NEW UPDATE FROM OUR AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, AWE-INSPIRING FIGHTER HERSELF!!! (Please take the three minutes to read it…and please continue to pray and consider giving. The need for both is still very much needed. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts)
FROM RHONDA:
🌟🌟I very much appreciate ya’ll’s prayers surrounding that lung procedure at the end of May & I apologize for it taking so long to send an update. It achieved the desired result, lung-wise, so they were able to remove the chest tube a few days later.
Financially, thank you so very much!! And a hug thank you to your friends and Josh! It has really helped us purchase the things we’ve needed to make our home more accessible & safe. Things that, unfortunately, aren’t covered by insurance.
BACKGROUND since late MAY thru yesterday:
Just a day or so after the pluerodesis, my body started filing with excess fluid in weird areas (thighs, hips, sides, even my breasts) in addition to my feet, ankles, arms and legs. It got so bad that in some areas it started to harden. Some wrapped around to my back. All areas of swollenness were exceptionally painful. Kinda difficult to describe.
Despite the constant high level of pain, I kept working hard on my PT, graduating to the physical rehabilitation unit (usually the final step before discharge). My estimated discharge date was supposed to be yesterday, July 2nd.
From a PT perspective, I am physically ready to go home 😃 I still have a ways to go, but I’m strong enough to continue with home healthcare.
Throughout this journey, I have avoided getting too excited about any potential positive progression, because of all the set-backs I experienced during these past 9 months in hospital.
Given that I had improved so much by last Friday, I actually allowed myself to get hopeful & excited.
Well, over the weekend, when they reduced the dialysis, my fluids rose rapidly with severe swelling and a weight gain of over 14 lbs. This rapid increase of a fluid gain after eliminating just one day of dialysis, had nephrology & the transplant team alarmed.
So, now I’m not sure when I will be released, hopefully within a few weeks. They are going to medically monitor me while they try to wean me down to 3x weekly dialysis, instead of daily, which is what I’ve been doing for months.
TODAY’S UPDATE (July 3, 2025):
Guess what? My weigh-in today was 146.2lbs, almost 3 lbs lower than my lowest last Friday!!! Over 17 lbs lower than the peak over the weekend, the rapid increase that worried the docs!! They were able to pull a full 3 liters last night in dialysis. 😎
I noticed that I could turn on my sides slightly to sleep, something I haven’t been able to do for months without pain!
Now, the question is if I can maintain that weight/ fluid level within a 5lb variance when they wean me down to 3x a week.
I was initially really disappointed when they had to delay my discharge, but I have been getting stronger & stronger everyday in the rehabilitation unit. It’s interesting cuz you meet not just transplant patients in this unit, but people who’ve been in accidents, or have had back surgery, etc. I am among the “young people” here lol
They weren’t kidding when they called it intense: 3 to 4 hours a day of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and sometimes music therapy.
I participate in group music therapy, which is exercising while using instruments set to a rhythm.
The music therapist also meets with me individually once a week to help me get my singing voice back since that is such a huge part of me. And my throat & vocal cords were greatly affect by the 5 separate intubations this stay.
With the 3-4hrs PT & OT requires plus daily dialysis which takes another 4-5 hours out of my day plus vitals checks, shots, meds, blood draws & daily visits with multiple specialists, I’ve barely had time to eat lately.
Long story short: I have to stay in the hospital a little longer, but I’ll be healthier & stronger as a result!!
Love you guys with all my heart & miss you so much!! 🌟💕💝
It was so heartwarming and encouraging for us to be able to share this latest update from Rhonda herself. We are still believing she is well on her way to a full recovery and believing God is contending with her every step of the way. Here are some updated pictures of Rhonda (isn’t she just beautiful!!) and one of her recent paintings.
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ANOTHER UPDATE ON RHONDA:
Rhonda has been moved to rehab and will be undergoing evaluations. Her full schedule will begin Monday morning. She is still undergoing regular dialysis and this is a total energy drain for her. So they are working with dialysis to find a rehab schedule that will work all around. There is a possibility that in two or more weeks she could be released home!!! Finally! 🙌🏼 However, during discharge, she will need to make an appointment with the transplant doctor for evaluation.
She is medically cleared for daily PT, but transplant would like to see her stronger and not as short of breath before performing surgery. They also want to see if she continue to improve breathing and strengthwise while at home or if she gets sick again and/or becomes very weak & short of breath. Surgery is still coming… it seemed more imminent a few weeks ago when her blood pressure kept dropping during dialysis, but she is more stable now in that regard. She will still need dialysis three times a week when she’s home and until the transplant.
We still covet your prayers as the road is going to be an arduous one, both emotionally and physically. And the financial need is still immense and there’s a long way to go at reaching the goal. Would you prayerfully consider giving at this time.
We thank you in advance for your prayer and support and pray it is blessed back to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over.
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UPDATE ON RHONDA.
