Sweet Tea & Fireflies Travel

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09/10/2024

My reasons are personal about this...maybe if people's heads weren't buried in the sand of ignorance and they took the time to understand, instead of judging and thinking it won't happen to them because they have the perfect family, life would be a little bit easier for people that do experience this! This hits close to home for me, for family and friends who live under this shadow. The days of 'it' not being talked about or being taboo should be over. In the most difficult moments of life you realize who your true friends are, and the people who really appreciate you. Unfortunately, most social media 'friends' aren't true friends. They will send you a "like" here and there, but in reality, they do not take time to read your status if they see it's lengthy. More than half will stop reading right here, or have already scrolled on to the next post on their page. I decided to post this message in support of all those who continue to battle with their mental illness. (Su***de is at an all-time high). Now, let's see who will have taken the time to read this lengthy post right through to the end. If you have read everything so far, please "like" it so that I can put a thank you on your page. More mental health awareness is urgently needed. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean people aren't suffering. Please, try to spare a little of your time with someone who may just want to talk (about anything). Talking can help us all to cope a little more, keeping things bottled up just makes it worse. Most people will say, "if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, I'll be there to help you" but will they? I believe a select few of my friends will post this, to show their support for those who may be struggling. You just have to copy and paste rather than sharing. I'd like to know who will take a minute out of their day to please write "done" in the comments. Thank you!

07/26/2024

15 days postoperative AM

Good morning everyone!! Mike is still doing great. He just has the one chest tube left and it’s taking a little longer to seal and stay inflated than expected. When they have suction on it, it keeps the lung inflated but when it’s turned off, the lung will partially collapse. So they are keeping it on today and tomorrow they will turn it off and see how it does. If it stays up, we will be outta here by Saturday evening, maybe Sunday. It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve only been here for 2 wks. It is an absolute gift from God, amazing to watch and be part of. This hospital is stellar! Everyone is so thoughtful and accommodating. It’s kind of weird to say or even think, I might miss them a little. Is that totally weird?? (I won’t miss them enough to keep me away from my home, family, husband, and all my fur babies! Oh happy day!)
Well, thank again my beautiful friends and family! Your kind thoughts and prayers have been such a blessing!! I’ll keep you updated as we go along! XOXO

07/23/2024

12 days postoperative AM

What a miraculous and crazy journey this has turned into! He walked 380ft yesterday and 400ft this morning!!! But with every “up” there are just as many if not more “downs”. They didn’t remove tubes yesterday and this morning Dr said he thought they were ready and he might get out of here after that! Then an hour later another Dr comes in and says one might come out tomorrow and the other one, hopefully the day after. And possibly no rehab either. But that is with everything else going as it should. For now it looks like Thursday or Friday and hopefully straight home. I’m a little nervous about taking him home, I know he wants to be home so badly, but also doesn’t want to go too soon and end up right back here! I’m just going to keep taking it day by day and praying for Mike to be well and at peace with everything.
Thank you all for your continued prayers! ❤️

07/22/2024

10 days postoperative PM

We are moving right along. Not at the pace that Mike was hoping for, but still going forward. It’s been a couple of really rough days, but he is still doing so good. He still has 2 chest tubes and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for hopefully getting one out tomorrow. He isn’t using any oxygen now and his O2 levels are staying right where they need to be. He is starting to walk down the hall, a little more each day. I think his biggest issues are the medicines and what they are doing to his body. The anti-rejection/immunosuppressant drugs are hard core!! His new lungs are like intruders in his body and what normally fights these kinds of things are being suppressed with anti-rejection medicines and then his brain is on the fence about all of it, so as you can imagine he’s got a bit of internal turmoil going on. But dang!! He can breathe without oxygen now! It’s just going to take some time for everything to get on the same page and work together instead of against each. Tomorrow morning he has his first bronchoscope to look down in there and get a tiny biopsy so they can check for any signs of rejection or anything else out of the ordinary. He will have to have this procedure done throughout the rest of his life.
Thank you all for the continued thoughts and prayers! We wouldn’t be where we are without you!!
Sending love and light to all!! ❤️❤️

