Update #1, 11:17 a.m.

Wow what a night and day so far!  Mike stayed with Mal last night and my mom and me went to the Mason house to get some sleep.  I must admit we did not get much, worried about our girl!  Yesterday they replaced the line in her neck with a much bigger one for the dialysis. Well, ever since this was done her neck would not stop bleeding.  They were constantly needing to change the bandage on her neck and each time it would be soaked in blood and blood all over Mal.  We were beginning to get very concerned.  Dr. Heffron was called in this morning to take a look.  Let me just say again, DR. HEFFRON IS THE MAN!!!  He came in, gave Mal some pain meds, removed all the dressings and added about 20 more stitches to the site, the bleeding has stopped and the gauze is white again.I would like to mention that we have a wonderful nurse, Lori taking care of Mal today.  Because she is on diaylsis she has her own private nurse.  This was a very tough 24 hours for Mal as she was bleeding so bad, unable to move alot and getting VERY frustrated.  She is a trooper though and is trying to keep her positive attitude.  They have decided she does need some nutirition so they will give her a feeding tube.  Although, she is not happy about this she knows it is needed.  The dialysis is going good and thanks to the machine her kidney numbers are improving.  Please say another special prayer that her kidneys "wake up" very soon.  We appreciate your checking on us.  Several folks have asked who Mal will pull for during the big showdown tonight...two words will answer that, ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!    ---Lisa

Update #1 4:30 PM

At noon today the doctors started getting Mallory ready for dialysis by removing the line that they put in her neck during surgery and installing a larger line. This new line will be used to remove the blood from her body and send it thru the CVVH machine for filtering. They will use the same line to send the filtered blood back into her body. After they put the new line in she started bleeding where the put the new line in. The ICU doctors had to add 3 more stitches to her neck area to try and stop the bleeding. This did not help much, the reason is that because of her high kidney number she is not clotting very well. They covered the area with an adhesive bandage and started hooking her up for dialysis. This should lower the kidney numbers and allow her blood to clot on its own. She has been on the machine for about an hour now and it has already removed about 2 liters of fluid. She will be on dialysis 24 hours a day until her kidneys start working. This method of filtering the blood is less intrusive to the body and is preferred by the doctors especially on transplant patients. Mallory has had a rough day and has been “put through the ringer”. Thanks for all your prayers.

Mallory had a rough night Thursday night. After being medicated for such a long time and the breathing tube down her throat for 4 days it was very hard to understand anything she was saying. We could tell that she was getting frustrated trying to ask us questions and we were unable to understand her. Eventually we had to ask her questions that she could answer by shaking her head yes or no. The liver (Izzie) is still working well but her kidneys (Alex & George) are not working at all. Mallory’s Bun and Creatinine have reached a point where they will have to start dialysis (not what we wanted to hear). There are 2 different types of dialysis they can do. One would be about 3-4 hours a day and the other is a 24 hour process. We have been told she will have CVVH, which is the 24 hour process. With this type rapid blood pressure changes and blood clotting would not be an issue. We are praying that this will be a VERY temporary process and her kidneys start back up quickly. Mallory has been getting morphine for pain and is still getting constant visits from the respiratory therapist to help get the right lung up and functioning. After 4 days of having an automatic blood pressure cuff that takes her blood pressure every 15 minutes on her left arm she is having trouble lifting her arm. She still has good strength in her grip but it will take some work for her to regain strength in that arm. This morning when the respiratory therapist wanted to roll her on her side she told them that she could help and she did! She was able to help roll her self over! Thanks to everyone for the prayers and notes of encouragement.

On another note, Michael received a phone call yesterday and was offered a job with the City of Marietta Fire Department, we are so proud of him.  When we told Mal, she smiled and said that made her happy, she loves her big brother!!

The Smith’s

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  P.S...thanks to Mike for doing all the updates, he is doing a great job!

