Medical Update

Easter Sunday:
I want to start by saying God is amazing and wonderful! We were able to celebrate Easter with Tracy and her family. She is doing well and she is as precious as ever.  Tracy has always been such a servant on Easter, helping in the kitchen and serving everyone the drink of their choice. That is quite the task because we have a LARGE family! It was sooooo great to have her there. She looked great and felt great but she did have to leave a little earlier than usual. She tires easily!  We are so thankful for her healing and for God's mercy and power in her life. Thank you Jesus!!!!

Now for the medical update:
Tracy visited with her doctor and he said that her ejection fraction was 30 to 35 percent. He would like it to be closer to 50 percent but he was pleased that she had improved. She was only 17 percent right after surgery. Praise God for some improvement.  We are sad to say that  she has a lot of scar tissue and will need to have a defibrillator and pacemaker placed on May 31st. That is the first available date for surgery, but there is a possibility that it will be moved up if there is an opening.  The defibrillator is important for her to have in case of another heart attack. It would shock her  heart ( feels like you are being hit in the chest with a baseball bat) which would help her heart keep pumping until EMS could arrive.  We are still believing that God has BIG plans for Tracy and that he is working on her heart daily. We are believing in a full restoration of her body. Believe and pray with us! Thank you for all of your love and prayers!!

Praise God for a wonderful update today!

Tracy had her follow up today with her surgeon. He was very happy with her progress. She is doing amazingly well and is progressing I think better than he expected. She is following all doctors orders and is just very thankful to be at home and with her family. He told Tracy that she could drive if she felt up to it. That is great news because when she has more energy she will be able to take her children to school which would be a blessing. She will go back for a follow up next week and at that appt. they will run several test to check the ejection fraction ( the blood being pumped out) of her heart. The doctor informed Peggy and Tracy today that this could improve over time based on how well the heart responds to the surgery. Please pray that the ejection fraction would continue to improve and that her heart muscle will regenerate and amaze all doctors! We know the great and mighty physician is in control so lets be bold and ask Him for complete restoration of her heart. Thank you again for your prayers and support. Please remember Tracy and her family in your daily prayers. If you wish to make a financial donation to the family you can do so by clicking on the donate button at the top of the page. If you would like to take the family a meal you can click on the link below and sign up! Thank you all soooooo much!!

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Medical Update

Tracy went in to see some of doctors a few days ago. Her blood sugar has been to low so they adjusted her insulin and she is now on a lower dose. They added one more medication (which brings her medication up to a total of 12 medications as of now). The medication that was added is a cholesterol med. They want her cholesterol to be extremely low (70)  because of her health history. She will be going back in about 1 month for a cardiac ultrasound. The cardiologist is pleased with her progress and he said that we would need to take it one day at a time. He will not rule out or plan for a heart transplant at this time.  Please pray that the doctors will stand AMAZED at God's work and power in a month when she goes in for her ultrasound! We thank you God for ALL that you have already done for Tracy and her family and we will wait patiently on You to complete her healing!

THANKFUL for today!

Talked with Tracy tonight and she is doing great. She wanted me to let all of you know how much she appreciates each and everyone of you! She has such a sweet spirit and I am so thankful to have her in my life. Tracy is getting around well and she does not have very much pain. She is breathing well and medically she is doing great. We are PRAISING God for that because none of this would have been medically possible without Him and without all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for complete restoration of her body. We are believing that God WILL restore her heart fully! Danny and the children are so thankful to have her home and I think they are all just loving being a family and loving one another. I opened up more days on the meal schedule if anyone would like to sign up just follow the link below. Tracy is doing great but she still needs a lot of assistance and will for quite some time. She will have a lot of medical expenses ahead of her and a lot of expenses with medications so once again if you are led you can make a secure donation online through paypal. Just click on the donate button at the top of the page to donate to her sweet family! Thank you all! You are a blessing to our family!

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Praising God today!

I talked with Tracy today and she is doing GREAT! We are PRAISING God for that! She is able to get up and move around some and the pain is less. Thank you for praying about her pain. God has been so mighty and sweet to answer our prayers down to every detail. He is so wonderful to us. I am so thankful that Tracy is able to be at home with Danny and the children. My Aunt Peggy spent the day with Tracy and she will be spending many more to come just being there to watch over and help out where she is needed. The meals through foodtidings have started and Tracy is so thankful for that. I am praying that God will fully restore her heart. I am praying in Jesus sweet name that the doctors would stand in awe of God's power of healing! Please pray and believe with me. Tracy is so thankful to have all of you on this journey with her. Thank you and love to you all!


