Yes you heard it right. Kendall is going to be discharged soon. There were so many updates that I didn’t get a chance to post but this good news outweighs every thing that I was going to report.

PLANS:

-outpatient PT/OT/Speech therapy for however long she needs it

-She is on 3 different medications for anti-rejection/immunosuppression. Her immune system had to be wiped out in order for her body to not reject this heart that is foreign to her. Her heart, lung, kidneys, brain etc….all have to “get to know each other” so to speak. Her other organs are not used to all of this blood supply that it wasn’t getting before so just because she received a new heart, she still will need a lot of recovery time before she feels better than she did before she got the heart. With that being said we have strict instructions when she goes home. Because she can’t fight off viruses and infections like many of us can, she will be homebound for the first 3 months unless she is going to an appointment. Masks are going to be a fixture in our lives for a long time in order to keep her protected.

She has to have her blood drawn once a week to check levels so the medications can be adjusted. (not sure how many meds she will be on daily but I know its 10+)

-lots of follow up appointments

-after the transplant she never complained of pain from day 1. I had to make her give the nurses a pain score # because she literally always answered “no” when you could clearly look in her eyes and see in her movements that she was hurting. Even then, the highest pain level she has ever said was 3. She amazes me!!!

All in all she has had more good days than bad days. Things happened that we were told was normal even when it didn’t seem like it to us. Just watching everything she went through that made us feel helpless and sad at times, we couldn’t stay down long because the way she handled all of this was on another level. She fought through it and never complained or wanted to quit. She is truly a warrior and watching her through this whole process has changed our family’s lives. Because of Kendall, we know we can get through anything that we are faced with in our lifetime. She is truly a miracle child that was put on this earth so that people can see that God is real and He performs miracles over and over again. Not just for her, but for all of us.

Thank you is not enough for all of the support shown through your prayers, texts, gifts, money, meals , acts of kindness etc…..

***We love you all but please don’t just “drop by to see us/her.” This is a critical time for her so please respectfully honor our requests. I will update more now that she will be going home.

Keep her in prayer as she goes through the rehab process

The ENTIRE team at U of M was hands down amazing, professional, considerate, compassionate, sympathetic, empathetic, caring, educators, support system….I could go on and on. We are very pleased with the professionalism and care Kendall and our entire family received from Day 1.

Cathy Hodge Farris—Kendall’s primary nurse in PICU….You have taken care of Kendall since she was a baby back at DMC and you will always be part of our family and hold a special place in our hearts. Thank you for helping us get through this(and for answering my phone calls/texts in the future too) lol

#TeamKendall

#BeKendallStrong