory did.  Everyone here is so excited to have her back!! Thanks for continuing to send her messages on this website, she truly enjoys them....we are almost at 1,000 messages in only 5 1/2 weeks since we started the website!!  Have a good evening and thanks for checking on us.  Lisa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKS!!  WE LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!

Update #1  10:30

Mallory had a very good night again, she only woke up if she needed to go to the bathroom.  Her labs looked very good again today.  Her liver and kidney numbers are almost completely normal again!!  Blood counts are holding steady and thanks to the meds her white blood count is up...Still no fever.  Today I am sure there will be more physical therapy, which will be very good for her and help us get closer to going home.  Thanks for checking on us...have a good one.  The Smiths

Update #2   7:25

Great News.....We are back on 4East, Room 468!!!  YIPPEE!!!!!!!  Mal had a very good day.  She walked again, a further distance and even did some exercises with the Physical Therapist!  Check this out...on the day we get to move back to 4East, her kidney numbers are...BUN 17 and Creatinine 1.7!!  Get it?  17!!!  Her liver numbers are great, still on lots of meds and ready to settle in for the night!  Thanks for checking on us and for the thoughts and prayers!  The Smiths

Update #1   10:15 a.m.

Mallory had a very good night last night, she went to sleep around 9:30 - 10:00 and only woke up one time from then until 6.  No more fever! Her labs look great!  Creatinine is 17, BUN is 1.7.  Bilirubin is 1.2!!!  Her blood counts are still low but have gone up a bit, this will just be watched closely by the docs.  Orders have just been written to go to 4East, Mal was happy to hear this!!!  The hospital is full, so we will wait for a room and hope it happens today.  I asked Todd when he thought they might close her and he said "soon".  They are ordering physical and occupational therapy that will be started in the next day or so.  That is it for now, thank for checking on us and hope you have a good day!!  The Smiths

Update #2   8:40 p.m.

Mallory had a very good day today.  Her liver numbers are looking great and her kidney numbers are ALMOST normal!!  Yippee...Alex and George are back in the game.  Mal went for another walk again today and this time went further than her last walk, she is doing a great job getting in and out of the bed by herself.  She is still tired and very weak but is fighting very hard to get up and around to regain her strenght.  She did eat a little bit toay also.  Her chest xray looked good and her fever has been gone most of the day.  It has been decided that they will not drain any fluid out of the lungs at this point.  Her white blood count did go up a lttle bit but is still VERY low, her other blood counts are staying stable.  Still not sure when we will be moving to the floor yet. We had another great home cooked meal tonight compliments of the Mauldens...thanks so much!!  Thanks for checking on us and hope you have a great evening.  The Smiths

Update #1  9:20

Mallory had a good night last night and was able to get a good nights sleep!!  Right now her temp is 99.8, just praying it will not go up.  The chest xray has been done but we have not gotten a report on it yet.  We do not have our morning labs yet either, it appears our night nurse failed to draw them.  No doctors have been around yet, it will probably be late before we see them with it being Sunday.  Another update will be posted after rounds are made and we have more details on what today holds.  Thanks for checking on us and for the prayers...keep those prayers going...looks like they are working!!!  The Smiths

Update #3   9:45

Okay so what started out as a very rough day ended up being an okay day for Mal.  The fever started out high then steadily went down, it is gone right now and we pray it stays that way.  So, the plan is to continue to watch her closely, they will do a chest xray tomorrow and depending on how the night goes and what the xray shows, it may be decided to draw some of the fluid out of her right lung and test it, not sure this will be done yet as the final decision has not been made.  Her back pain seems to be gone tonight, which is great!  She did get up earlier and go for a walk down the hallway with her dad. 

I would like to say thank you to a few wonderful families that have so generously provided us with some good food!  Thanks to the Robertsons for the chips and homemade salsa, to the Shaw family for the steak sandwiches with all the trimmings along with brownies and to the Scrase family for the chicken entree, side dishes and desserts.  All the food was very tasty and we enjoyed it.  Your kindness is appreciated so much.