To make a financial donation just click on the donate button at the top of the page. Make a secure donation through paypal.

To help with meals for the family. Click on the link below.

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Tracy reunited with her family tonight

I want to start by saying that we are so thankful to God for answering our prayers. He is so good. Tracy is at home. She is very tired but very happy to be at home. Danny and the children were very excited to see her. She came home on 11 medications and we don't think that one of the medications will be covered under insurance. It will be $400.00 a month. We are hoping the social security/disability will kick in and cover this?? Tracy will have a follow up in 4 wks. with her cardiologist. Until then I am praying that she has a quick recovery at home. Her ejection fraction (what your heart is pumping out)  was approximately 17 prior to surgery and it is now 24 with only 5 percent of her heart working.   We need that number to improve so please be in prayer about that. I am praying that God continue to heal her body. Tracy's doctor did inform her that she would eventually need a heart transplant but her overall health will have to improve for her to get on the transplant list!  Thank you to everyone who signed up to bring the family a meal. We only need one more meal to be provided and then the calender will be FULL! We praise God for all of you. We are also thankful for those that have contributed financially but we are still in need of some help in that area. If you are led please click on the donate button at the top and make a secure donation through paypal. The family will face tremendous medical expenses and  if we could alleviate some of that stress that would be wonderful. Thank you again and I will keep you updated on her recovery!

Tracy is coming HOME!

Tracy is coming home today! We are so thankful to all of you for your prayers and we ask that you continue to pray with us. We still have a journey ahead of us and we will need a lot of prayer for her and her family. She does not have fever since they pulled the pic line so that must have been the source of infection. Thank you for praying that fever away friends. She is now struggling with pain and low blood pressure. Please pray that God regulates her blood pressure and takes her pain away. Please also pray for her time at home to be full of peace, love, and wonderful health! We are confident that God is still restoring her heart and body so please PRAY and BELIEVE with us.  Love to you all!

Giving God ALL the glory!

Tracy is doing really well. She is still in pain but she is a trooper. Tracy had to be given blood today which I would think should help with her energy level.  The nurses are hoping to remove her pic line because it has been in place for 2 weeks and there is a risk of infection at  that site. She is still running a fever off and on. It got up to 102 today. I have to be honest I am concerned about the fever and I am asking everyone to be in prayer about that. We need to pray against ANY infection. The doctors are very impressed with the surgery results and her recovery. We all know that our great Healer has His hands all over this and it is beautiful to see Him work. Thank you all for being faithful prayer warriors for Tracy and our family.  God is mighty and ALL powerful and WILL continue to do amazing things! Please, continue to pray in faith with me for full restoration of her heart and body.

HUGE Praise: She got approved for insurance today!! WHOO HOOO!


To make a financial donation just click on the donate button at the top of the page. Make a secure donation through paypal.

To help with meals for the children. Click on the link below.

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

God our great HEALER

Tracy was up and down a lot last night. She is still in a lot of pain and she ran a bit of a fever last night. They did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia and praise God it was clear. The Dr. said that sometimes a slight fever can be expected. She has been up walking and sitting in a chair and doing well with that. They are working on getting her on medication by mouth that she will go home on. She will attend a class today on life changes (nutrition and overall health and wellness). Sounds to me like she may get to come home soon! YAY! We need continued prayer for healing. The doctor did come in this morning smiling from ear to ear and telling Tracy that he was very pleased. He thought she was doing better than he expected. God hears our prayers so keep them coming.  Tracy is so thankful to you all!


To make a financial donation just click on the donate button at the top of the page. Make a secure donation through paypal.

To help with meals for the children. Click on the link below.

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Good News

Tracy is in A LOT of pain but  it seems like she is progressing very well.  She is off of the ventilator. They have her sitting up in a chair for meals and they hope to keep her pain meds to a minimum.  She has to do albuterol inhaler every 4 hrs for her lungs and that did make her heart race which was a little scary. She does have some coldness and numbness in the leg that the surgeons took the vessels from but they said that is normal and should get better over time.The pulse in her legs is good. We are praying that the heart function will increase over the next few days and weeks to come. PLEASE, continue to pray! She needs lots of prayers still and I know that God hears each and every one of your prayers! Thank you all for your prayers and support. I will update later on tonight if there are changes. Love to you all!  Jodi

To make a financial donation just click on the donate button at the top of the page. Make a secure donation through paypal.

