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Warriors for Widlak

@teamwidlak

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Follow along with the journey of LeeAnne Widlak’s second lung transplant💗

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Ringing the anniversary bell!!! Second lung transplant 1 year anniversary was officially July 22nd ending July 23rd. LeeAnne had a bronchoscopy on 7/21 and her 1 year post transplant meeting with the clinic today.

Biopsies showed no signs of rejection. Lung function was at 92%. All of her labs and scans look good. LeeAnne does have mild emphysema from the donor lungs (donor was likely a prior smoker). No concerns right now, just something to watch. Her stomach is still giving her a bit of grief, but we are slowly figuring out what food triggers a bad reaction so there is some progress on that front.

Over all, the clinic was very happy with her progress. She is doing great!!! Happy 1 year mom!!!!! by @teamwidlak

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3/30 Update. LeeAnne is home. Kidney needed some love w some injury from a combination of dehydration and all of the transplant meds. Right now, they are optimistic that it is just swelling in the esophagus. They will do blood work on Friday and again next week. LeeAnne is thrilled to be home so that she can attend Libby & Abby’s dance performance tomorrow at UMich. Thank you all for the many prayers. Prayers answered for a short stay. Massive love to you all. by @teamwidlak

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LeeAnne had another night at the Ritz last night. She has had problems since surgery with swallowing liquids of any type, and she has significant amounts of pain. Possible causes are swelling or the esophagus wrap could be too tight. She had X-rays and blood work yesterday (and IV fluids). They will likely do an endoscopy today to determine the best course of action. Please keep her in your prayers that there is not a second surgery and that this is a short visit. Thank you all. by @teamwidlak

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Our girls said that rent the runway didn’t have anything on this purple outfit courtesy of our friends from Spectrum.

Surgery went well. It was about 3 1/2 hours. There was a bit of scar tissue to navigate from the splenectomy that she had in high school. Because of the age of the scar tissue, it made the navigation a bit easier. In layman’s terms, they did a half wrap of the area where the esophagus meets the stomach (reduce/prevent reflux), and they cut some of the tissue where the stomach meets the intestine (helping her stomach to empty properly). She has quite a bit of pain, but that is not unexpected.

She is back in 7 heart at Meijer Heart Center to stay the night and recover. Assuming the upper GI XRay looks good tomorrow, we hope to have her home tomorrow afternoon. We will enjoy a liquid diet for the next couple of weeks while she heals.

Thank you for all of your good vibes, prayers and love. Peace be with you all.

PS. David Morgenstern Morgy, they have her back in a traditional Spectrum ball gown for recovery 😉

3/23 UPDATE

LeeAnne was discharged this afternoon. We got her home just before 5. Lots of pain, but home 🙂. XRay looked good. Liquid diet for next 5 days. Soft foods for a few weeks after. Happy that it was a short stay. Thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers. by @teamwidlak

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We played cards and had a fun dinner with the girls at UMich yesterday. We have been enjoying a few of LeeAnne’s favorites before Tuesday. LeeAnne has been doing well post transplant, but she is going on a liquid diet starting Tuesday after she goes in for abdominal surgery.

The transplant team is very concerned about her level of reflux which could aspirate into her lungs and cause rejection. Additionally, her stomach is not emptying properly. They willl do a Nissen procedure which tightens up the esophagus to reduce the reflux and they will open up the part of her stomach that empty’s into her intestines.

As you can imagine, we are nervous for another surgery. We pray for God to continue to bless the medical team that cares for LeeAnne, and we will update you all post surgery. We are grateful for all of your love and support. Thank you for all of your prayers for LeeAnne and our family. by @teamwidlak

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Today was quite a day.

Outcomes from our morning transplant appointment:

1. LeeAnne will stop blood thinners in about a week. It is terrific not to only have a few less pills, but also less blood draws every week.

2. Appointments at the clinic are now spaced out to every 3 weeks. We love our team, but we are happy to have less visits to the hospital/clinic.

3. Prednisone continues to be tapered. For anyone that has ever had this medication, or knows someone that has had it, you know how hard it is on the body. This has been compounded by the challenge of managing blood sugar and insulin levels. Huge win here.

The end of our day culminated with our first night out since January. We had a wonderful evening with our friends from Legatus. We prayed a Rosary, celebrated mass, had a wonderful dinner, and shared in insightful conversation.

Our biggest hurdles continue to be managing LeeAnne’s tremors, gaining strength and gaining weight. Though…. The chocolate pie and mousse dessert may have provided her a tasty leap forward. 🍰 by @teamwidlak

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We have a couple of neat updates:

1. The transplant team shared with us at our appointment today that LeeAnne’s lung function is up to 80 percent of her “pre-rejection” level and improving each week. They also shared that the biopsy from last week showed she had ZERO rejection present in the new lungs. YEAH!!!

2. LeeAnne has had 3 meetings with a therapist and is starting to explore her emotions. She has felt comfortable opening up to the therapist, and is having a good experience working through some of the hurdles.

3. It is hard to see, but the blue number on her watch is 2 miles. We have been going on multiple walks a day, ditched the walker two weeks ago, and we were excited to hit our two mile goal on tonight’s walk.

Thursday will be 8 weeks post transplant. Her progress is awesome. We are so grateful for your support, and we thank God giving her the strength to recover. by @teamwidlak

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LeeAnne is safely home. Her heart checked out well. No infection. There may be a small bit of fluid in the lungs creating pressure, but the surgical team cleared her to be discharged. Some medications were adjusted, and they added a few new ones to help with her tremors and the pain. It is never fun to be admitted, but we were happy to have a fast discharge, and hopeful the adjustments bring some relief. Gus is very happy to see momma back so quickly. Thank you all for being a part of our journey. by @teamwidlak

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Tough day today. We had to bring LeeAnne to the ER for a chest X-ray because of pain, tremors and nausea that she was experiencing. Our transplant team was concerned with a possible pnemouthorax. The chest X-ray looked good, but her troponin level was significantly high which had the ER staff concerned with her heart. The echocardiogram showed her heart in good shape, but they opted to admit her to track the troponin level, do a CT scan of her chest, work on the right meds for breakthrough pain, and to determine if she is on the right level of one of the rejection medications. She is feeling a bit better now, but frustrated with another overnight stay at the hospital. Praying for good news and a discharge tomorrow. We hope you all have a nice Sunday evening. by @teamwidlak

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Hi Warriors! Dad always says there are peaks and valleys to any situation. Recently, we are in a valley. Mom has had two very rough days filled with tremors, nausea and pain. Her chest is tight and her back hurts very much, so we would really appreciate an abundance of prayers today. by @teamwidlak

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Discharge Day!!! LeeAnne was admitted on July 19. Now, almost 30 days later, she left Spectrum with new lungs, new opportunity to watch the kids attend college, and the chance to watch my hair turn completely gray. We are blessed and grateful to you all for your love and support. Thank you. by @teamwidlak

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Cleared!!!! Yay!!!! Chest tubes still in, but diet restrictions gone. Yummy!!! by @teamwidlak

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