Update: 5:40 PM

They took Mallory off the ventilator this afternoon so she is breathing on her own!!!!
They were waiting for her to wakeup and stay awake for some time before they would take the breathing tube out of her throat. It was hard keeping her calm prior to removing the breathing tube. She was extremely anxious and scared being awake and having the tube down her throat. Mallory’s throat was sore and hurt to talk so we have only been asking her question that she could nod her head to instead of speaking. Sometimes with good news comes some not so good news. As it looks now they may start dialyses tomorrow unless her kidneys start working. We are praying hard for her kidney to start working on there own. So Izzie if you can read this talk to your kidney buddy’s (George & Alex) and put them to work!

Good morning everyone. Things are about the same here in the ICU ward today. Mallory’s kidneys are still not working yet. The nephrologists are keeping a close eye on her and adjusting her medicines to assist her body until her kidneys start working again. They are hesitant to start dialysis as of yet because it would not make her kidneys start working it would only perform the functions that the kidneys would normally do. Mallory has opened her eyes several times! Yesterday afternoon while the respiratory therapist  was moving her she opened her eyes with a painful look. The therapist asked her if it hurt her and she shook her head yes. It was hard seeing her in pain but it also did our hearts good to see her open her eyes and respond. Her chest x-ray look better this morning, there were able to see more opened area’s in her lungs and they say that the upper part of her right lung is sounding better too. Izzie like’s her new home because the liver numbers are getting much better and Mallory’s color is returning more and more as each day passes. Mallory has the most caring nurses on this planet! Several of her nurses have come by to check on her while she has been in the ICU ward. We all know that Mallory tends to rub off on people, well her nurses from 4-East have named her kidneys. Her right kidney is named Alex and left kidney is George. Both are characters from the TV show Grey’s Anatomy. They made a picture of her kidneys along with Alex & George’s picture. Mallory will get a big kick out of it when she wakes up.

And we could never forget Mike and Kyle, Malloy’s favorite interventional radiological “Dynamic Duo” that have keep a close eye on her too! For now it’s just another waiting game that we have gotten too good at. We are praying hard that her kidneys get the message for Izzie that it is time to wake up and get to work! We just praiseGod that our little girl is her and with Gods help we will get thru these other issue too.

The Smiths

Update #2, 4:45

Mallory is still on the breathing machine and it will not be taken off today, maybe tomorrow.  An xray this morning showed that her right lung is full of fluid.  The Respiratory Therapist has worked with her throughout the day to try to resolve this, they have added a couple of meds and have "beat" on her lung, it sounds better this afternoon so hopefully by tomorrow"s xray it will look better.

Her kidneys are not functioning at all, the doctors say this is not unusual given what she has been through.  They have made adjustments to her meds and are decreasing the amount of her fluid intake.  In some cases the kidneys just need a few days to recover from the surgery and will start working on their own.  However, they will monitor her closely and if necessary give her CVVH, which is a form of dialysis and will do the work for her kidneys until they start working again.  Of course, this worries us but the doctors are optimistic that things will get better in time. 

Izzie"s numbers are getting better and she is doing great, maybe she needs to "kick" the kidneys to get them going again.

Thanks for checking on us and thanks for your continued prayers!  The Smith"s & Mawmaw

Well, Izzie seems to like her new home. Mallory’s liver numbers are continuing to improve. The liver numbers that have been so high for many weeks are now coming down dramatically. Her color has also improved dramatically due to the lower bilirubin. Her most pressing issue now are her kidneys, they are not functioning well at all. This is a result of the surgery. The Dr.’s have reduced the fluid input to a minimum to help with the water retention in her body. They will probably call a nephrologists in today to review the results and see if it will be necessary to start her in dialysis. The doctors said this is not unusual for the kidneys to not function well after a major surgery but they are confident they will recover. She is still on the respirator and will probably be for another day due to the kidney issue and also fluid that was in her right lung prior to surgery. Now since Izzie has found her way to her new home she can do some house cleaning and get those kidneys working like they should. We want to thank everyone for all the prayers that guided the donor to us and also guided the surgeon’s hands during the procedure.

