Eja has been home now for one week. What a week it has been! She definitely has been enjoying it. Her progress has been as constant as it has been in the past. We credit that to her being such a fighter! Her voice is better everytime that I hear her speak. She is such a sweet lady. Thanks you to all those who have provided meals. She sure can feel your love for her.
A few days ago, she noticed a tender spot in her lower leg. She told her medical team about it and she had an ultrasound to check it out. They did find two blood clots in her leg. Her doctor was very pleased that she has that filter near her heart to protect her from this becoming too serious. They put her on Coumidin and told her to keep fighting! Of course she will.
Thank you for all your love and prayers.

More on meals

A clarification about meals for the first two weeks Eja is home. We would like to give her children, siblings and extended family an opportunity if they wish.
Sorry about the ambiguous wording. Thank you so much!

Visitors and Dinners

Please make sure you look at the left side of the blog for some important things regarding Eja's visiting hours and meals.
For two weeks, we are reserving dinner time for the family and then we will keep you posted.
Thank you all for your love and support for this incredibly special woman!

Homeward Bound!!!

We just got word that Eja has progressed enough and is stable to the point where she can come home, Friday at noon!!
Thank you all for your many prayers, fasts and help. She has made such miraculous progress in large part because of us as a family and the faith that we have had. Thank you so much!!

Eja's procedure went as well as planned. They were successfull in replacing the shunt and are excited for her progress. She continues to do well otherwise. She had a small bout with a fast heart beat this morning and they did lots of tests to figure out why. They can't find a definite cause for it but don't seem to be overly concerned and don't expect any complications. So in the mean time, we pray on for her continued progress and prompt healing.

Another shunt

Neil just called Ryan a few moments ago to let him know that Eja will have another surgery in the morning. This surgery will replace the shunt that was placed in her liver a few days ago. The doctor will replace that shunt with a larger one thus allowing more fluids to drain.

Climbing her way up.

Ryan spoke with Eja around 6:00 tonight and she said that she did well today. She was able to walk up and down a few stairs and stand by herself from a sitting position. She was also walking again without the aid of a walker.

Walking without a walker

I just spoke with Eja a few minutes ago and she said that she walked a little ways without her walker. And tomorrow she is going to walk even farther without it and shes gonna give the stairs a try. Her physical therapist said that she doesnt think that Eja will have any problems using the stairs. Way to go Eja keep up the hard work!

Marsi Allen

"I'll have a Pina Colada Jamba Juice"

Today while we were visiting with Eja she said that a Pina Colada Jamba Juice sounded good. So Ryan and I found a Jamba Juice (in Layton) that was open and bought her one. To our surprise she thought it tasted like heaven. She drank the whole thing. This is such an accomplishment because nothing has tasted or looked very good to her. When she eats she may take only 2 or 3 bites if we are lucky. We were glad to find her a treat that was good and even kind of good for her.


Marsi Allen

Another success!

Eja had a Hydascan this morning to find out how her insides are healing. They found that the liver was not able to direct it's fluids to the appropriate part of the body. Her doctors were able to place a shunt that catches and directs the fluids to where they are to go. The procedure went really well and they are optimistic.
Eja is very tired, even though she won't admit it. They have asked us again to try to let her get her rest as long as she needs it, so we are.
Reagan Gardner had his surgery last night and that also seems to be successful. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as well.

Eja had another good day. First thing this morning, they took out her feeding tube. That was a big step for her! She was glad to be able to eat normal food in a normal way. She was so excited that she put on her make-up, did her hair and was sitting up looking good when we got there. She continues to walk and exercise well. She spends a fair amount of time sitting up in a chair which is good.
In the morning, they are doing some more testing to ensure that her insides are healing as they are supposed to. We hope to have results some time tomorrow. Her medical staff is so kind and it is obvious that they have a personal interest in her. We are so blessed to have people like them taking care of her.
Thank you all for your support and love.

She just keeps going, and going, and going...

Well since being released from the ICU yesterday, Eja has continued to improve (big suprise by now huh?) They have now taken her off all oxygen and no more monitoring vital signs on a constant basis. She has been okayed to be on a normal diet now and only has the feeding tube in for supplementation during the night. They have taken out all but one I.V. and two drain tubes. At about 7:30 this evening, Eja was moved to a different floor for less critical patients. She has amazed all of us, including some of the best medical staff in the world. GREAT JOB Eja!!!
Thank you so much to all those that have been so kind and generous to donate to Eja's fund. That is a huge blessing in which we are so very thankful for. Most of all, we are grateful for all of your constant prayers in her behalf.

Movin' up and movin' out!

Eja has just gotten her chest tubes out, half of her staples removed and fitted for a "turtle shell" to help her with her back. They feel that she is stable enough to move out of the ICU. Her doctors have said that she needs to be observed for a short while longer and then, she is okay to be transferred to Idaho Falls. There are some important details about that though. The McKay-Dee Hospital is an approved provider as is EIRMC and they see no necessity for the transfer. So...for her to get back to Idaho Falls, a helicopter transfer is $10,000 and an ambulance ride is $3,000. Eja and Neil would love for her to be back. All donations received will go towards getting Eja Gae home where she wants to be. We are so grateful for your thoughts, prayers and consideration. We love and appreciate you all!

Wonderful News

That is great news Keep up the wonderful progress Eja. We can't wait to get you home.

Marsi Allen

It's outta there!

Well, all of your thoughts, fasts and prayers have been answered. They were able to examine Eja's throat this morning and they took out her breathing tube about 15 minutes ago. She is able to whisper words and they expect smooth sailing from here on out.

"I want to DRINK a Diet Coke!!!!"

Eja continues to amaze us. The first thing she wrote this morning was, "I want this tube out of me!" She also expressed her desire for a diet coke. She did another lap around the I.C.U. this morning and is not even getting tired like she used to even after standing up.
We were in high hopes that after they gave her some drugs to specifically help her swelling in her throat that she would be able to get rid of her breathing tube. Her doctor came in and let her that would not be the case, at least for now. She didn't say or write anything but she was beating her marker against her dry erase board in frustration. They will continue to check her throat and would like to remove the tube as soon as it is safe and appropriate.
Thank you all for your prayers and fasts in her behalf.