Help for Tai during sudden health crisis

On Tai’s 34th birthday, after we celebrated at a Korean BBQ and hotpot restaurant, she began experiencing abdominal/side pains so severe that we rushed her to the ER. She was admitted later that night and has been there ever since. As of right now, as I am writing this, the doctors don’t know what is wrong. There are more tests to come, and we so hope that we will have an answer soon.

Tai is in great hands at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, but she is still in a lot of pain. Lots of folks have asked about starting a gofundme for this, so we decided to go ahead and make one. We obviously have no idea what the extent of the medical bills will be yet, but we know that they will be substantial. Due to lost wages, we are also seeking help with other bills and expenses during this difficult time.

I will update here as the situation develops. Tai has another test that should be happening today or tomorrow, and we hope its results might shed some light. We don’t know how long she will be staying at the hospital, but I will make sure to include that info once I have it.

Thank you so much. Every little bit helps. Message me or Tai if you want to visit her!

Update 7/22:

Tai had a rough night. She pulled a 102 fever at around midnight and was very uncomfortable for the rest of the night. The last I heard, yesterday’s test came back normal and the doctors were going to say this issue is musculoskeletal. They were even considering discharging her today if they could get her pain under control, but after last night I’m not sure what the schedule will be. I will update as soon as I hear more! Thank you all so much for your support, and please keep Tai in your thoughts!

Additional edit: Tai may have a case of pneumonia. The doctors are starting antibiotics and will hold her a few more days at least. Send her all your love!

Update 7/23:

Tai had a better night last night. We brought her some good home-cooked dinner and she was very happy to eat it! Today, they are going to drain the fluid that’s around her lungs. She most definitely has pneumonia and is really struggling. The hospital is going to keep her for at least the rest of the week. Let me know if you would like to visit her! Thanks so much to everyone who has donated, visited, or even just sent uplifting messages and memes. Your support is so appreciated by both of us!

Update 7/24:

Well, we got some good news and some bad news today. The good news is Tai is feeling so much better after draining off so much fluid from her lungs. The bad news is, there is apparently some fluid that is still trapped. The pulmonologist has now said there’s a good chance that Tai may need surgery to get the rest of the fluid out. They will decide that this afternoon, but what’s for certain is that they will be keeping her the rest of the weekend. Tai is devastated to hear this — she really wanted to go home. Please send her all the positive energy you have and let me know if you want to visit her!

Additional update: Tai will be having surgery tomorrow morning. Keep her in your thoughts!

Update 7/25:

Tai’s surgery went very well. The doctor told me that when they opened her up, it looked like someone had “poured glue in there.” They said it took a lot of work to get it all out and that she will be sore, but she is on the road to recovery. She has 2 tubes in her chest now to help drain the remainder of the fluid that’s there and they hope to remove those in 3-5 days. We thank you all so much for your love and support. Please, continue to keep Tai in your thoughts!

Update 7/29:

Tai has been steadily recovering from surgery with the help of good medicine and lots of rest. Yesterday, she was able to get out of bed and walk around, even taking a short trip down the hall and back to her room! Today, we are hoping for a chest X-ray to determine whether or not they can take the tubes out of her chest. Fingers crossed that she can come home soon!

Update 8/1:

Tai has had one tube removed from her chest! She already feels a lot better without it. There is still some fluid trapped in her lungs, and the lower quadrant of her right lung is partially collapsed, but the doctors believe that this can be resolved with breathing exercises, walking, and sitting upright to encourage coughing the stuff up naturally. They are hoping to get the other tube out soon, and maybe Tai can come home sometime next week! Thank you all so much for your support, and keep your fingers crossed that Tai will be discharged soon!

Update 8/4:

We are still waiting for that other tube to come out of her chest. As soon as she can get it out, it’ll be the home stretch. We really hope she can come home this week!

Your generosity has allowed us to get through this month’s bill cycle, and we are deeply thankful for all of your help. If you haven’t yet, please consider donating if you can. It will still be some time before Tai is fully recovered. Every little bit helps!

Thank you all so much for your love and support!!

Update 8/7:

Yesterday, Tai got to have a long talk with the doctor about this situation. The doctor said that Tai is experiencing a very rare case of slowed healing, something he hasn’t seen often in his 20 years working in this field. Basically, instead of an upward trend of improvement, for whatever reason, Tai has been experiencing dips in her progress. Some days, things look like they’re getting better, then others, they seem to have gotten worse. She was tested for several conditions to explain this but everything came up clean.

The lower right lobe of her lung is partially collapsed and beginning to shrink slightly. While this is not yet a major crisis situation, the doctors have decided to immediately change tactics. In addition to new breathing exercises, Tai was given a medicine that is designed to break up the impacted fluid and help it to drain faster. She showed some immediate improvement after the first dose, so they are going to continue with it! But if it doesn’t end up working out, additional surgery may be needed. Here’s hoping it won’t come to that!

Tai has been very strong, but her mental health has really taken a few blows from this lengthy hospital stay. Now, knowing that she has to be there indefinitely and no one can say when the tube comes out, she’s pretty down in the dumps. What helps her most is company. If you would like to visit her, please let me know and I can tell you where she is.

Thank you so much to everyone who has given us their love and support during this difficult time. Please, consider donating if you can. Losing over a month of work is hard, so every little bit helps. And cross your fingers that Tai can come home soon!

Update 8/10:

Finally some good news! The new medicine is working quite well! Tai’s X-rays are looking better every day and the fluid itself is draining well and looking less infected. It finally looks like her output is lowering, which could mean removal of this tube as early as tomorrow! Fingers crossed that this is the week Tai gets to come home!

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, visited, sent gifts and messages, etc. You have been so helpful through this entire process. Tai loves and misses you all!

Update 8/12:

Today is the day! Tai got her chest tube out yesterday and is coming home today! We are waiting on discharge instructions and soon she will be back in her own bed to recover for a while longer. Thank you so much everyone for your love and support!

I will continue to update as Tai recovers, and will post when we finally receive the hospital bill. If you are able to donate, this is when we need it most!

Hooray for Tai!! Much love to you all!

Edit 8/15:

Tai has been home for a few days now. She is still in some pain and feeling a little weak, but she improves every day. She’s been able to take a flight of stairs and shower. We expect it will take 2-4 weeks for her to be completely healed up.

When she’s better, she looks forward to having a ‘Birthday Do-Over’ to make up for what happened on her actual birthday. More on that later!

Please donate if you can. Two months lost wages and a huge hospital bill are going to really set us back. Every little bit helps!