Our First night with Izzie was a success!

We got settled in to ICU last night and things went well. Mallory is still on a respirator and will probable be for the reset of the day. Mallory’s nurses were busy ALL night long; no more that 3 minutes went by that one of the nurses was not in the room administering medicines, drawing blood or checking her vital signs. Her blood counts were good and the liver numbers are what the doctors expected. A ultra sound was performed and the blood flow also looks good. It is already amazing that Mallory’s color has improved dramatically, still a long way to go but we are headed in the right direction. As before Mallory’s recovery is in the hands of an excellent nursing staff, brilliant doctors and most importantly God’s healing hands. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery.

Thanks to EVERYONE for all the prayers!

The Smiths

Update #6 9:00 PM

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!!!
We just saw Mallory, being wheeled down the hall to the ICU ward. Dr. Heffron met us in the hall and gave us an update on her condition. Dr. Heffron told us that she received 24 units of blood during the 11 hour procedure. He also told us that the extraction of the old liver was very difficult.. To quote Dr. Heffron “It was rooted in”! Dr. Heffron told us that this was one of the most difficult liver removals he had ever done!
He was very pleased with the new liver and was able to use her existing artery and connect her old bile duct to the new liver (VERY GOOD FOR BOTH).

They tested her blood and her Bilirubin and it is DOWN to 6!!!!! Praise the lord! Prior to surgery it was 26. Mallory is being settled in to the ICU ward and will be on a respirator until sometime tomorrow. Like they told us before she will be closely monitored over the next 24 hours. We are thankful for and are still asking for everyone’s prayers.
We also want to thank Dr. Heffron and all the people who assisted with the surgery (If we had all the names we would put them here too!!).
With our joy is also sorrow. We have prayed for the donor’s family and the life saving gift they have given our daughter and family. We are thankful to God for our gifts we have received and pray that we can also one day bring the same joy to another deserving person. We will be posting more updates as we have them.

THANK YOU EVERYONE

The Smiths

Update #6, 5:58

Mal"s new liver is now in and flowing well, she is doing good and is stable.  We expect her to be out of the OR in about an hour and half, she will then be taken directly to ICU.  Dr. Heffron should be coming to talk to us after the surgery and we will post another update.  Thanks for checking on us.

Update #5 3:50 PM

We just got our update from the OR. They have gotten her old liver out (Good Bye Doug) and have started the process of connecting the new liver (Welcome Izzie). She had has some bleeding and is receiving blood. Her vital signs are good and the process is going as planned. Not sure how much longer it will take but we will be as patient as we can be. Keep the prayers going! We will update as soon as we get more information.

Update #4     2:05

Just received a call from the OR, they are still working on getting her old liver out.  Mal is doing fine and all her vitals are all stable. Keep those prayers going. Thanks for checking in on us.

Update #3 12:40 PM

We just got an update from the operating room and Mallory is doing well.
Thanks for the prayers.

The Smith"s

Update #2 11:19:27 AM

We just got a call from the operating room, Mallory was doing fine. Things are just getting started. They will keep us updated every hour or so. Thank you for your prayers!!

The Smith’s

Mallory’s Surgery Update#1:

So many people have asked us to keep them up to date with Mallory’s status during her surgery so we will be making post as they update us from the operating room.

Mallory was very nervous this morning but Michael (Mallory’s brother) lead the family in a prayer praising God for his mighty power and glory. Michael also prayed for guidance for the doctors and compassion for the donor’s family.

They took Mallory in at 9:30, it will take them about an hour to prep her with all the lines they need during the surgery. She will have 2 lines in each arm, one in her neck and possibly one in her groin.