The Smiths

This is a message for Claire, from Mallory:

Claire, I was very excited when I heard that you won Homecoming Queen, when I found out I told my mom that you deserved it more than anyone.  The fact that you won made me a little more upset that I was not able to be there because all year I had been looking forward to crowning a deserving queen like yourself.  Thank you so much for all your support and prayers, they have helped me get through many tough times.  I can see God"s spirit through you and its so good to see such a wholesome amazing person represent our school.  I hope you felt that I was there in spirit to crown you.  Once again congratulations and God Bless you.  I love you!!  Mallory

Update #2  12:50

Dr. Romero just stopped by, he is restarting Mal"s feeds.  They had stopped them last night because she had a visit from the "throw up" monster, he will gradually get her back on them.  Just to clarify...when Mal fell last night, it was not a fall to the floor, it was a "small" fall and just jammed her back, she appears to be okay from this.  She has been sleeping most of the day and is very weak today, much more than yesterday.  So far there is no explanantion for the fevers, all the blood cultures have come back negative with some pending.  They will treat her symptoms and continue to watch her closely, no plans on moving yet, which quite honestly is fine with me as I don"t think she is ready today.  Her BUN is 46 and creatinine is 2.8, so her kidney numbers are almost completely normal now!!!!!!!!!  Her liver numbers look great and her bilirubin is 2.8, up slightly probably due to the blood transfusions she has received.  Have a good day and we will update again tonight.  Thanks for all the kind words and prayers!! 

Brooks, we love you and hope you have a great day tomorrow at your birthday party.  Lisa and family

Update #1 9:30 am

Mallory had another ruff night last night. She started running a fever again early in the morning, the doctors were called. They drew blood samples right then to try and assist in diagnosing the root cause of the problem. She is now able to get up and go the bathroom under on own now which is a step in the right direction however, during the night Mal went to the bathroom and slipped getting up and “jammed” her back. It did not seem to be anything severe just more pain on an already pain riddled body. We are praying the doctors can pinpoint the source of the fever so her recovery can continue moving forward. Thanks again for checking in. Lisa

Update #3  10:20 PM

This has been kind of an up and down day, the day started off not so great with the fever and the news of staying in the PICU, Mal was disappointed and upset about this but does realize it is for the best.  Things did improve later in the day as she started to feel better, she did go for a walk down the hallway earlier, our wonderful nurse Lauri offered her a hand but Mal said she could do it without a helping hand.  You guessed it..she did....walked without any assistance at all, getting in and out of the bed by herself also.  No fever since this morning!!  Her kidney numbers continue to go down...we are at BUN 53 and creatinine 3.1!!  Alex and George are back in the game and doing their job.  Thanks for checking on us.  Lisa

REMINDER:

IF YOU HAVE ORDERED T-SHIRTS, PLEASE BE SURE TO MAIL YOUR CHECK TO BRIDGET ASAP.  THE FIRST ORDER IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING PLACED, AS SOON AS WE KNOW A DELIVERY DATE WE WILL LET YOU KNOW.  THANKS!!

Update #2  1:45

The doctors have finally made their rounds.  Dr. Heffron will not allow Mal to move to the floor yet, her fever was too high this morning and he wants to keep a close eye on her.  We are still unsure what is causing the fever.  Mal is very tired and not feeling too good right now.  She will be getting the stitches out of her neck this afternoon and is little nervous about this.  Thank you for checking on us and for keeping those prayers going.  The Smiths

Update #1  11:21

Mallory had a good night last night, she did receive 2 units of blood so her counts are better today.  Her white blood count is still very low and she has been running a fever again.  I believe it got up to about 103, gave tylenol and is now gone down some.  All her blood cultures have been negative so far.  The doctors have not made rounds yet, they are running late for some reason today, will do another update after they come by.  The Smiths

Update #3 7:35 p.m.