To help with meals for the children. Click on the link below.

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Praise to our Father

Many family and friends gathered around this morning prior to the surgery. The day started with Tracy being able to spend a little bit of time with her children and family members prior to going off to surgery. It was an emotional time for her and the children. We spent the morning waiting to hear from the surgeon and finally got the call telling us that she was out of surgery and that the surgeon would meet with the family on the 5th floor. We felt as though we were waiting for hours as we all waited in anticipation to hear how everything went! Finally, he arrived and informed us that he had placed 4 new vessels to her heart. She did not have to be placed on the heart/lung machine throughout the surgery and he said that was a very positive sign. Her heart is only functioning at 20 percent with the output but he was optimistic and  he was hoping that the heart would begin to respond and begin to function at a higher percentage. He said that we would not know how well it was working until a few weeks have passed. She is on a ventilator now and we are praying that as they turn that off  her breathing will be great so they can completely take her off tonight. Our prayer is that God would continue to heal her heart and that the doctors and everyone involved would be AMAZED at her recovery. Thank you all for your prayers. Keep them coming we feel them! We are praising God for today and the many days to come!

To make a financial donation to the family you can click on the donate button  at he top of this page and make a secure donation through pay pal.

To help with meals for the family please click on the link below.

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Surgery Scheduled

Surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am in the morning!  This surgery is very high risk. It will be a 3 to 4 hour surgery and then she will be in CCU for a couple of days. She will be on a ventilator for a while after surgery. Please pray for the surgical team that will be working with Tracy in the morning. Please pray for family members to have a peace that only comes from God. I am believing that doctors will be amazed at how God has restored her heart tissue for this bypass surgery to be successful. Thank you for believing and praying with us! Tracy will have a busy night tonight while nurses are preparing her body for surgery. Please pray that she has a restful night tonight and that she feels God's presence. Thank you ALL so much for your prayers and for loving our family! We love you all and are blessed to have you on this journey with us!

Prayer request for this weekend!

I wanted to update all of you on our most recent news. Tracy will have open heart surgery on Monday. Doctors informed Tracy that since she does not have insurance they need to go ahead and do the open heart. We were told initially that it would not help to do the open heart because the main arteries were going to non-vital heart tissue and so therefore the surgery would not benefit her at all. The doctors stated on Friday that they had to do SOMETHING!! She is progressively getting worse and would not make it until insurance came through for them to be able to place the device (BI-VAD). I think the device is still in their mind the best option for Tracy, but once again it can 't be placed until she has insurance so the doctors just can't wait any longer. Her surgery will be scheduled for Monday. This is a very high risk surgery for her! Usually they stop your heart to perform the surgery but they will not be stopping her heart for the surgery! Please pray that she be strong enough to endure the surgery!  PLEASE pray that when doctors get in that they will find a lot of healthy heart to bypass to!! I  can't help but think that maybe God is leading the doctors down this path because He has a surprise in store for them! I think He has been restoring her heart and when the doctors perform her surgery on Monday I am believing the doctors are going to come out and inform family that it was much better than they expected and that indeed there is A LOT of healthy, vital heart tissue left!  Please pray and believe with me!

Prayer Request

Today a NEW doctor came in and informed Tracy and her mom that she should not have been on the dopamine for more than 3 or 4 days.  She has been on it  for 2 weeks now! He also began to explore the option of open heart surgery again. The previous doctor had said that it was not an option because you can't bypass to non-vital heart tissue. The health of Tracy's heart (how much is not vital) was determined by a PET scan ( not the ideal test ). The ideal test for vitality would be a MRI. Tracy can't have an MRI because she has a tiny wire lodged in her chest that would make the MRI dangerous. The radiologist said that it would burn a hole in her chest if they put her in. The doctors are going to explore other options to test vitality of the heart and talk with her in the morning. They did re-test the vessels in her legs and neck today and said that they are workable for the open heart surgery! PRAISE GOD for this. We were told the vessel were not workable a week ago. Please pray that God would continue to rebuild Tracy's heart and prepare her for open heart surgery next week. We are praying in faith that this is what God has planned for her. We believe that God brought this Doctor in today and we are so thankful for the possibilities that lie ahead of us!  Open heart surgery would be a much better option for Tracy as opposed to the BI-VAD!. Please continue to pray! God hears YOU!! With love to you all!  Jodi
The link to sign up for meals is below just click on it and sign up!

