A MUM-OF-TWO has tragically died this week after a supposed cold turned out to be an infection that put her in a coma for 18 weeks.
Teacher Emily Presley, 46, battled the disease for months and had to undergo two lung transplants just days apart before the illness claimed her life.
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Emily, from Lexington, Kentucky, has passed away surrounded by the loved ones at around 4am on Tuesday.
Her husband Jeff Presley told the Lexington Herald-Leader: “Time after time she defied the odds.
“Who could possibly overcome such a trial. Emily.”
In May 2022, the Kentucky woman, who was a “picture of health”, caught a pesky cold which quickly progressed into bronchitis.
Within days of first experiencing the symptoms, Emily was rushed to the hospital as her blood pressure crashed and heart rate skyrocketed.
She was put in a medically induced coma for the next four months and the ventilator did the job of her lungs and heart to keep her alive.
She was later transferred to University of Kentucky hospital where she was hooked to a specialised machine which pumped her blood with oxygen.
As the staph infection and pneumonia ravaged Emily’s organs, her lungs began to give out and she had to receive a transplant.
But Emily’s immune system rejected the donor lungs, and she was advised to remove them and undergo the procedure for the second time.
Her supportive husband, who stayed by her side throughout the ordeal, said: “I told the medical team that Emily and I love our life together. We love our friends. We love our community.
“So if there’s a chance that she can survive and have good quality of life, then the answer to a second transplant is “yes.” “
Within 24 hours, Emily was put under the knife once again and received a transplant that was successful – just in time for Thanksgiving 2023.
Jeff said: “In the midst of agony…there was no defeat.
“Instead, the nurses, the doctors, the (therapists) they’d see a smile.
“They would tell others about this amazing, powerful, wonderful, gracious woman of God that would not give up. Because she was on a mission. A mission to return home with her family in Lexington, Kentucky.”
After the operation, Emily was released from the hospital to spend the holidays with her family and two kids.
She said at the time: “I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and I’m so glad my Northwestern Medicine lung transplant team could get me home to share that gratitude with my family, my friends and the Lexington community.
“It’s wonderful to be home with my kids and my dog.”
Emily had to re-learn how to walk and perform other basic activities, but persisted and was preparing to get her life back.
She had plans to return to teaching at Wellington Elementary but her health took turn for the worse again.
Her family confirmed the heartbreaking news of her passing, and announced the celebration of her life will be taking place on Saturday.
The open house will be followed by a memorial service, in which attendees are asked to wear bright colours to represent “such a brilliant life”.
Jeff said: “She was ready. She was prepared. And it took all she had.”
Emily’s sister Leslie Cunningham shared her tribute, saying: “Emily’s radiance went such a long way and impacted people so deeply.”
A GoFundMe page, organised to help the grief-stricken family with medical bills, drew over £780,000 donations.
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