Mal had a great day today.  The CT Scan came back with everything okay.  She had her hair washed today, ate a couple of times, we pushed Mal in a wheel chair over to 4East to visit her friends and she even walked a short distance.  Mal has not had pain meds but one time today and she has been awake and talking all day..cracking jokes...smiling...what a great sight.  Her blood counts went up slightly with tonights lab work, but they will still give her 2 units of blood tonight.  Her white count continues to be VERY low, still waiting on a Hematologist, Dr. Heffron may have spoken to one today.  Her kidney numbers went down again with labs tonight...GREAT!!!  The two they look at are Creatinine (normal is 1.0 or below) and BUN (normal is 5-20).  Mal"s creatinine had gotten up to 8.8 and is now 3.8, her BUN had gotten up to 109 and is now 77!!  So, a GREAT day.  Dr. Heffron said we might move to the floor tomorrow!!!   Thanks for checking on us and have a good evening.  The Smiths
 

Update #3  11:30

Mallory just got back from the CT scan, Dr. Heffron and Todd stopped by and said the scan looked fine to them.  Mallory is having a GREAT day, she has been up all day and is talking and cutting up with us.  She told her Mamaw, "Mamaw, I would say you had lost it, but you gotta have it before you can lose it"!  She had said something funny and that was Mal"s comeback.  Her blood counts went down again so she will get some blood, were white count is down to 0.560 which is very low.  Dr. Heffron has called in a Hematolgist to consult with on her blood count issue, we will let you know more as that develops.  Dr. Heffron said she could eat anything she wants, Mamaw has gone to Publix for Spaghetti O"s as this is what Mal requested. 

If all goes okay we will get orders to move out of PICU tomorrow!  Still not sure when they will close her, Dr. Heffron said not yet, but hopefully soon.  Her kidney numbers improved again today.  So, good day so far with good news on the CT Scan.  Thanks for checking on us and we will update you again tonight. 

Update #1  9:45 a.m.

Mal had a better night last night and we were able to get some sleep.  She has just gone down for the CT Scan.  We do not have any results the from xray or the blood tests done yesterday but hope to know more today.  Dr. Heffron came by yesterday late afternoon and I asked him what we thinks he will find that was causing all her issues yesterday.  He said he really could not be sure but he felt like he was not going to find anything and this would just pass.  We pray he is right.  Mallory is feeling better today and is looking better also!!  She has been awake and talking alot today.  We will update again later as we know more, no doctors have been around yet.  The Smiths

Update #3 9:30 PM

Mallory slept a lot this afternoon (she needed it) and continued running a fever until early this evening. They did not get her CT scan done today, she has to ingest one of the contrast used for the specific test over a 10 hour period so it will be sometime tomorrow before the test is done and she is not allowed to eat or drink anything until the test is completed. Mal is still having pain but it seems to be getting more tolerable as time passes. She is strong and only asks for medications when she really needs it. Since she has broken her fever she should sleep better tonight than last. Mallory’s witty humor is starting to surface again and we can see the determination in her eyes once again. Thanks so much for all the prayers and notes of encouragement. The Smiths

Update #2  10:40

Wow...what a morning.  Here is the latest.  Mal has a fever right now of 103.  Dr. Heffron just came by and is starting to run test on her.  Blood cultures have been ordered.  They will give her dye via her feeding tube, which will take 4 hours or so to get down, then she will have a cat scan of her chest and stomach.  He wants to make sure her stomach is not bleeding and that nothing is being missed.  He has also called in a blood specialist to see her, her white blood count is dropping even thought the cmv is negative again this week, so they need to make sure she does not have any type of blood infection.  They have decided to remove the picc line in her right arm since it has been there for a while, just in case it has become infected.  He has changed a few meds, stopped the feds, starting IV fluids again and ordered morphine for her pain.  As said earlier her kidney numbers are getting better and the liver numbers are in good shape also.  I don"t know how long it will take us to have any results or if we will even have any today, as we get more information we will update.  Thanks for checking on us.  The Smiths