Hi friends. I wanted to send a quick update on Rhonda…
Things were moving along smoothly…until they weren’t. May 6 Rhonda went in for what was to be a small procedure that turned out to be not so small. She had what’s called flash edema and had to be reintubated and placed back in the ICU. It’s been hard because it seems we’re playing a game of three steps forward, two steps back. However, I can say that although she is still in ICU, she has been extubated and is doing well. They are hoping to wean her off of oxygen so that she can move out of ICU and hopefully begin the intensive therapy she so desperately needs. Please continue to keep her in prayer as the kidney transplant is still imminent and she will need to muster all the strength she can, mind, body and spirit, for the road ahead. And the financial need is still overwhelming. There is no such thing as a “small” donation as we believe in a God of multiplication who supplies all our needs according to His glorious riches. Anything is deeply appreciated and we thank you advance. Please continue to share and read her incredible story.
Here is an updated recent picture of our beautiful girl…She is such a fighter!
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ORIGINAL STORY HERE ⬇️
This is my precious sister-in-law Rhonda. She has been on the most extraordinary, hard, and painful journey for what seems like forever. But boy oh boy, is she a fighter!! I ask for you to read to the end (I kept it as short as humanly possible) to get the picture of this incredible woman’s fight. And her fight is far from over!
Rhonda started on this journey way back in October of 2024. She was extremely ill and entered the hospital and her health rapidly declined. The doctors and hospital staff played a long and tedious game of whack-a-mole trying to rule things out to figure out what was going on in her body.
She quickly entered the ICU and things looked very grim as we all prayed and hoped for the best, but were also bracing ourselves for the worst. After some time it was discovered that Rhonda’s diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis many years ago was, in fact, a misdiagnosis and she actually suffers from Hashimoto’s Encephalitis. The medications that had been prescribed for Rhonda’s MS had now taken their toll on her liver and she was in total liver failure and in need of a liver transplant…like ASAP!
She was moved to the top of donor list, and doctors said due to her blood type and urgency they expected that she would get a liver within 5-7 days…and if one didn’t come available, then the outcome was grim. The circumstances were dire and of the most urgent nature.
Our family and friends and countless other prayer warriors got to praying urgently and asking God to move…and move He did. Rhonda received a liver within record time, within a day or so from the time we started interceding. Please know, it is not lost on any of us that a family is grieving the loss of a loved one and we are eternally grateful for their sacrifice as we pray that the God of all comfort is with them in their time of need.
We thought at this point all the “hard” stuff (for us) was in the past and the focus could now turn toward Rhonda regaining health and strength. This wasn’t the case. Rhonda has had setback after setback. She’s had 5 subsequent surgeries, 4 major and 1 minor, was intubated and under sedation for weeks and weeks. She started to rapidly decline and docs were forecasting the need for ANOTHER transplant. The prayer and fasting on her behalf had never stopped, but they ramped up at this point. God miraculously moved once again and, within a day, things turned around and her numbers started leveling. Her body seemed to adjust, the narrowing of the artery feeding her liver righted itself, and the need for another transplant ended up not being needed. Hallelujah!! Praise Him!!
Rhonda’s journey, however, is far from over and has been far from easy. She is STILL in the hospital…we have just passed the six-month mark. Much of this time has been spent in the ICU in and out of sedation. She was finally moved down to long-term acute care, which was a tiny step in the right direction, and believe me, we’re taking every victory we can get, but she had recently been moved back to ICU due to some complications in cognitive and other functions. Thankfully the team has made some adjustments with meds and such and she was moved to a step-down unit within the last couple days and she can get back to the very hard work of all the many therapies she’s undergoing.
She’s been receiving ongoing dialysis, and it has now become necessary for her to receive a kidney transplant. She’s been put on the list and we are waiting for a match and very much praying for a miracle.
She is receiving amazing care from amazing providers and is currently receiving and working extremely hard in the following therapies: Physical, Occupational, Cognitive, Respiratory, Music and Art Therapy.
As it is no surprise to anyone, I’m sure, this has taken a HUGE emotional and financial toll on Rhonda and my brother Michael, niece Aimee and nephew Colton. The reality is that Rhonda is tired. Her body is not strong and the road ahead is going to be bumpy and hard and exhausting…and it’s not going to be a short road either. My brother has been trying to juggle being as much of a constant presence at the hospital as possible, while still maintaining his full-time job and being a support for his two kids. Between medical expenses, parking costs for hospital parking, gas for the countless trips back and forth, travel and food expenses for family who have flown in to be a support, (the list goes on), the financial toll has been crushing, and so we are reaching out for any help anyone is willing to offer.
We believe in the power of prayer and very much covet your prayers first and foremost above all else, but we would also appreciate any donations people are willing to share and would help to lighten Michael’s load so much. Your donations are tax deductible on this platform and you can be assured that the funds will go directly to the aforementioned items, helping my brother keep afloat during this immensely difficult season.
Rhonda would also love to hear from you in the form of encouraging notes, cards and letters. We encourage people to do this to help lift her spirits. You can send them to the following address: Rhonda Tuley Dunn East 1055 c/o Houston Methodist Hospital 6565 Fannin St., Houston, TX 77030
Please feel free to share this with friends of friends and please feel free to reach out with any questions. I will also be periodically updating this site with Rhonda’s progress as we are fully standing in faith that she is going to make a full and complete recovery and be completely healed!