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

To make a financial donation just click on the donate button at the top of the page and make a secure donation through paypal! 

Tears for Tracy

I visited Tracy tonight. When I walked in she was crying with her mom by her side. Peggy (her mom) handed me a letter to read. The letter was written by Tracy's doctors to send in for social security/disability approval. Without insurance the doctors have informed Tracy that the device would not be able to be placed.  The letter had been given to Tracy earlier today and she had just read over it right before I had gotten there. It was a letter to social security/disability informing them of all of Tracy's medical conditions and limitations. I know it was hard for Tracy to see this on paper. It broke my heart that the reality of all of our fears including hers were right in front of us in black and white! The last paragraph stated, "without the device or a transplant the patient is terminal."  I can't even imagine reading this and then the fear of not getting insurance and knowing what the outcome is! I tried to encourage Tracy and  I boldly told her, " you WILL get the device!" She said with tears flowing, " Jodi  there is not anyone in our family with 2 million dollars! "  Friends, I truly believe that God is in control and He can certainly take care of insurance for Tracy!!  I am praying that the insurance will be taken care of this week and that the L-VAD or Bi-VAD will be placed next week or sooner. Please pray with me that all of this will fall into place. Tracy wants to go home and be with her babies! It breaks my heart and her heart is breaking each day that she is separated from her sweet children!  For those of you that have donated financially or by providing a meal THANK YOU! Guys, I have to be bold and say we need A LOT more of you to please be the hands and feet of Jesus to this family. If you are willing please make a financial donation by clicking on the donate button at the top of this page! WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT! If each person could do $10 or $20 dollars it would make a BIG difference. The meal schedule is not full and I would like to open up more days if possible. They are going to need a lot of help for a while!  Just click on the link below and you can sign up for a meal!
http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Prayer request for today

Doctors visited this morning and informed Tracy that she could not go home on the two medicines that she is on right now. They are dopamine and a nitroglycerine drip. She cannot live without the medicines so that means she will be in the hospital until she has a Bi-Vad (Ventricular Assistance Device) placed.  I was shocked to learn that the device can not and will not be placed until she has insurance. She applied for one insurance today which was a lengthy process and was denied. She is in the process of applying for social security/disability and will not know if she has been approved for that until the end of Jan. This is CRAZY to me. How can a life be put on hold based on insurance?!?!?! This is the world we live in. Please pray for social security to come through quickly and please pray that when it does the doctors will be ready to place the BI-VAD! We need insurance asap! In this journey there will be many trials and heartache but we will continue to cry out to our Savior for healing of  Tracy's heart and body! Lord we ask that you restore Tracy's body as YOU created it! Thank you Jesus!

Please don't forget to make a financial donation for the family by clicking on the donate button at the top of the page! You can also sign up to take Tracy's sweet babies a meal by clicking on the link in the previous post! Thanks!

       

Join together and be the hands and feet of Jesus

I want to start by saying thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, love, and support! We need everyone to continue to pray for Tracy! We are asking that you pray for healing! God is mighty and all powerful and we all know that He CAN restore her body. We are praying in Jesus name that He would help guide the doctors in making the best decisions for Tracy. We still need your financial support. Tracy doesn' t have insurance and if she gets to come home she will  need 24 hour care and the medication they are talking about sending her home on is $400.00 dollars a day. We don't know how all of that will work out, but we know that God is in control and we are seeing Him work through all of you! Thank you! The doctors are discussing placing a device that would function as her heart.  We have been told that the device is very large and Tracy is very small so they don't know if they can even place it. I know the doctors are continually putting their heads together trying to figure out what they can do for her. The cardiologist informed me that there are just not ANY good options for her and that they are trying to figure out what would be the best for her in a situation where there are just not many good options based on her medical history. Tracy did get out of bed today but she is very tired and weak. Danny, (Tracy's husband) is working everyday to keep their head above water financially! Please pray for strength for Danny. He is being mommy and daddy and I am sure that he is worn out. Peggy (Tracy's mom) is staying at the hospital with Tracy. She is so thankful for all of your calls and prayers. She wanted me to let you all know that she is unable to answer all calls but that she is so thankful for all of your love. I will update the blog as much as possible so that all of you can keep up that way! If you would like to make a monetary donation please click on the donate button and make a secure donation online through paypal! If  you would like to sign up to take the family a meal all you need to do is click on the link below and pick the date that would work best for you! 

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

Thank you in advance for being the hands and feet of Jesus to this sweet family!