Update #1 9:30 AM

Mallory had another ruff night, a lot of pain all over and started running a fever. She received 2 units of blood last night because of low blood count (not sure why). We are still in the ICU ward because there are no open rooms on the 4 floor as of yet (“No Room at the Inn”). George and Alex (the kidneys) seem to be doing a better job because her BUN and Creatinine both went down. They drew blood to see if they can tell why she is running a fever. I feel so sorry for her, she is exhausted and just doesn’t feel well.

Thanks again for all the prayers and checking in , as I get details I will make another post.  Lisa

Update #2   9:25 p.m.

Mal had another pretty good day.  She has slept alot today and has not had a whole lot of pain.  We are still in PICU as a bed has not become available on 4East yet, we are hoping for tomorrow.  Mal"s kidneys seem to be doing alittle bit better also. She is receiving another 2 units of blood tonight as her counts are low again, I am not sure what is causing the low counts, just alot going on at one time. She is so tired and not feeling well at all as I type this note and honestly her spirits are very low.  Keep those encouraging notes coming her way as she needs them!!!

We had a wonderful home cooked dinner brought to us tonight, which I might add was delicious, our sincere thanks to the James Watkins Sunday School class at Burnt Hickory Baptist Church.  Our family appreciates this kind gesture.

Thanks for thinking of us and continuing to check on Mal.  The Smith"s

Update #1   11:40

Sorry for the delay in our update today, Mal was sleeping in so I thought I would rest also.  We did have another rough night last night, very restless and even though Mal was not on a constant IV, those machines still did alarm all night because of all the different IV meds she is on, she did get 2 more units of blood also.  Dr. Greenbaum (kidney doctor) came by, her creatinine went down a bit and her BUN went up a little bit, he still says we are headed in the right direction.  Todd came by a few minutes ago with some good news...he wrote orders for us to go to the floor today, back to our wonderful friends on 4 East, this put a smile on Mal"s face!! There is really nothing keeping her in ICU since she is not requiring dialysis and has been taken off her PGE"s.  The orders have been written but we now have to wait on a bed as they are full, we hope it happens today.  Mal"s liver numbers are still looking very good!  She is still having a lot of drainage at her open incision, which is normal.  However, some of the area is bleeding not from inside but from her skin, Todd will probably use silver nitrate today to stop this.  They are going to start her back on a continuous IV drip today to hopefully help with her kidneys.  All in all thing are improving and we look forward to any good news we can get!!  To our 4 East nurses.....we can"t wait to be back, see you soon!!  Lisa

Update #2 7:35p.m.

Mallory had a much better day today.  She was taken off her PGE"s, this is an IV med used in transplant patients to keep the veins in the liver open and flowing properly, she has been on them since the day of transplant.  Being taken off of PGE"s is another step closer to getting back to 4 East.  She was able to sit in the chair and even stood and took a couple of steps today.  Her kidneys are still trying so hard to completely kick in, her numbers are still too high but are still staying stable.  She also had her pain pump removed today.  She will get pain med as needed, was given lasiks and albumin (to help remove fluid) and will get another unit of blood this evening as her counts are still not high enough.  I am happy to report that her bilirubin is down to 1.9!!!!  It is amazing to look across the room and she no pumps going.  She is still on several IV meds but none of them are continuous and she still has the feeding tubes with feeds going constantly.  All in all today was better.  She is still having pain and soreness and is still very weak but we are headed in the right direction.  Not sure when we will relocate to 4East but hopefully very soon!  Thanks for checking on us and have a great evening.  The Smiths