They expect to get started around 11:00 with the surgery itself. The surgery could take anywhere from 6 to 10 hours to complete. One of the doctors who will be assisting with the surgery told us that the donor liver is a “GOOD” liver.

At Mallory ‘s first transplant she did not want any pictures to be taken, this time she has asked us to take pictures so she can see the before and after pictures and also all the equipment that will be hooked up to her.

While Mallory was in the operating holding area we had an opportunity to see her under the florescent lights. We could tell she was a very sick young lady but after the transplant her color will improve dramatically.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers, notes, cards and calls!

The Smiths

Update:

Well we have a slight delay with Mallory’s transplant. One of our wonderful nurses came in around 6 pm and told us that the surgery would not be until the morning (THE 17^th). As far as we know right now the donor liver is OK, they are trying to coordinate the other life saving gifts this person is donating. This coordination takes a bit to work out because they want to help as many people that they can. We are slightly disappointed that there is a delay but we are still thrilled that the finish line is now in sight. We are thankful that we have been shown there is light at the end of our long tunnel. We are also praying that God lay’s his healing hands on the donor’s family and provides them comfort and strength in their time of sorrow. Thank you all for the kind words and notes you have left for Mallory and our entire family. We will try to keep everyone update tomorrow during Mallory’s transplant.

God Bless

The Smith’s

Short update......Mallory had a pretty good night last night and was able to sleep good.  Her BR went down a bit and all other numbers are stable, she is still listed as a 29. 

Hope you all have a good day and your team wins...unless of course they are playing one of our teams!! HA!!

Thanks for checking in on our girl!!

Update #2

Ok, so call me a proud moma but I just had to brag a little bit.  For all of you that have ever met Mal, you know how sweet and special she is.  Well, our nurse for tonight, Robin (who I might add is so sweet and caring) told me that she has never "taken a patient" home with her, that is until she met Mallory.  She said she was having a hard time deciding on whether or not she wanted to move to the 6th floor when the transplant unit is built out or stay here on the 4th floor.  Well, having Mallory as a patient has inspired her and she said she is almost sure she will move to the transplant, which is awesome, she will be a great asset to them.  She has her church praying for Mal and thinks Mal is very sweet and special.  Isn"t that just awesome!!!

Mal has had a rough day and has slept most of the day, headache!!!  The IV feeds were started tonight, the good news is that they did not have to stick her, they were able to use her picc line.

Praying for our miracle tonight!!!!!  God bless and good night.  The Smiths

Dang it....No calls during the middle of the night!!!  We had a rough night last night, not much sleep, thanks to the feeding tube.  It kept her up all night, she just cannot tolerate it.  Dr. Romero told the nurse she could take it out this morning around 7:30.  Later today we will start with the IV feeds. 

As far as numbers, Mal is still listed as a 29.  Her bilirubin did go down a tiny bit to 26.9.  Her blood counts went down today and her platelets remain very low. 

Thanks for checking on us...hope everyone has a nice weekend. 

I have been asked to post the address to the hospital on the website:

CHOA - Egletson, 1405 Clifton Road, Room 466, Atlanta GA 30322

Update #2

Mal has pretty much slept all day today.  She did get the feeding tube in earlier and handled it very well.  However, she hates having it.  Dr. Romero came by and told her if she just could not handle it he would do TPN feeds via an IV.  She was all for this option so it looks like we will lose the feeding tube tomorrow and get an IV for her feeds.  Normally, a person with liver issues will be fed via a tube instead of the IV, IV feedings are not so kind to the liver.  However, Dr. Romero says he will allow this for Mallory since her liver is already damaged and a new one is hopefully right around the corner.

My feeling is that we are going to get the call tonight!!  or at least this weekend.  I don"t know why but I just feel it, maybe I am just anxious!  Anyways....please PRAY we get the call very soon.  We will post as soon as we do!!!! 

Mal is a trooper and is doing a great job!  We are so proud of her.  

