What a great day Michael had! He was visited by his doctors and given REALLY great news, his creatinine levels are now 1 which means that his kidney function is in the normal range! YAY! When he entered the hospital, that level was 5.5, what a huge drop! We were told that Joe gave Michael an exceptional kidney. Thank you, Gracias, Merci Joe! Joe is continuing his recovery in a nearby hotel, he and Heather take walks from the hotel to the hospital to visit with Michael. Its a beautiful walk, tree lined streets dressed up with Christmas lights and storefronts with spectacular Christmas tree displays. The streets are amazingly clean and the sidewalks are busy with people walking their dogs, families walking together, mom's pushing strollers and people coming and going to work. As a matter of fact, its a genuinely friendly city. Though its a big city, it has the charm and whimsical feel of a smaller one. I walk to my hotel every evening (which is about 10 mins from Northwestern Hospital) to freshen up and I have never once felt insecure, the walk has actually been quite relaxing and revitalizing.
Not only did Michael sit in a chair for a couple of hours today, but he also walked around the hospital hallway several times. He is doing tremendous! I'm so proud of him and all he has gone through. He had his dialysis port removed today, one little step in getting out of here but one that was exciting. Today he was discharged from the Recovery floor (a typical kidney transplant patient would have been discharged to go home) and sent back down to the 10th floor where the Clinical Research Trials are administered. Here he will have one last round of chemo to make sure there is enough room in his bone marrow so that Joe's stem cells can attach and grow. We expect him to yet again become somewhat ill with nausea, some weakness and a general ill feeling. It stinks, but it has to be done. The chemo IV drip will last about 3 hours and along with it he will be given a Mesna IV drip for 24 hours to protect his kidneys and bladder from the effects of the chemo. I pray that this session will be a lot easier on his body and that the side-effects will be inconsequential compared to what he previously endured.
Bye-bye Port.
It was difficult removing port due to amount of scar tissue that had grown around it.
Port Removal.
Michael's first walk around the hallways with his nurse Lily.
Joe and Michael walking their kidneys.
So happy to see him feeling BETTER.
Post Transplant day 2. Nice to be breathing a bit easier. You are not alone, and neither are we.
God's blessings, Lilly
It's so good to see Mike up and around. For sure we'll be praying that the next round of chemo will go smoothly with minimum to no ill-effects. Love to everyone!
ReplyDeleteAunt Marg