Update #1 11:50 AM

Mallory had a restless night last night. The dressings had to be changes several times during the night due to a lot of leaking. Her IV meds are on pumps that have a pleasant ear piercing alarm when they go off and all 5 or 6 kept going off all night. Her kidneys seem to be recovering. Mal’s bilirubin is down below 2 for the first time in months!!!! Her eyes have lost most all of the yellow tint and are starting to have that beautiful sparkle again. The nephrologists came in this morning and said even though her BUN and Creatinine numbers are going up they seem to leveling off and would expect the numbers to start trending downwards over time. No other doctors have been in as of yet. Thanks again for all the prayers. The Smiths

Update #3, 11:20 pm

One last update:  Mal now has a picc line in both arms, it has not been decided whether they will take out the one in her right arm or continue to use it.  The port in her neck has been removed, we did have a bit of a complication as the tube got stuck on its way out.  Long story short......it is out.  They did not remove the stitches holding the port in, I am sure that will be done in a few days.  Mal has been having some bleeding at her open incision, platelets have been ordered for tonight to help with the clotting and hopefully stop this bleeding.  As far as kidneys, we are still headed in the right direction, we are just taking the long way around.  Well, it has been one long and very stressful day, we are very tired and will try to rest now.  Thanks for keeping up with our progress and for all the encouraging words for Mal.  Good night.  The Smiths.

Update #2 4:25

So far today has been a very stressful day for Mallory.  We are still waiting on the removal of the port in her neck, a surgeon will do this since she has so many stitches at the sight.  The picc line has not been taken care of yet, it has been decided that they will try to put in a new picc line in her left arm, this will reduce damage to the vein in her right arm and infection of trying to use the same sight.  However, if they are unable to get a new one in then they will work with the existing one and try to put in a larger one.  Mal is very stressed out today and has been upset some. The nurses did a dressing/bed change a little bit ago and this took a little over an hour, they are doing this about 4 times a day and it absolutely wears her out.  Please pray for her comfort and strength to get through these 2 procedures this afternoon. It is very difficult seeing her upset and having to go through so much.  Keep those "messages" coming as she loves me to read them to her. Thanks.  The Smiths

Update #1 10:50

Sorry for the delay in letting everyone know what is going on, just been kinda hectic in here.  Mal had a pretty good night last night,thanks to Ambien.  She looks better today also!  Dr. Heffron came by and is still pleased with how things are going.  The kidney specialist also came by and said although her kidney numbers are still slighlty on the rise, he thinks her kidneys are slowing coming around.  He hopes/expects to see a decrease in her kidney numbers in the next day or two. 

Mal has a port in her neck that was used for dialysis (this is the one that Dr. Heffron had to put 20-30 stitiches in), well the port has become infected with yeast, so today they will need to remove it.  The plan is to remove this port and add another IV port to her picc line.  They will give her some medicine to relax her during these two procedures, not sure what time today this will be done.  Have a good Sunday and we will update later today.  The Smiths

Update #3 9:35 p.m.

Mal had a good day today.  She ate some potato salad, dumplings, rice casserole and a popsicle.  Bridget and Derek came and brought us some home cooked food and it was delicious.  Thanks Mrs. Weeks for the pound cake, it is also delicious.  Mal sat in the chair 2 times today!  Her kidney numbers are up little but they still seem to be kicking in.  Liver numbers are looking great.  Mal had a busy day today and is exhausted so I hope this means she will sleep well.

Let me correct my update earlier, we have had 5 homecooked meals, I forgot that my wonderful husband had brought chili one night and grilled terrayki chicken one night...sorry honey...love you!!! 

On another note, Mallory has received MANY gifts while here at Egleston, she loves everyone one of them.  I just wanted to say thank you to all you for the treats and gifts you have sent her way, they truly bring a smile to her face everytime she gets one!!!  More importantly thanks for the constant prayers and for walking with us through our journey.  Lisa

Update #2 11:05

Dr. Heffron just stopped by and said things look really good.  Mal sat up in the chair again and it was a little bite easier for her.  Her kidneys appear to slowly be coming around.  Mal asked Dr. Heffron when he was planning on closing her, he told her that he could not close her up until her kidneys were back working again.  The drainage that she is getting from the incision is helping her body get rid of some of the fluids she is retaining and right now is helping to keep her off dialysis.  Right now she is sleeping as the dressing and bed change wore her out.  Hope you all have a good day and we will update again tonight.  God Bless!!!