07/19/2024

8 days postoperative AM

Hi Everyone! I’m so grateful for all the thoughts and prayers from all of you!! The comfort and love I have received has been amazing and I can’t tell you how much your kindness has touched my heart, so thank you!!
Well, here we are again and sad to report he had another bad day. They did take out 2 of the chest tubes yesterday and removed all of his stitches. All of that went really smooth and wasn’t even close to as difficult and painful as we thought it was going to be, but he still has 2 tubes left and they are still draining steadily. They changed him to a regular diet and we are trying to get the eating time and medicine time coordinated. Blood sugar is still over 150 so he’s been getting insulin. All of his vitals are within normal range and his O2 sats are good as well. He just can’t get passed feeling nauseated. We’ve had to have some classes on medicines, the lab work he’ll have to do all the time, and general after transplant care. He might get another chest tube out tomorrow, leaving him with just one and hopefully that will come out at the first of the week. I think he’s experiencing frustration and discouragement rn and I can understand why. EVERYONE tells him he’s awesome and doing great, but he just isnt feeling it. I hope and pray for him to find patience to trust the process. Trust the doctors and nurses and their experience and knowledge and to believe in himself, try not to be discouraged and most of all, just hang in there! It’s going to get better every day! Thank you all again for everything!! ❤️❤️❤️

07/17/2024

6 days postoperative AM

It’s so hard to believe it’s been almost a week since we got “the call” and then again, it seems like we’ve been here for months!! It’s such an intense journey and a mind blowing process!!
Mike continues to amaze everyone except himself. lol
He still has all 4 chest tubes because they haven’t stopped draining enough, but his right lung has almost completely cleared up. The last 3 days have definitely been more difficult than any previously, but he still takes it like a champ! All of his vitals are looking great and are right where they need to be, except for one thing….his sugar levels are too high. He never had any concerns about diabetes before so I hope it won’t be too much of a struggle to get back in the normal range. Especially since they are giving him insulin 2xs a day. Dr says more than likely caused by the high doses of steroids. (Which he will be taking the rest of his life now!) But Dr thinks we should try lowering the dosage for a day or 2 and see if that helps. It’s crazy how they assess how he’s feeling and change up his meds in one way or another. The last 2 days have been very rocky and a tiny, tiny bit disheartening. But that was just a weak moment. I’ve known for years that all of this was in God’s hands and He would be beside us all for the strength and courage we need!
Drs just left and they plan to remove 2 chest tubes today. I don’t think it will upset Mike in the least of ways!!
Please continue with the prayers and send love and good vibes!! I feel the love and hugs with me all the time and I appreciate you all so much. I’ve been trying to keep everyone up to date, but for some reason I feel at least 2 days behind. I think I’ll start using the number of the day post op and see if I can keep up better that way. lol
I’ll let you know how removing the chest tubes go!! Thanks again everyone! Have a great day!!

I LOVE this!!
07/17/2024

I LOVE this!!

07/14/2024

Good morning everyone!! Thank you all for all the continue prayers and good vibes!! The power of prayer is incredible!! Mike continues to do well and amaze everyone!! Still having a little trouble getting pain under control but he is able to sit up in a chair beside the bed for a few hours, eating soft food diet now without any major issues. He had both catheters in his neck removed, an additional catheter, the arterial blood gas detector that was in his wrist was removed. IV’s are slowly getting less and less, however he has also started taking a lot of his anti rejection meds but most are orally. I think the count is around 15 pills 3xs a day! He takes 3-5 breathing treatments at least twice a day. He came out of surgery with 4 liters of oxygen and he is down to 1 liter now and his O2 levels continue to be right where they are suppose to be!! I’m so proud of him! His bravery, and perseverance, his efforts and desire to keep moving forward and to excel! Dr just left and said he might get 2 of the 4 chest tubes out tomorrow. And hopefully he will get moved to a regular room as well! Progressive forward motion will get him out of the hospital by Friday or Saturday!! But if not he will continue with his amazing efforts and have the all this behind him before too long. I’ll keep posting updates as I can. Again, thank you all for your help!!!