Mallory"s br went up to 27.6, her other numbers were stable, she is still listed at a 29.  She had a very good birthday yesterday, we threw a small party for her last night, she had fun but was totally wiped out afterwards.  She went to sleep around 8:30 and slept about 12 hours only waking up a few times.  She is very weak, tired and just does not feel good.  I had a talk with her last night about her eating because her calorie count is very low.  She told me this morning that although she hates it she knows a feeding tube is needed, so today she will get that done.  Please pray for her in regards to the feeding tube!!

We are just still waiting on the arrival of Izzie!  Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes and notes on Mal"s journal, you are appreciated.  Also, please pray for a friend of ours Katherine, she is 15 and just finished a very tough year of chemo and is now in maintenance, she is an incredible person!   Lisa

Happy Birthday Mallory!!! 

Last night Mal"s nurses gave her a party at midnight, it was great.  I took her for a walk around 11:45 and they decorated her room, it is so cute.  She knew they had something planned for midnight but did not know all the details.  One of the nurses, Jennifer, made her one of her favorite desserts, Chocolate Delight, recipe provided by her Aunt Bridget.  She had homemade cookies from Becky and they are delicious...we are saving you some Michael.  She received several gifts and had a great time.  We finally turned out the lights around 1:00 a.m.  We will eventually get some pictures posted.

Mal slept good last night, I think she was worn out!  Her bilirubin went up, 25.9, blood counts stable, and kidney numbers went down.  She is still on the list at 29! She is tired alot but still very motivated to get stronger to prepare for the surgery, we are all so very proud of her.  Dr. Romero told us yesterday, we are still ok and he is not to the point of getting "concerned" yet. 

I am praying for a miracle today...a new liver on her birthday. 

Lisa and family

Update #2

Because Mal was having a lot of pain today, the doctor"s decided she could have a few of her pain meds back.  We are still just waiting for the call and pray it comes soon.  Her night nurses are going to wake her up at midnight tonight and give her a birthday party complete with sweets and gifts, she is so excited!!

By the way.....Doug"s replacement has a name....Mal decided on "Izzie"!!  Izzie is her favorite character on Grey"s Anatomy, played by Katherine Heigl, who is a Spokesperson for Donate Life America.  Go Izzie!!!

Only 3 more days til Mal"s birthday!  Yippee!!!

Mal had somewhat of a rough day today, she had a lot of pain last night and again today.  Dr. Romero ordered an x-ray of her right side since that is where most of her pain is coming from.  The results showed fluid in her right lung, we knew it was there from an x-ray earlier in the week but apparently a little more fluid had built up  They will give her 2 new medicines for 3 days to help get rid of the fluid. 

She had a few visitors today, Coach Fak, her husband Jason and Baby Emma stopped by.  Mal was so happy to see them and Emma is just beautiful.  Michael and his girlfirend came this evening for a while and well for all of you that know Michael, know that there is never a dull moment when he is around and he always makes his sister smile!!!  And, of course, Mike and Mawmaw were here most of the day with us.

So, it was kind of a quiet day with lots of sleep.  

Please continue to pray for a liver soon for Mal Mal!!!  God Bless you all.  Lisa

We had a good day today.  Mal had a good bit of visitors but it was a good day for them as she was feeling good for the most part.  Coach Bettis (teacher from senior year) dropped by for a bit.  Then my sister Kim and her daughter Morgan cam from Alabama.  Shortly after my sister Bridget and her husband Derek came from Alabama also.  Bridget brought Mal some homemade cupcakes and she loved them!  Mike and my mom spent the day also, and brought sausage balls (at Mallory"s request, Mike made them) and also chili cheese nachos.  Later on my grandmother and Aunt from Mobile came with my Aunt Bonnie that lives in Marietta.  They brought with them many cards and treats for Mal. Farid, Mal’s boyfriend, and his dad surprised Mal and stopped by for a visit as well.  So, you can see we did not go hungry today and we enjoyed seeing everyone.  Oh yeah, and Mallory got a new cell phone today and she loves it.