Update #1 9:00 a.m.

Mal had a pretty good night last night and actually slept well.  However, she did have an IV machine that for some reason decided to "show out" last night.  That darn thing beeped all night long, the nurse replaced the machine, the tubing, the syringe and it still beeped all night, not the soft beeping machine, had to be the loud one.  That thing kept me up all night long, our day nurse has put a different type of syringe in it and I believe it fixed the problem.  We have not seen any doctors as of yet so we will update again affter they come by.  Alex and Geroge appear to be waking up a little more and we pray they continue to do so.  Bridget and Derek are coming to visit today and bring us some home cooked food, we are very excited about this.  We have been here almost 10 weeks and only had 2 home cooked meals since we got here, so this is a treat for us.  We hope you enjoy your day and enjoy watching your teams play.  As always thanks for checking on us.  Lisa and family

Update #2 11:35

Well the doctor’s have made their morning rounds and there is nothing new to report. Things still seem to be headed in the right direction with both the kidneys and liver. They will continue to closely monitor her blood work and decide if they need to intervene. Thanks The Smith’s

Update #1  10:00

Hello everyone.  Well, last night was another rough night, we did get a little sleep but Mal is just having a hard time getting comfortable.  Her kidney numbers went up a little today, (they need to go down), however, they seemed to start working little bit better over night.  We are hoping this is the start of Alex and George to continue working and getting better and better.  The doctors have not been in yet today but as soon as they do we will update again.  Thanks for the concerns and prayers!

Time:  10:33 p.m.

Ok, so I just could not wait, I had to post this tonight.  As you all know Mal named her liver Izzie, after her favorite character on Grey"s Anatomy.  Well, tonight was the season premiere from 9:00 - 10:00.  These two statements were made by Izzie during the show, "I have been on vacation for 17 days" and  "George, we haven"t spoken in like 17 days".  Yep, it"s that number again. Mal and I could not believe it!! Oh yeah, and from the 9:00 to 10:00 hour, Alex and George (Mal"s kidneys) worked more than they have since before transplant.  Thanks for continuing to pray for us!!!

Update #3 7:13 p.m.

Hello all:  Mal had a pretty good day today.  With some assistance she was able to get out of bed and sit in a chair for about 20 minutes, she also ate a popsicle and some jello today, we are so proud of her.  She has been awake more today and her color continues to look better.  As of her 7:00 p.m. labs her kidney numbers are holding steady and her kidneys seem to be picking up, way to go Alex and George....keep waking up.  Her liver numbers are getting better also.  We still have a long way to go but we are headed in the right direction.  The CMV virus was undetectable this week which is also good news.

If you would like to show your support for Mal and proudly wear a Team Mal shirt, please click on the link on the Home page to submit an order and see all details.  An email will be sent to Bridget Weeks (Lisa"s sister) as she and a friend Katie are handling the ordering process.  Please be sure to include in your email your name, phone number, style of shirt, sizes and how many you wish to order and mail your check right away.  Once we have the shirts someone will contact you about getting them to you.  Thanks for supporting Mal!  Our family appreciates it.

Update #2 11:09 a.m.

Dr. Heffron and Todd came by a short time ago, they said overall things are looking good.  Mal will get some blood today as her counts are low, she will also get lasiks to hopefully help reomve some of the fluid.  We are still waiting and watching on her kidneys, as of right now no dialysis.  They did say she could start drinking some water and she was happy to hear this.  Thanks for checking on us again. 

Update #1     9:40 a.m.