Update on Tracy

I want to start by letting you all know we are still in need of a lot of help. I wanted to include the link to sign up to take a meal to the family. Just click on the link and you can sign up if you feel led.

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6 

If you would like to contribute financially just click on the donate button at the top of this page and you can make a secure contribution through paypal.

Thank you so much to those of you that have made a financial contribution and those of you that have signed up for a meal!! We REALLY appreciate your kindness!

Tracy had a long day today. Her day started with a team of doctors talking with her and informing her that they were consulting together and exploring options. They checked  for the health of her pancreas today. Please be in prayer that the test results come back and that her pancreas is healthy. I will update you on the results when I hear.  There is a lot of trial and error going on with medications for her heart. Trying to find out what will work best to stabalize her. Please pray that the doctors can get the medications that will be best for her body and that they can get the right combinations of medicines as well.  PT did get her up twice today to walk and that was very tiring for her. Please pray for strength. Please pray for all family members to have a peace that only comes from God to get rest when they can and to find joy in the Lord. Thanks to you all!

How to make a donation!

I have had a few people ask how to make a donation! It is easy click on the donate button at the top of this page and you can make a secure donation online through paypal! Thank you!

We need your help!

Hi everyone, when I arrived at the hospital today there was a team working to help Tracy with pain.  She has times when her heart spasms and it is extremely painful. After Nitroglycerin cream, pain meds, an EKG , blood being drawn and lots of prayer her pain began to settle a bit. On a pain scale she told the doctors she stays at about a 4. She is dealing with some anger and some sadness today which is to be expected. Her three sweet babies arrived ready to visit with their moma and I think that was some much needed medicine. Her son Eric broke by heart today because you could tell he was very worried about his sweet moma. Caroline kept the sweetest smile her face (she always does)  and Dustin was there to help where he was needed. Tracy wants to be at home and be able to be mommy again and we just don't know what God has planned for her. Please continue to pray for healing of her heart! I set up a meal schedule for the family if you would like to sign up that would be great. You will find the link below just click on the link and sign up. It is very easy. They are going to need some help financially as well. They do not have insurance so you can imagine the medical bills will be outrageous. If you are led, a financial contribution would be greatly appreciated! Just click on the donate button at the top of this page and you can make a donation through paypal. Thanks for being the hands and feet of  Jesus to this sweet family!

This is the meal schedule link:  

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=5849cec1-eca4-414a-b3fc-9f93ddab50a6

We need a miracle!

     I want to introduce you all to my beautiful cousin. Her name is Tracy Allain. She is a 39 year old mommy to three of the sweetest children you will ever meet, Caroline (8),  Eric (10), and Dustin (15).  Tracy is blessed to have a wonderful husband (Danny) that is very supportive and loving.  Tracy's full time postition is being wife/mommy. She enjoys cooking, playing with her kiddos, helping with their projects and just being mommy. Danny is a loving, hard working husband  and daddy. He is very busy working two jobs to support his family.
     They were all busy "doing life" and planning on celebrating Caroline's eighth birthday this past Sunday.  They were going to my Aunt Peggy's (her mom) house to have some yummy food topped off with cake and ice cream to celebrate. Tracy called her mom informing her that she didn't feel well and didn't think they could do Caroline's b-day.  She began to feel REALLY bad and had Danny take her to Williamson Medical ER. Sunday night we all got the dreaded news. She had a heart attack and was in ICU with only twenty percent of her heart functioning. Williamson felt as though they had done all that they could do so she was transferred to Vandy on Tuesday.
     Our week has been filled test, and more test, medications, lots of doctors, tears, hope and despair. What a week. The doctors informed Tracy that she would need to undergo a test that would tell them if her heart was viable and well enough to do bypass open heart surgery.  Her three major arteries are one hundrend percent blocked and the hope was to do bypass surgery for at least one major artery. This was our hope and prayer. We needed some good news. The doctors came in this morning with the results. They informed her that bypass was not an option and even worse she is not a canadate for a heart transplant because of her medical history. Only five percent of her heart is functioning.  Tracy is in pain, she is weak, she is afraid and she desperately misses her children. WE NEED A MIRACLE! So, I am asking each of you to pray for healing. I am also asking you to consider a financial contribution to help with upcoming expenses for the family. Danny is working the two jobs to support his family. He needs to be able to have some time off to take care of  their children and be with Tracy. We don't know what God's plan is but we trust in Him. We will praise Him and love Him through this storm.