Joe and Heather left yesterday morning to return to Canada and to their friends and family. "There is no place like home", right? I was delighted for them but sad to see them go. Joe, though being the donor and going through major surgery had a way of exuding calmness and sincerity creating a balanced and healthy view of the circumstances. Heather is fun and outgoing, the type of girl who talks to strangers in elevators and has a contagious laugh that lights up her beautiful blue eyes. I'm thankful that it was she that traveled this road by my side. I tend to be anxious in situations like these, it could have something to do with losing my first husband at the age of 30 to cancer or it can just be the way I'm wired but Heather showed me a different way to view things. While our husbands were in surgery and in recovery, she was calm and positive which did have a slight soothing effect on me. Michael and I will forever be grateful to them both, for their unconditional and selfless love and for a gift that is immeasurable. Michael and I walked them down to to the hotel lobby and we gave each other big hugs. Joe reminded Michael to "take care of my kidney" and Michael gave him a heartfelt "thank you for doing this". I don't know about you but it sure did give me misty eyes! We pray that Joe will continue to recover and that he will always be blessed with health. We woke up this morning with a slight powdering of snow! It looked so pretty and it delivered a feel of Christmas. Though it made us want to curl up and stay inside, Michael had a long day ahead of him. It started with arriving at the hospital by 8:30am, Michael's blood was drawn around 9:00am. He then had to wait around for 2 hours so that the lab results could be faxed over to Dr. Leventhal's office. To pass the time, Michael and I as well as his parents had breakfast at the hospital as Michael rested as much as he could. His incision is still painful which causes him to still depend on pain-killers to get through an entire day. He has decreased the use of them each day and now is down to 2-3 a day. Getting better each day! I took a walk to the hospital pharmacy to pay for Michael's anti-rejection medicine, $1,200 for a month supply. Not as bad as we expected since we had read that it could be as much at $6,000 a month! Our health insurance has a mail-order system that will allow us to receive them at a much lower price starting next month so that will be a huge savings. Along with that, Medicare assists ALL kidney transplant patients for the first 36 months after transplant regardless of income. Medicare becomes primary insurance and our insurance will become secondary so we will only be responsible for 20% of the cost of his transplant medications. We are hoping that Michael will be off all anti-rejection medicines by next year this time, that is the goal with this clinical trial and the reason Michael took the chance on it. Around 11am we headed back to Dr. Leventhal's office to hear the results of his blood work. We were called in and they wasted no time in putting an IV on him. He was dehydrated and he was running a risk of tachycardia with a pulse rate of 113. Michael has been doing GREAT in drinking his water, he has been consistently drinking over 100oz of water a day (not easy for most healthy people, and much harder when you are just out of surgery) but since the new kidney is in "work" mode, its creating more urine than what he is taking in in fluids. The nurse explained that this is normal for kidney transplant patients and that it will take a few days before his system is all back into a normal rhythm. In the meantime, they help out by providing IVs to keep him hydrated adequately. His white blood count is still so low it doesn't even measure, this side-effect is typical for this study since chemotherapy was used. The nurse gave him a Neupogen shot to assist his bone marrow in the production of these critical infection fighting cells. We also found out Michael is low in platelets and was given a second shot of Procrit to help increase his platelets. If his platelets are still low on Monday, he will receive a blood transfusion. Please pray that his body will start producing its own white blood cells and platelets, that God's healing be felt and seen in his body. These are all normal side-effects of chemotherapy and expected to occur as Michael's body battles the effects of it. Dr. Leventhal's staff is quite proficient and competent and the doctor is incredibly aware of what Michael's body will need before the labs are in. We feel that we are receiving excellent care, as well as being in discerning hands. This evening we had a slight scare. (Okay, I had the scare). There was blood in Michael's urine. Michael seeing that I was worried said, "there is no need to worry until we are told there is something to worry about" (no matter what is going on, he is cool and collected). I called the Transplant Hotline with a pounding heart and after about an hour, received a call back. We spoke to one of the Transplant Coordinator's who we had met on Wednesday. She assured us that this is commonly seen in kidney transplant patients, it can be anything from having a catheter in for 5 days, to old blood in the bladder from attaching the stent in the ureter. There is a slight chance that it can be a urinary infection and if it continues, they will be testing his urine on Monday and doing a culture as well. We are grateful for the hotline, it gave us a peace of mind to share and enjoy our last night together in Chicago. I leave and go back to Tampa tomorrow evening. This is going to be very difficult for both of us. Its been my honor and my pleasure to be his partner in this. My focus was to be his soft place to rest and provide a peaceful and loving environment, to bring comfort through his pain. I love this man with all my heart and I will be leaving a part of my heart behind with him. As it currently stands, he will be here until mid-January. I pray that time will fly, that his healing will be supernaturally fast and that he will be released from his doctor's care sooner than expected with a wonderful and healthy report!
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
The brothers say their "good-byes" as Joe returns to Canada.
We arose to some powdering of snow. Neat to visit but beach sand is much more fun!
Michael was stuck with needles 10 times today.
Our hotel has a small kitchen and I was able to prepare low-sodium, kidney friendly dinners for Michael. He ate about 2/3 of his dinner last night! :-) I also prepared other meals and froze them so he can eat them as he feels up to it.
8 Day Post Transplant, how quickly the week went by. Being ill and recovering from surgery can take one to a secluded place. Where one is temporarily cut-off from the "normality" of life that can be quite easily taken for granted. As Michael travels through this season in his life, I pray that he never feels alone in his struggles, pain or recovery. He is loved and supported by so many. His unwavering positive attitude and courage makes me so proud of him! No matter where you are in your season, know that you are not alone, and neither are we.
God's Blessings, Lilly :)
Wow, every day is so busy, with so much to do in caring for Michael, I know you do it willingly with such a giving heart. The scripture you quoted today is so appropriate, because you are a perfect example of that kind of love. Michael is blessed to have you. I know your heart will still be in Chicago and you'll still be an awesome support to Michael even from a distance. We are believing with you for a supernaturally fast recovery. Bless you!
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