Well, we had another rough night last night, Mal just has such a hard time getting comfortable and being able to stay asleep.  Her liver numbers are continuing to go down, her bilirubin is 3.4, her kidney numbers are still very high but are staying somewhat stable.  Overall, she seems to be headed in the right direction.  We are waiting for the docs to come by and will update you as soon as they do.  The Smiths

Update #3    7:17

Mal had a better day today.  She has had some pain but it is manageable with the new pain pump they have given her.  She was given a bath and had her hair washed...all in the luxury of her bed.  She is very tired from this and is sleeping right now.  As of this morning her bilirubin was down to 4.3 and her other liver numbers are dropping also!!!  It appears that Alex and George are finally thinking about waking up, they are still very groggy however they are showing some life!!  They did remove the respirator earlier today and she has been talking some, still very weak but it is so nice to be able to hear that sweet little voice!!!  We ALL are so proud of her.  Thanks for checking on us again and we will update you in the morning unless one is needed before then.  God Bless you all and we love you.  The Smiths and Mawmaw

Update #2 12:45

Todd made rounds a little while ago and here is what we know:

The reason she was having so much drainage from the area left open is that her JP tube had a clot in it so the fluids trying to make their way out through the tube were unable to so it had to get out somehow.  A jp tube is a tube that is placed in the liver with a bulb on the other in that is outside Mal"s body to remove excess fluids from the liver while recovering from a transplant, this is done with all liver transplants.  Her urine out put is about the same, maybe a tiny bit more, as of right now no dialysis, with her kidney numbers being stable and her small amount of urine output they are going to wait to see what happens.  She has been waking up some but not really alot and only for a few minutes at a time.  They expect to excabate her today but only if she can wake up some more.  Once they have removed the tube and she is doing okay they will probably start "feeding" her again.  The doctors seemed pleased with how things are going and are still confident Alex and George are coming around.  Our little sweetie pie just keeps on fighting and we are so proud of her.

Mal received the perfect gift today.  Paul Chen, a friend of Mike"s, send her a stuffed animal.  It was the pink energizer bunny, just like that bunny Mal keeps going and going and going.  Also, I have already had many inquiries about the new shirts, as soon as I have all the details I will post on here.  We will be placing an order soon and will need to knowwho all wants one and the sizes, I will let you know the cost later as someone is still working on this project for us.  Thanks Katie and Bridget!!!    The Smiths

Update #10:00 a.m.

Mal did not have a great night, she had a lot of pain so they put her on a constant drip of pain meds which they have now turned off now. Pain is back so they are going to put her on a pump that she can use to get her pain meds as needed.  The area that was left open has been draining a pretty larger amount of fluids, not sure if they are concerned about this or not.  She is still not on dialysis, Todd and Dr. Heffron will reevaluate this morning and decide if they will hook her back up or leave her off. She is still producing a tiny amount of urine, her kidney numbers are staying stable  The plan right now is to remove the respirator, I believe this morning.  The doctors have not made rounds yet, I will update again when they do. She has been waking up from time to time and trying to talk which is not possible with a respirator, she did write me a couple of notes last night.  As always, thanks for checking on us and for praying for our little princess.  The Smiths

Update #3 3:40 PM

Mallory is back in her room. The surgery was successful!!! After they got in they found that she had 2 “bleeders” that were causing the swelling in her stomach and causing all the pain earlier today. The surgery took about 2 hours and Mallory is back in her room. They will keep her on a respirator until tomorrow. The area’s that were bleeding was due to swelling caused by the kidney failure. The failure caused fluid to build up and press against her liver which caused stitching to come apart. Dr. Heffron was able to sew everything back up and expects her to make a full recovery. Because of the swelling they used gore-tex around her liver and had to leave her open. This is to help remove any swelling from the procedure and also eliminate this issue over the next week or so. The other reason for leaving her open is to help some of the fluids seep out. They expect to close her in a week or so.It was a bit frightening for us today but our faith got us through our latest hurtle to recovery. Thank your for the rapid prayers today! The Smith’s

