Still in the Hospital

Drew is still in the hospital no better and no worse. His NG tube is still in and they are going to continue to watch him for now. His pain is better controlled and Drew's mood has definitely taken a turn for the better. Drew is still on the immuno-suppressing drugs and we still ask that people not come by to visit right now. He will get a CT scan tomorrow to see how the blockage is progressing; of course if his pain intensifies they will do surgery, and depending on how his CT scan goes they still may do surgery.
I, on the other hand, feel good. I'm still a wee bit sore but nothing tylenol can't handle. As you see by the prior couple of entries, my brothers are still with me. I could not have done this without their support. They have put their life on hold to help me get through this trying time so that I may get my husband well, for which I am truely greatful.
Drew's transplanted kidney is working well his creatinine is down to 1.93 so it has definiately been worth it so far.

Still Blocked Up

Sat Morning Decision

Drew is still in the hospital. He still is blocked up. A decision will be made in the morning as to whether to do surgery or not. We are praying the it clears up in the night and surgery will not be needed.

Drew in the Hospital

Pain being managed

Drew is in the hospital. They have him on a pain pump and the pain is manageable. They have said that while a partial bowel blockage is not common it is not uncommon either. They are hoping that it will work its self out in time. The hard part is just the waiting.

No Visiting Now

Due to his immuno-compromised condition they request no personal visits now.

Slight setback

Drew in Pain

Drew woke up in the middle of the night in intense pain. We got him to the ER and he seems to have developed a partial blockage in his small intestine. He's been re-admitted to the hospital. They are giving him IV pain meds. They think that the blockage will eventually work its way out. But for the time being he is staying right there.

Home Sweet Home

Yes we are home, thank God! Every time the docs made rounds Drew would ask them when could he go home. It was always the same answer, depends. Drew wanted to go home so bad that on Sunday he was just about doing cart wheels down the hall ways to show that he was ready. It worked. Drew's new kidney started working right away. His creatintin stated at 6.1 on Thursday and today it is 2.9!! Drew feels so much better.
I had some interesting experiences while I was in the hospital. First of all, the Staff on 10 tower were excellent. They were very prompt in answering the call light and I felt very well cared for. I could not have asked for any better care. But back to my interesting experiences. I have a history of major motion sickness and I didn't want to be nauseated post-op so I requested a scopolamine patch. I put the patch on the day of surgery, I was really out of it Thursday night but Friday night I was more with it. Saturday morning I woke up thinking I had really weird dreams. I attributed it to all the machines in my room such as my plum pump, my SCD hose my O2 bubbling away and my continuous pulse oximeter which makes noise. I took a nap early Saturday afternoon. I woke myself up talking to the IV pole. Now I know both Scop and morphine could cause hallucinations but I was thinking it was just a dream. Sunday morning I woke up talking to my plum pump! When I realized what I was doing I looked around to make sure no one else was in the room to hear me talking to the pump. I had a choice, either I deal with the hallucinations and keep the patch on or take the patch off and risk nauaea. I chose to keep the patch on and just not answer the machines in my room when they asked me a question. But my plan didn't work out quite that way. This morning I woke up to what I thought was a man calling out to come to his room. I almost hit the nurse call button when I remembered the hallunications so I sat up to hear where the sound was coming from and again, it was the plum pump making a weird noise.
Next time I'm going to skip the scop patch.

Monday - Home!

It's going to be a PARTY tonight

Both Millie and Drew were discharged today. They are home. I'll be there later tonight.

Dominoes tournament tomorrow night - anybody want to join us?

Patrick

Sunday Afternoon

"Don't make me laugh!"

I called and talked to Millie just now. She is sounding much better. Drew was in her room and singing in the background.

She says that while it's still "let's see" about them going home, things are looking good for being discharged tomorrow (Monday.)

I made some smart comment that Millie wasn't expecting so she started laughing ... it was painful for her. But she said that it would help break up the scar tissue.

Drew is doing excellent. His creatinine levels are markedly down. They were up to 6.9 (dialiasis-level) before the surgery. Today they were down to 3.3 which is much better. He is feeling much better too.

The calvery is coming!

My brother, John, is on his way there right now. I'll be going tomorrow after work. So we are looking forward a number of nights of Dominoes. Y'all come and join us - we can fit you in at the table.

Saturday Night

I talked to Millie about mid-day Saturday. She said that she gets conflicting reports from different people as to how long they will have to stay. I guess everyone's crystal ball is a bit cloudy. I think it is a pretty good guess that they will still be in the hospital Sunday.

Another e-mail from Sherry from 10 PM

Hello from the hospital,
Sorry about the late post. Millie and Drew both had a good day again today. Millie's been walking down the hall to Drew's room.

The nurses get a kick out of Drew's menu request of green beans, rice and chicken for every meal.