We watched the Bama game, although it was not the prettiest at least we won.  When the game first started and Bama scored right away we were yelling and in came the nurses, I think we might have scared them a little!  Cal won and Mal was happy about that.  I will admit Mal feel asleep during the UGA game, she was exhausted, I watched the game and updated her at the end.  We are sorry the dawgs lost...I would not want to be practicing with them next week.  I imagine Coach Richt will work them hard! 

Mal"s bilirubin went up again today, 18.9! Her other liver numbers were stable.  Kidney numbers stable.  Clotting factor went up also.  So, with her new numbers her score (MELD) went up to 25, this buts her in a different category and should get her a liver faster.  We asked today if we would go home before transplant, Dr. Heffron said if she were to start feeling better and get stronger then it is possible, he says she is just too sick to take home right now, and we all agreed with him.  She did receive 2 units of blood today also. 

Mal has a birthday is 4 days, hard to believe she will be 19!!  What a journey she has had.

Please continue to pray for Mallory and a short wait.  God Bless you all and good night.  Lisa

By the way....Madison...Mal sends a special hello to you.  And, says thank you so much for caring.

Great News, Mallory has been placed on the transplant list today.  Please pray our wait will not be a long one. 

Also, our wonderful hairdresser Marian came down today and gave Mal a haircut.  She got about 4 inches cut off and it looks great, Thanks Marian.

Mal had a pretty good day.  Mawmaw is in town now so she will be hanging out at Egleston with us some, and with her around there is never a dull moment.  Mal"s good friend Alyssa came by for a visit and they really enjoyed seeing each other. 

As far as numbers today, Mal"s blood counts were down, kidney numbers down and her bilirubin is now at 17.7.

Bama plays Vanderbilt tomorrow, Mal has requested sausage balls and chili cheese nachos, so Mike will prepare those and be here in time for the big game.  Roll Tide!!!!

Thanks for checking in on us.

Mallory is still not "officially" on the transplant list yet.  Because she is not in "fulminant liver failure" the hospital has to prepare documents and submit them to the insurance company for approval. The other option is for the hospital finance department to override this and let them list her without preapproval.  Since the insurance company is taking their time, the hospital  can opt to proceed without approval, which we think might happen tomorrow morning.

Mal had a decent day.  She did some physical and occupational therapy.  The doctors want her to try to regain some of her strength so she will receover well after transplant. 

Her bilirbin went down a bit today as did her other 3 liver numbers.  Her kidney numbers went up and her blood counts went down. 

Please pray that Mal gets a healthy new liver soon and does not have wait too long.

Lisa and Mike

I seem to always see a typo in my post after I submit it....so from here on out

Pardon any typos!!!

Wow, I cannot believe the words I am about to type.  Dr. Heffron came by earlier, after looking at the biopsy and the fact that her numbers went up again today.  As soon as the paper work is done and the insurance has been approved, Mal will be listed for a new liver.  Hers is damaged and she needs a new one.  We are thankful for "Doug" as he did save her life, bet he is just not working for her anymore.  That is really all we know at this point.  Please continue to pray for Mallory, the doctor"s,  and all her nurses!!  Lisa

What a long day it has been today. Mallory’s Bilirubin went down today to 16.4 (was 19.2 Monday) yea! But her other liver numbers went up (boo!). They gave her a new medicine to help with the itching and it also made her sleep pretty good last night. The doctors scheduled a procedure today to check the stint for obstructions and also a liver biopsy. We were lucky as they were able to get her in a few hours earlier than scheduled. After the procedure the doctor came and told us that the stint was still clear (we were hoping for a blockage which would explain the rise in her numbers) and she did fine. The doctors wanted to get the procedure done early so they could get results of the biopsy back today. When Mallory got back from surgery she was in great deal of pain. If anyone ever tells you a liver biopsy is not painful have them ask Mallory! She slept the afternoon away and woke up hungry which is a good sign. We all sat here anticipating the doctors to come by this evening to see us. One of her doctors came by around 7 to tell us that the liver biopsy did show liver damage and they were not exactly sure what has caused this.

