In Loving Memory 

Lacey Lee Malkerson[...]

Our sweet Lacey is in heaven this evening. She passed from this Earth with her loved ones by her side and nearby. Jon, mom, dad, Lauren, Milan and I all had the chance to tell Lacey how much we love her before she went to heaven. We read scripture verses, kissed her, played music and held her close when she passed. Our hearts are broken and we will never be the same. We were blessed with 38 years with Lacey. She left us 60 years too soon. We know she is dancing, signing and fishing in heaven. She was the best part of us (her family) and we will miss her forever. She taught me many things and I plan to share those learnings with my son Roman and our soon to be baby girl. They will both know their auntie Lacey and love her as we all do. 
Thank you all for the abundance of love and support over these past 10 days. Lacey fought a good fight and the Lord wanted her by His side. We are comforted knowing Lacey is free.[...]

(I posted too quickly- continued message)

Most importantly, I shared with her nurse how faith is a big part of Lacey’s life. I shared with her that prayer has gotten us all through this past week. We talked about how we believe in healing and the Lord's grace. We are placing our trust in Him and leaning on Him during this time. Thank you Lacey for your never ending or wavering faith. Thank you for being a role mode. We love you.[...]

Today her nurse asked me about Lacey personally and what she is like and any preferences she has. I was touched by this and started to tear up. I told her about Jon, Callie, Cheryl and their lovely home in Coon Rapids. I told her all about her job at Mercy and how much she loves her coworkers and her patients and the joy that she brings with her everywhere she goes. I told her that her neuro surgeon knows Lacey’s and said the last time he worked with her she gave him a big huge in the PACU. I told her about her love for her family and her long genuine hugs that connects her to people. I shared her recent travel to the mountains in Colorado to the beaches in Florida to the Grand Canyon all in the past 9 months. I also shared a bit about her interests like deep sea fishing and fishing in Nisswa with my dad. [...]

Today the care team reported that the dialysis running through her ecmo catheter is working well and they were able to pull off nearly 3 liters of fluid in the last 1 1/2 days. This is great news, it will ease pressure on many of her body systems including her lungs. They are watching this closely since they don’t want to dehydrate her body and shift fluids too quickly either. The nurse also told me her lungs sounds have improved since yesterday too.
Lacey is continuing to have cardiac concerning episodes. The care team is watching for vasospasms which she is in a higher risk window after her bleed right now. They are working on managing her blood pressure to stay at a higher threshold in order to decrease the likelihood of this happening. The nurses have medication literally in their pocket preemptively when they anticipate moving her, suctioning and a possible cough reflex. Lacey has good color and I can tell she has less fluids on board.
My mom has been her rock and hardly left her bedside. She shares with Lacey all the loving posts and stories people have been reaching out with, praying all day and sharing special time with her. Jon has been a champion and spending countless hours watching over Lacey and many sleepless nights at her side. Lauren and my dad have been prayer warriors and a foundation for the family to lean on. We are so appreciative to our families and friends for the ongoing support and prayers for Lacey. Lacey knows how much we all love and adore her and are fighting alongside with her. 
Please continue to pray for Lacey’s cardiac stability.[...]

Dear Lacey you are such an incredible woman. Each day we are encouraged by your endurance and strength. 
We are happy to share that the ECMO (lung bypass machine) helped Lacey’s body significantly today. Because of being placed on this device her oxygenation went back up to the mid 90s while providing time for her lungs to repair. The team was also able to pull excess fluid off of her body which will help her major body systems overall. She had another cardiac short pause which she recovered from quickly because the nurse was close and quick to administer medication. This is still concerning because the root cause is yet to be identified due to all the injury her body has sustained. 
Today she had 3 stellar nurses caring for her and watching over her. The are fighting with her and for her. Today they took her off the paralytic and she tolerated that well. She is still heavily sedated and her pain managed closely. She has shown good neurological signs (her pupils are brisk and reactive) which is still very encouraging.[...]

Today was a big day. Lacey transition over to ECMO (lung bypass machine) this morning at 11am. This was a very risky period of time because she had to quickly move out of a position (prone, stomach lying) and into the catch lab procedure room. She successfully made it through the procedure today. 
She moved to the cardiovascular ICU at Abbott Northwestern where she has both a neuro ICU nurse and a CV nurse. She is receiving amazing life sustaining care. Thank you to all the nurses and providers out there- you are truly making a difference in people’s lives every single day. [...]

This afternoon around 3pm Lacey had a quick change in her oxygen saturation (O2 sats dropped). The ICU intensivist believes this could be a result of a blood clot in her lungs. She has also retained more fluid that is causing her additional issues. She was placed in a position to help her oxygenation - in order for this treatment to be effective she has to stay in this position for 16 hrs. 

[...]

Today Lacey has taken a down turn. Her oxygenation has worsened today and they placed her in a prone position (on her stomach) and increased her ventilator settings to 100% oxygen. She needs to be placed on a blood thinner since they feel this may be related to a clot in her lungs. She also needs to start on temporary dialysis in the morning (after proning for 16 hrs) to remove the excess fluids she has on board. The next 24 hours are critical.[...]