We're so proud of both of them and everyone here in the department of Anesthesia is praying for a speedy recovery. I'll check on them early tomorrow morning before leaving the hospital.
Sincerely,
Sherry

Friday Night

Report from Sherry

Hello everyone!

Millie and Drew are doing great!

Every time I saw Drew today he was on the phone and all smiles. Drew was moved to a room just down the hall from Millie today.

Millie's been up walking the halls and is doing great! She said it looks like Tuesday for her trip home. Drew will probably be later in the week.

I'm visiting tomorrow afternoon before work so I'll post again around 2 pm.
Sincerely,
Sherry

The Morning After

Groggy but "there"

I spoke with Millie and I asked her how she is doing. She said she is "there." She sounded a bit groggy but that's to be expected with the pain meds she's on. She said that Drew is doing "great!"

Sherry Reports:
Good morning everyone,
Just got done visiting with Drew and Millie. They both look great. Drew has a nice, new kidney!! Walked in and he was on the phone chatting, watching TV. Didn't look like he was just one day out of a big surgery! Millie is a little sore, but in great spirits. Hopefully they'll get to eat some decent food by the end of the day.
I'll check on them again midday and post any updates. At present, all is well
Sherry

Out of Surgery

"It's a beautiful kidney"

I just heard from Millie's surgeon, Dr. Kercher, and he said that everything went well and that they were just starting to wake Millie up. He said it was a beautiful kidney and they didn't have to fight Millie for it :-) she willing let them have it.

He said that he anticipated that she will be in the hospital about three nights but it would be a day-to-day decision.

Surgery has Started

I got a call from the OR about 7:58 saying they've started. They will call me again when they are finished.

Patrick

Tommorrow

Tomorrow is the big day, I'm ready. Today has been very hectic. I went in to work to get my files straight, JCAHO may be coming while I'm gone (gosh darn I might miss them).
The bad thing about today is I have to do a bowel prep and Drew doesn't! Is that fair? Drew's potassium is high so he has to take K-X-olate(sp?) to bring it down but he still gets to eat dinner, I'm on clear liquids. Oh Well!

We have to be at the hospital at O dark thirty (0445). I have to remember to bring my CPAP, our health care power of attorney and Drew has to bring his Prograf- they started Drew on his anti-rejection medicines yesterday. They will draw a Prograf level tomorrow before his AM dose.

Family is coming to stay with us- this is so comforting to know. Drew's brother Casey is coming Friday and leaving Sunday and both of my brothers are coming on Monday. John is coming Monday morning and Patrick is coming Monday evening. I always enjoy their company, I'm glad they are coming. My brother Patrick has volunteered to update my blog while I'm recovering so stay tuned.

3 Days Left to Go

With just a few days left before the surgery, I have turned my attention to what I call nesting. We have been getting the house in order, Drew got the carpets cleaned last week and I am making sure the spare bedrooms are presentable. Today Drew and I made out our living will and health care power of attorney, we went to the bank to get it notarized and the banks were closed, we will have to do it tomorrow. I had my pre-op anesthesia appointment today, just another hoop to jump through.
I am grateful for all the offers of help and all the prayers that are being offered. We could not have gotten this far with help from our friends and family.

6 Days and Counting

Thursday is the big day. I have to be at the hospital at 0430. Sherry insisted on picking us up at 0400 to take us to the hospital. They have to do a final cross match before we have surgery. I will go into the OR at 0645 and Drew will go in at 0730, hopefully we will both be out of surgery by around noon or 1300. I should be in the hospital 3-4 days and Drew should be in 5-7 days. I am expecting to be fairly mobile by the time I get out of the hospital, I was mobile after my hysterectomy and that was done open not laparoscopic.

Thoughts of Post-Op Care

Drew should do very well. His kidney disease will not effect his transplanted kidney. The transplanted kidney should last 10-15 or more years. Drew will live much longer then being on dialysis. The latest study I saw on being a kidney donor stated that being a donor does not shorten your life nor do you have a higher risk of developing renal failure. These stats are very comforting to me.

It's Offical

It's official, am going to give Drew a kidney on February 19. I had an appointment with the laparoscopic surgeon today, he could have made me lose more weight but he gave me his approval. Normally they take the left kidney because the vein is longer but they will be taking my right. Apparently I have two arteries to my left kidney and only one to my right which makes it easier on the transplant surgeon. Our surgery is scheduled at 0730 which means we have to be at the hospital at 0530.
Drew is such a worry wart, he started having abdominal pain this weekend thinking his Crohns disease was flaring up. I spent most of the weekend reassuring him that things are going to work out. His pain is getting much better.
We have had many offers of help from our family, friends and neighbors. I'm not quite sure how much help we will need. My brother Patrick is coming the day I should get out of the hospital and is staying the rest of the week. That will be a huge help, hopefully after that, I will be up and around and could take care of most everything else.