💛 A Little Update on Michelle 💜

Aug 10, 2026

It’s been a while since I’ve given everyone an update on Michelle, and honestly, so much has happened over the last six months.

She is still waiting for her heart transplant, but in the meantime, she has another heart surgery coming up one 8/21. The hope is that the surgery will help in keeping her heart strong and stable while giving her the time she needs while she continues to wait. ❤️

But life certainly hasn’t stopped while she waits.

There have been graduations, college moves, football, work, theatre, softball and all the beautiful chaos that comes with raising five kids. Three are now in college, and the Littles are keeping life busy with theatre, softball and everything in between.

And if you know Michelle, you know she keeps going. She shows up. She works. She volunteers. She cheers for her kids. She takes care of everyone around her, even on the days when her body is begging her to slow down.

And “stable” can look very different from day to day. Some days, Michelle is stable enough to get up, work, be Mom and function somewhat normally. Other days, simply getting out of bed feels like a feat in itself. And there are times when her body says enough and she may spend a few days barely able to get out of bed at all. There really is no predicting which version of the day she is going to wake up to.

But my friend is tired. Really tired. And I think she deserves a little room to breathe.

With Mayo’s local lab closing, she’ll now be making weekly—and sometimes twice-weekly—trips to Phoenix for labs. That’s about 2½ hours of driving for an appointment that can literally take three minutes. Add in the Arizona heat, work, family, medical appointments and an upcoming surgery, and it’s simply a lot.

Michelle would much rather be the one helping everyone else than asking anyone to help her. So I’m asking for her.

As she prepares for surgery and continues on this journey, I would love to see her village wrap around her family again. Whether that means donating, sharing her story, sending her some love or simply saying a prayer—every bit of it matters.

I just want my friend to have a chance to breathe, rest and focus on getting through what comes next.

Still waiting. Still praying. Still fighting. And still surrounded by so much love. 💜

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