An Update on the Transplant Process

Latest in! I got a hold of our coordinator just now. The last test looked good, so she scheduled me for my last test on Thursday. They will be doing a CT Renal where they put in an IV and shoot dye through my body so they can see how the kidneys are functioning and if I will be okay with just one. The results for that test will be in on Monday and at that point, if everything checks out, then we will schedule the surgery. So, we are excited today for the good news. We are yet another step closer. I will keep you all informed!

High Blood Pressure

Yesterday around 4:00, I got a call from mom saying she is having a co-worker take her to the ER. She felt dizzy and light-headed and her blood pressure was really high. We met her there and they got her in. Shortly after, they gave her some meds to try and lower it. She took a new medication that day and her nurse practitioner assumes the dosage was too high and that had a lot to do with her high bp. Finally, it came down and they sent us home, but not an hour later it was back up again. So, back to the ER we went. They got it to come down and then sent us home again. They want her to follow up with her doctors to adjust some of her meds now. So, while waiting in the ER, my cousin Chad, now Dr. Kawa came in to check on us. He saw her name on the boards. So, that was cool to see him all "doctored up". Also, comforting to see someone we know there (a doc, nontheless!). Thanks for checking on us, Chad!

She slept really well the whole night. She said she feels pretty good this morning--so she went to work (that mom of mine!).

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped us out yesterday in a moments notice. Marcie, Sam and Kath, Jan, Dad, Grandma and Chad. We are so appreciative of you and are so glad you are there for us! You are the best!

An Update on the Transplant Process

Today I met with the nephrologist who conducted a medical history as well as a physical. He looked at my results from Friday and I am happy to report that everything checked-out well. We have jumped through another hoop! We (I) am on to the next thing which is sorta embarassing but funny at the same time. A 24-hour urine specimen collection! Ahhh! You should have seen me today trying to come up with ways I could do this at work. Hmmm...thought I had a sneaky way figured out until I read that it had to be refrigerated. I'm pretty sure my co-workers don't want a jug of "what-not" sitting beside their lunch bags. We had to laugh about that one!

So, I think this is looking more and more like a GO. I asked about a time frame and he said maybe within the next 6 weeks. I do still have one more test, the CT scan but from the way it sounded I think we are good. We'll keep you posted though!

Baby Names

We have to share this because it is pretty funny. So, Bentley has quite the collection of babies (these are just some of her favorites at the moment). The past few days, she has been naming her babies and let me just say, some are very imaginative and creative. Although our first instinct is to laugh when she tells us a new name, we are aware of her serious-ness and we're sure to tell her that the name she chose is "beautiful" and "we love it". We have all had to memorize each baby's name because Bentley will correct us if we call one by the wrong name. Furthermore, the night-time requests are nothing short of a quiz for mommy, daddy and grammy.

So, pictured left to right we have: Erika Jennifer (this name was the name on the box and Bentley wanted this doll because it's the same as her middle name as well as her cousin Erica), next is "Vigail" (pronounced like Miguel). Next to her is "Vernerse" (not the nurse), and then today she named a third, Jill. She met a co-worker of mine on Monday whose name is Jill. So, clearly you made quite the impression, Jill!

Anyway, that is the latest. Pretty good names, eh?

An Update on the Transplant Process

So we are in the process of "work-up" and things are moving along. So, last Friday I took work off to go to the hospital and have some tests done. When I got there, they had me visit with the social worker where she conducted an evaluation and what not. They also had me do a chest x-ray, an EKG and some blood work. It wasn't bad at all. The coordinator is going to call me on Monday and if everything looks good, I will move on to the next step. I will go in for a medical history and physical on Tuesday (yikes!) and if that goes well, they will schedule me for one last test. To meet with the surgeon, as well as complete a CT scan to determine the specific anatomy of the kidneys and urinary tract. We are hopeful about the transplant and just keep taking things one step at at time.

I cant remember if I mentioned mom doing light treatments for her skin. She is really dark and it looks like she goes tanning! We tease her about that sometimes. Her phosphorous levels are still high so the itchy skin continues. However, she says she has been sleeping pretty well the last week so that is good. We will keep you posted on the "work-up" process this next week.

The last Couple of Weeks

The past couple of weeks have been crazy! For work, we headed to the beautiful Palm Springs for our Annual Leadership Conference--which by the way, the weather was so nice compared to the yucky winter weather we had in SL. I had an opportunity to present my work again and it was great! We are crazy cats here at SU! and I am so glad we get to travel together. We have good times! However, after 5 days of being away from my family, I was so ready to come home. Waiting at the airport with open arms was Ry and Bentley. I just love that part every year I am gone!

Our little Miss Bentley is growing up so fast! We celebrated her 3rd birthday with our family on Tuesday. Mom cooked up a fabulous dinner for us and it was so fun! Rich, Russ, Curt, Erica and Gary had a ball playing "Elefun", one of the games Bentley got. Then on Saturday, she had a little friend party. Cupcakes were the theme and the kids got to color and decorate thier own paper cupcakes and we had cupcakes and ice cream for dessert. Thanks for coming everyone and hanging out--it is always a blast! Happy Birthday, Bentley!

Christmas 2007

This December was hectic however, we managed to enjoy the magic of the season. Several weeks before Christmas, we began reading the Polar Express to Bentley as her night time story. She loved this book. We then surprised her with a real ride on the Polar Express at the Heber Valley Railroad. We had cookies, drank hot chocolate, sang songs and even visited with Santa at the North Pole. She was all comfy cozy in her PJ's and she loved it! We decided to make this an annual tradition for our family. We also enjoyed hosting the 2nd annual Breakfast with Santa party. I feel so lucky to have the friends I do and although we don't see each other quite as often as I would like, this new holiday tradition gives us an opportunity to get our families together to enjoy the spirit of Christmas. The kids are growing up so fast! I am also grateful for Santa stopping by despite his busy schedule!

An Update on Mom

We thought a blog would be a great place to post the latest updates regarding mom Paula and her kidneys as well as other things going on in our lives. There have been several friends and family who are interested and want to know more about mom so hopefully this will be a great resource.

As most of you already know, mom is in renal failure (kidney failure). She goes to dialysis 4 times per week for 3 hours each time. This makes her schedule very limiting as well as exhausting. Recently, we all met with the transplant team and found that mom is a good candidate for a kidney transplant. That was good news!

Ryan and I both tested and our blood types match mom's. Even though she is O+ and we are both A+, there is a sub-group in the A's called A2 that matches O blood. The next thing they look at is tissue type (specifically antigens). They look for the best match which would be a 6-antigen match between donor and recipient. Ryan tested as a 0 antigen match, whereas I tested as a 3 antigen match. Clearly, the more matches the better, however with the improvement of immunosuppresant drugs, less perfectly matched organs now appear to respond and survive as well as perfectly matched ones, particularly when the kidney is from a living donor. The third test is cross-matching. The basic crossmatch test involves a mixing of cells and serum to determine whether or not the recipient of a kidney will respond to the transplanted organ by attempting to reject it. This allows for a possible detection of a recipient who would reject an organ and therefore essentially prevent the transplant by indicating that rejection would occur.

This brings us to where we stand now. We have decided that I (Steph) will start the process of "work-up" which involves several other tests to determine whether or not the transplant should be carried out.

The decision to donate was instant and I knew it was (is) the right decision for me because of how comfortable I felt and continue to feel. If I can give my mom a chance to enjoy a longer and healthier life, free from the restrictions of dialysis then that is what I will do. One donor I read about said "It was like saving my own life because (my mom's) life is my life too". I thought that is exactly how I look at it.