posted Sep 13, 2010 8:58 AM by Domain Administrator
Yesterday she has had a little bit of a setback: her pottasium level was too low and she was transferred to ICU. So if you planned on visiting tomorrow: please wait till she comes out of ICU again.
Otherwise her bodyfunctions are doing great. According to Marian this setback is probably due to the fact that eating is hard for Michelle right now. They are weening her of the pain medication and the scars are still hurting her. However despite pain: she really needs to eat. She needs the energy and her stomach needs to start working again. She can have everything basically except raw food.
So a desparate call from Marian to all of us:
"Whenever you visit her or talk to her on the phone: ask her what she ate and try to support her to take some food. Again, if she is not eating, she is not coming home."
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posted Sep 10, 2010 9:10 PM by Domain Administrator
posted Sep 8, 2010 9:56 AM by Domain Administrator
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Michelle will be moved out of ICU today. She's breathing well on her own, but just has a small oxygen tube in her nose. She's been coughing up the fluid in her lungs today which is what her doctors want to see. I heard a few coughs and they were nice and strong. She's started eating real meals today, although she gets full very quickly. Still, a huge step forward. She said that her liver and gallbladder are working at 100% and she feels like a different person. Her eyes are nearly white again and her skin is clearing up. Her bruises are darkening now that the liver is properly helping with clotting. Her blood pressure and heart rate are back to normal. Her speech is a bit slow and she has some trouble finding the words she wants to say, but that will pass. It frustrates her, though. She said that last week was rough. She said that the breathing tube/respirator was the scariest thing she's ever been through. She's glad she doesn't need it now. She still has 3 tubes in her chest for various things, and she won't get the staples removed for some time to come (I assume in her abdomen area). Overall, she's happy about her progress, and she's very happy with the care and staff.
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posted Sep 6, 2010 7:34 PM by Domain Administrator
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The transplant went very well. The new liver is working as it should. There is still some breathing problems though. She is on a breathing machine that helps to force oxygen into the lungs as she breaths. She still has some fluid in her lungs as well. There was a small issue with her diaphram too. Appantly when she was young she had a gal-blatter removed or worked on. This caused some trauma. Her diaphram had become' glued to her old liver. They had to peel it apart in surgery. So they had to put a few stitches in her diaphram. This also is adding to her pain and breathing problems. But all in all she is doing a little better each day. She will remain in ICU for the meantime. Thanks and I will keep all informed. Marion. |
posted Sep 3, 2010 3:17 PM by Domain Administrator
Marion just called to say that Michelle is doing very well today, but she is still in ICU because of breathing complications. Her liver is working beautifully, but she continues to have fluid in her lungs. The fluid in her lungs causes problems with getting enough oxygen. She is in a lot of pain and wants the pain medications, but pain medications slow her breathing which interferes with her ability to get oxygen, so this issue is the main concern right now. They have her sitting upright, and she's been up on her feet a couple of times. Marion said "There's no moss growing under her feet. She already wants to make a few calls, and she wants food." She's taking in small amounts of liquids at this time, but no food yet. She can have visitors (UW Medical Center), but they don't want children seeing her in her current condition. They are not taking Erik and Amber in to see her yet, either. He will call with another update tonight and we'll pass it along. You can hear the happiness in his voice about everything. He continues to rave about her surgeon and medical staff, and he just sounds like he's glowing when he's talking about her and her progress. It's great. :)
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posted Sep 2, 2010 5:32 PM by Domain Administrator
Michelle got out of surgery about 9am this morning. The surgeon is very happy with how well the surgery went, and how well she is doing. The surgeon said that Michelle would not have made it much longer without the transplant because her blood was not clotting well and she was bleeding easily when they barely touched her. That slowed things down a bit during surgery. Apparently the liver is important in producing blood clotting properties. As an aside, she got a blood transfusion last week for 4 pints! She said that her body holds about 8 pints. Her body just couldn't do what it needed for proper blood production. Thus, thank goodness that her transplant came through! Michelle is currently in the Intensive Care Unit, heavily sedated and breathing with a respirator. Apparently she has a lot of tubes connected to her. When her breathing stabilizes they will remove the breathing tube. Hopefully this evening, but likely tomorrow morning if her breathing isn't stabile on her own soon. Marion (Michelle's husband) said she may wake this evening but then discussed the breathing tube. Breathing is one of the primary issues for now. Marion says that he feels absolutely feels great about how things are going. The kids are home hanging with Marion and their grandpa for a little while, and then he and his father are heading back to the hospital to be there in case she wakes up this evening. Erik is hanging with us for the evening, and Amber is doing great with her friends. They are all so happy. Stay tuned for more updates... |
posted Sep 1, 2010 10:41 AM by Domain Administrator
We just received word from Michelle that she is on her way in to the University of Washington Medical Center to receive a donor liver today! If all goes well, they will harvest the liver and her transplant will occur sometime this afternoon or early evening. Stay tuned for further status updates.... |
posted Aug 6, 2010 6:40 PM by Domain Administrator
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updated Aug 8, 2010 9:05 PM
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A new story about Michelle and her wait for a new liver was featured on the front page of Sammamish Review from August 4, 2010 entitled: " As clock ticks, Sammamish woman waits for new liver". She is currently listed as #1 on the list for a new liver at the University of Washington Medical Center. |
posted Aug 6, 2010 8:49 AM by Domain Administrator
As you can see from our Donation Meters on the Donations Progress page, Friends of Michelle has collected approximately $14,000 to date for the benefit of the Moulton family and their medical expenses.
In June 2010, $5,000 of these funds was distributed to the Moulton family in order to assist with the medical costs associated with her second liver bypass operation.
As Michelle is now back on the transplant list and will (hopefully) receive a new liver shortly, the rest of the funds are currently being held for medical expenses related to her transplant.
The medical costs for Michelle and her family over the last few years have been absolutely mind boggling. In a future news update we will detail those costs so that everyone will understand just how serious of an issue health care cost are in our country for the seriously ill. |
posted Aug 6, 2010 8:24 AM by Domain Administrator
First of all, our apologies to all of our friends and donors for the information blackout. Here's a brief summary of what's been going on with Michelle and our site:
Originally, we had intended to have Michelle publish a weekly or monthly blog about all the latest procedures she was undergoing, her status on the transplant list, how she and her family were doing, etc. Unfortunately, much of the time she was either undergoing some medical procedure, recovering from a medical procedure or dealing with other complications and side-effects which made her too tired to do much of anything.
After her bypass surgery in 2009, Michelle dropped off the transplant list and we stopped taking donations as it became unclear if she would eventually receive a liver transplant or not. The good news is that original the liver bypass surgery was successful and worked well... at least for a while. She had a second liver bypass procedure in 2010, which also gave her some temporary relief, at least until the middle of this year when she progressed into "severe" liver failure and was informed that she is now back on the transplant list.
As of July Michelle was back on the liver transplant list and is currently listed #1 in the region. |
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