07/12/2024

Good morning everyone!! We got here around 6 this morning and they had already started weening him off sedation in hopes of getting the breathing machine out. He is doing great but is obviously very uncomfortable. If you know Mike, you know how seriously impatient he can be. He looks like he wants to get up and make a break for it! lol
But seriously, he is doing fantastic! Doctors are saying his surgery was absolutely “pristine”! Don’t think it could have gone any better.
Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers and good wishes! I am more grateful than I can find words to express!! I have felt and experienced the power of prayer over the last few days and it has been amazing!!
I will continue to keep everyone posted as we continue this journey!!

07/11/2024

We just talked to the doctor and they are wrapping it up!! They said the lungs fit perfectly and they started working with no issues!! 6-8 hour surgery done in 4!!! Thank you God!! Next 12 hours are going to be super crucial to watch for rejection and any bleeding, so he's not out of the woods yet, but he is certainly on a better path!! He is still in recovery and we won’t be able to see him for at least 2 more hours, and he will still be intubated, but if he keeps doing so well, he might even be able to eat breakfast in the morning!!!
I’ll keep you posted!!
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!!! Much love to you all!!
Oh happy day!!

07/11/2024

They took him into surgery about 2pm and they say a bilateral lung transplant will take 6-8 hours. We just got our first update and they said they have removed his right lung and he is doing good and is stable!!! 🙏🏼

07/11/2024

Today seems like a great day to get a new set of lungs! We got a call from the transplant center last night saying to get ready and sure enough, we got to the the hospital at 5! The donors surgery is scheduled for 9, so mikes surgery is scheduled for noon. Please pray for the donor’s family and loved ones. The donor is such an amazing blessing for us, but grieving and experiencing such a loss can be so devastating. Please pray for their peace and send lots of loving good vibes!! Mike also needs all the prayers and love you can send! He’s tough as nails but still needs all the love and support he can get! Thank you all so much and I will keep you posted as soon as anything changes!! Lots of love to all!!! ❤️❤️❤️

07/10/2024

Happy Heavenly Birthday Nema!! I think of you all the time and miss you so much! I am so blessed to have been part of your life and share such wonderful family times!! I love you sweet girl!!! Until we meet again, rest in peace beautiful girl!! ❤️❤️❤️

06/13/2024

Update! The donor lungs did not work out and he’s going home until more are available! Thanks again everyone for all your thoughts and prayers! I’ll keep you posted as we continue on this rollercoaster journey!

06/13/2024

God is good my friends! Mike got the call we have been waiting for! His doctor has accepted some lungs and we will be at the hospital at 8am tomorrow to start another phase in this long journey! Please pray and send good vibes all day tomorrow and for the long recovery ahead! Pray for the the donors family and send as much love as possible! I will post agin tomorrow when I know more. Thank you all for your thought and prayers and love and good vibes! Mike’s a tough old bird but he wouldn’t be here without all the love and prayers from everyone! You are amazing! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

04/10/2024

UPDATE:
The National Transplant Foundation is ceasing their operation and will not be distributing donations to any transplant recipients. All donations received to date will stay with the foundation. Mike won’t receive any of it. Please DO NOT donate through NTF. We are currently seeking advise and direction from the OKC Transplant Center and will advise as soon as we have better information. These changes will not affect his position on the list in anyway. It only means he won’t be receiving the $1400 that has been donated as of today. Thank you all so much for your thoughts, prayers, donations, and good wishes. I will continue to post updates as I receive them. ❤️❤️

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Lubbock, TX

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