Mum who went to doctor for cold dies after horror disease 'took all she had'

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An "amazing and wonderful" mum who spent 16 months in hospital after visiting the doctor for a cold has tragically died.

Emily Presley, from Lexington, Kentucky was a "picture of health " who rarely got sick before she went to the doctor with cold-like symptoms in May 2022. The cold developed into severe infections and the mum-of-two's blood pressure crashed, heart rate spiked and oxygen levels lowered

The 43-year-old was sedated and put in a medically induced coma, where she spent four months on an advanced ventilator that did the work of her heart and lungs. Worryingly for her husband Jeff and their two children, Emily showed no signs of recovery and additional infections compromised her lungs and other organs.

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Doctors at the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute in Chicago decided Emily needed new lungs and she had her first transplant. However, her body reacted negatively to the new lungs and it was suggested she have the lungs removed and listed for a transplant again.

"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'," Emily's husband Jeff told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Within 24 hours, she'd received another match and the transplant had been successful. The mum, who taught science, technology, engineering and math at Wellington Elementary School in Fayette County, was allowed home for Thanksgiving in 2023 after her conditions drastically improved, to the delight of her family.

"In the midst of agony…there was no defeat," Jeff said. "Instead, the nurses, the doctors, the (therapists) they'd see a smile. They would hear 'thank you.' They would be inspired.

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"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."

Emily was delighted to return home after spending months in hospital. "It's been really, really difficult, but I've been able to get through it because I have a ton of support with my family, including Jeff, my husband, support from my friends. I have a really great community and that really did get me through," Emily said in November

The mum has planned to return to teaching in the future but her health again took a turn for the worse. Her family confirmed she died surrounded by loved ones around 4am Tuesday morning.

"She was ready. She was prepared. And it took all she had," Jeff said. Emily's sister Leslie Cunningham added: "Emily's radiance went such a long way and impacted people so deeply."

A GoFundMe page set up to cover medical expenses and living expenses in Chicago has raised more than $100,000 (£780,000). Emily's family will be celebrating her life on Saturday, May 4 with an open house followed by a memorial service. Attendees are asked to wear bright colours "to represent such a brilliant life".