Update #2 1:00 PM

Mallory was still in pain but wanting to move forward with her recovery and wanted to sit up on and go for a walk. When Mallory went to stand she became extremely weak and felt like she was going to pass out. We helped the nurse get Mallory back in to bed, upon the nurse evaluation of Mallory her blood pressure was extremely LOW. The pain in her stomach had gotten much worse. Also, the nurse noticed that the JP drain (this is a drain placed during a liver transplant) had more blood than normal. Lauri (her nurse) started pushing large amount of fluid in her (like we have never seen done before) through the ports in her neck. It was only a short time before our room became filled with nurses and doctors. Dr. Heffron had ordered a cat scan for today but the type he wanted to do would take too long because of the contrast needed. Todd examined Mallory and called Dr. Heffron and updated him with Mal’s condition. He ordered 3 units of blood and had the nurse “Push it” directly into the port in her neck. Lauri filled large syringes with blood and started pushing it into her as quick as she could. After Dr. Heffron came in and examined Mallory we could tell by the look on his face what was next. He went out of the room and sent Todd back in with a consent form for us to sign. He feels that she has internal bleeding but not sure why. Mallory was rushed into surgery about 12:30 PM and we are now sitting and waiting for the doctors to find the out what the issue is and repair it. Mallory was in severe pain and wanted them to knock her out! All the pain meds she had received earlier had no effect on her. I don’t know how we can began to thank everyone for the prayers so far but we need more prayers to help Mallory thru this latest challenge. The Smith’s

Update #1

Mallory had a rough night Sunday night. She had a lot of pain in her back, shoulder and stomach. They were giving her morphine every 1 ½ hours for pain but did not have any effect on the pain. Beginning at 7 am she started having severe pains in her stomach. They have called the doctors to examine Mallory to see of they can find the cause of her pain. Her blood counts have dropped and her abdomen has started to swell and become firm.  Dr. Heffron and Todd are evaluating the situation and we will update you shortly.  Please keep those prayers going!!  The Smiths

Update #2,

Mallory was mentioned on WSB radio last night after the big game in Tuscaloosa (what a game!), she was chosen to receive the game ball last night.  They told a little about her story, Mark Richt will sign the ball and Mal should receive it in a few days.  The interesting part of this story is after they talked about Mallory, they told about their participation in the Children"s Miracle Network, and year to date they have raised $17,000 for this cause.....yep, the night Mal"s gets the game ball the number is 17! Mal had a pretty good day today, she got up and sat in a chair for a little while and had a bath.  Tomorrow they will sit up her some more and attempt to wash her hair.  She did receive one unit of blood today and we are still waiting on those kidneys to wake up.  Although she is still extremely weak she is beginning to look better.  Thanks for checking in on us.  The Smiths

Update #1

Mallory had a much better day Saturday than she did Friday. Once Dr. Heffron got the bleeding issue resolved it relived the stress of them constantly removing the adhesive bandage from her neck (where the stint is located) and cleaning the area then re-applying gauze and bandages. We all know how painful it can be removing a single bandage from your arm, well imagine a 4” X 4” adhesive pad on your neck being pulled on and off a half dozen times in a day. Mallory’s liver numbers are continuing to improve as are her kidney numbers. The dialysis is working just as it should and they feel confident it will remove the stress her body has placed on her kidneys. Mallory’s chest X-Ray look better and the ultra sounds continue to show normal blood flow to the liver. Mallory has a big day planned today, they are going to increase her fluid input to try to get the kidneys to work. They are also planning to get her out of bed and into a chair. This is a big step for us because it is a step towards recovery, recovery that we have been praying for a while. We are so thankful for the doctors and the nurses at Egleston (Children’s healthcare of Atlanta) who are angles on earth taking care of our daughter. We are praying for her kidneys to start working so we can move forward with her recovery. Thank you for all the prayers that have blessed us so much.

The Smith’s.