So what now? Well they are going to schedule a special MRI for possibly tomorrow at Emory. The doctor that performs these special MRI’s is known world wide. The reason for the MRI is to get a better picture of her liver and see the extent of the damage. If the MRI shows a large amount of damage she will be put on the list to receive a new liver. The doctor’s will continue to monitor her blood work and if things do not improve over the next few days they will place her back on the transplant list. So, depending on the outcome of the MRI and the labs over the next few days, we might be looking at a new liver for Mal. These were not the words we wanted to hear to but it is what is. We talked with Mallory and told her everything and this child is just amazing! She was upset but handled it with the courage and determination that she has shown us throughout this entire journey. Our hearts were saddened with today’s news but our faith is strong that Mallory will win this battle and continue on with the wonderful journey the lord has planned for her. Thank you all for your continued prayers, thoughts and concerns!  We will overcome this. 
As you all probably know Mal was planning to attend UGA beginning this fall, due to this set back she has put off her college attendance and will try to start in January.  Although, Mallory is currently planning to attend UGA, she is still a BAMA girl at heart, so with that said ROLL TIDE!!!!

Mike and Lisa

Happy Labor Day to everyone! 

Mal had a pretty good night and is feeling pretty good today.  Her bilrubin is at 19.2 today and her other 3 liver numbers went up as well.  Her kidney numbers are almost normal again.  Her white blood count is still low so they have decided to give her a dose of neubagen to help boost her count, this medicine usually makes her bones hurt, please pray for no pain!  Dr. Heffron will get a biopsy done tomorrow and as soon as we have the results we will let you all know.

Mal wanted some swedish meatballs from the cafeteria at IKEA, so off I went.  On the way back I had to slam on brakes...well what do you think happened to the meatballs.  Let"s just say we need to deep clean a floor mat.  So, I turned around and back to Ikea I went.  Mal ate 5 meatballs and is saving the rest for dinner tonight.  This is a great calorie source for her as each one has 70 calories, we are trying to push the calories to avoid that nasty feeding tube.

Mallory has had a good day today.  Her request for dinner was chili, so Mike made a pot and he and Michael came down and the four of us had dinner together in the cafeteria.

Her bilirubin was 18.6 today.  Her kidney numbers are stable. Her WBC is still low as are her platelets.  Dr. Heffron ordered some additional steroids as a one time dose today and he said that he will see what her numbers are tomorrow.  If they do not go down or if they go up he will schedule a biopsy for Tuesday to check her liver.  After the reults of the biopsy he will reevaluate at that time.

Please keep those prayers going!!

Lisa

Even though we are still stuck here in this hospital, we are excited about today. College football is back and we are ready!  Mal is sporting her Georgia hat and comfy pants, matched up with her Bama shirt!  For all those of you that don"t know, Mal"s favorite 3 teams are Alabama, Georgia and Cal.  All three of her teams play tonight.  Our room is decorated with a hat representing each team.  She decided not to wear anything Cal, the hat she has is yellow and well, she has enough yellow going on without adding a hat.

This is an emotional day for Mal, as she is supposed to be at UGA getting ready for the game tonight, she has a ticket but will just watch from here this time.  Her emotions are running wild today, but I keep reassuring her that she will get there.

Her bilirubin went up again today, 18.8, Dang it!  I told Dr. Heffron it does not surprise me that her bili is being so stubborn, my dads name was Billy and I will admit he had a stubborn streak in him!  Her kidney numbers went down a little, blood counts stable and other liver numbers stable.  Dr. Heffron came by and decided to open the stint bag back to drainage, so we will see what tomorrow brings.  Dr. Vos ordered some zinc and magnesium to her daily pills to hopefully help with her leg pain and also ordered for her to start physical therapy, which we think is a great idea.

Hope you have a great Saturday and your team wins!! 

Hello all!!  This is my first entry so it will be a long one.  I will update you on how things have been going for Mallory over the past 6 weeks or so.  Mal was not feeling well and was admitted to Egleston on July 24th and as of today we are still here.  Mallory was diagnosed with a bile duct blockage and we were told she would need a stint again.  Most of you will remember that we went through this once before at the beginning of the year. Because the bile duct was so narrowed it took 3 attempts to get the stint pushed through the blockage.  Dr. Heffron told us if the stint could not be pushed through he would probably need to do major surgery on her.  We are so thankful it worked on the last attempt.

She has had 2 stint replacements since we arrived here, they replaced the first one in order to go up in size, the second one was replaced after determining it was clogged.  Earlier this week they checked the current one to see if it was clogged because her bilirubin continues to go up.  The stint was injected with dye and it was flowing properly so it was left in place.

Since our arrival on July 24^th, she has had many issues to deal with.  Mallory has had to receive MANY units of blood, platelets and plasma.  She had a feeding tube at one time but was unable to keep it down.  She is trying very hard to eat in order to avoid this again.

Mallory has labs drawn every morning around 6:00 a.m. and this is the best way for her doctors to keep up with how she is really doing.  Our main concerns are her liver numbers, kidney numbers and blood counts.  I will give you a brief lesson on “numbers”:

Liver numbers – AST, ALT and GGT these three numbers should be 40 or below.  Mal’s have been elevated since we arrived but have remained stable, as of today AST is 106, ALT is 87 and GGT is 223.  The final liver number that is measured is called bilirubin (BR), this number should be 1.0 or below, Mal’s has gone up and down, mostly up and is now at 16.4.

Kidney numbers – BUN and Creatinine, these numbers monitor her kidney function and show if she is dehydrated.  BUN normal range is 5-20, today Mal’s is 13.  Normal Creatinine is 1.0 or lower, today Mal is at 1.7. 

Blood counts – they mainly look at her white blood count (WBC), Hemoglobin and Hematocrit (H&H), and platelets.  WBC normal is 4,000-12,000, today Mal is at 1,800.  H&H normal is around 13 and 34, Mal is at 9.8 and 27.6.  Platelets normal range is 150,000-450,000, today Mal is at 47,000.  So, if you use these guidelines you can keep up with how her numbers are doing. 

Right now our main concern is the BR, is it WAY to high.  The stint is working properly which means the bile duct is open so the bile can flow through it.  Because her BR is so high, she is very yellow as are the whites of her eyes.  She is very tired both mentally and physically and just ready to feel better.  She has bruises all over her body; this is due to her platelets being so low.  The child looks like I must beat her at night!

She has had a few other issues to deal with since we were admitted, but I will not go into all of them.  These issues have certainly slowed things down.  I really could go on and on but feel like I have covered the main areas of concern.

Right now we are in a watch and wait mode, which is not fun, but we do what we have too.  Mallory is also trying to drink and eat as much as possible, which is a struggle at times, she is being pumped full of fluids so she feels full all the time.  Her doctors are telling us it is possible her liver has some damage so therefore it is taking things longer to get back to normal, which they predict will happen. 

Mallory has been through so much over the last year or so of her life and she has been an inspiration to so many of us.  I am so proud of her and the strength and faith she has shown.  Please feel free to sign Mal’s guest book and offer her words of encouragement, I am sure it will put a smile on her face to see how many people she has praying for her.

Many of you have been on this journey with us since day 1, some of you have just learned of Mal’s story.  We are thankful for all of you and appreciate all the prayers, thoughts, and concerns.  I will do my best to update this site as often as possible.

Mal will beat this and be attending UGA in no time!