Drew Is Getting Stronger

Yesterday, Drew went out in public for the first time in 5 weeks (excluding doctors visits). He gets tired very easily but he was a trouper. His hemoglobin is low. I thought the docs would just let it come back up naturally especially since the pheresis treatment has stopped. But Drew has been getting blood drawn 3 times a week and his hemoglobin has dropped from 10 to 8 since he has been out of the hospital. So he received an injection of Epo (Procrit) to help stimulate red cell production.

We went to Dresslers last night. It was so good to see everybody last night and of course the food was excellent as always. Jon Dressler explained to the staff not to come up and hug or shake hands with Drew, which we appreciated. Drew still should avoid crowds for a few more weeks.

Millie's World as She Sees it

It occurred to me that the name of my blog is rather harsh. I first started writing on my blog just have a blog without any real purpose but just to write my thoughts out. Then about 4 months later Drew's creatinine started creeping up and I had a purpose for the blog. I should have changed the title but as you see Drew has encompassed my world for the last several months.

No More Rejection!

Drew saw the doctor today, the lab work drawn today showed no rejection causing antibodies in his blood! The Plasma Pheresis treatments have worked and he does not need any more PP treatments. Drew had his Vas Cath removed, YEAH! He still has a pressure dressing on his neck which he has to keep on for 24 hours but after that he can shower normally. His creatinine is down to 1.8 and he feels great.
Drew was given the OK to go out in public as long as it's not really crowded. Friday we plan on being at our favorite restaurant, Dresslers, during our usual time at our usual table.

Thanks to everybody who kept us in your prayers, I know that's why Drew is better.

Getting Better Every Day

Drew had a great weekend and hopefully just had his last Plasma Pheresis. The last 2 treatments did not drain him as bad as the prior treatments, but he still naps after wards. He still has his Vas Cath in (the catheter in the side of his neck). Drew does not want to go out in public with that in his neck. We will know more Wednesday when he goes in to see the doc and I can interrogate the doc about what is next.

I feel wonderful. All of my soreness is gone. I have a week and a half left before I go back to work:-(

I Know Drew is Feeling Better When...

...he decides to put a hat on when visitors are due, instead of greeting them with bed head,

...he wears tennis shoes instead of house shoes to his Plasma Pheresis,

and the number one reason I know Drew is feeling better...

...he complains I'm not doing something fast enough or well enough for him.

Sweet music to my ears.

Drew's' transplant coordinator called him yesterday wanting to know if we have killed each other yet. (Maybe she has seen it before).

Another Week

Drew resumed his Plasma Pheresis today after having the weekend off. They are giving him Immunoglobulin instead of Rituxan after his treatment. I have not spoken with the doc since I am not allowed to be with Drew during his treatment. So I dropped Drew off today and then just came home. Drew's brother Casey left over the weekend. Drew will have the PP on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week and twice next week. His creatinine is 2.5 today so it looks like the treatments are working.

Drew is feeling tired and drained. We are both looking forward to warmer, sunnier weather so that we both can go walking in the neighborhood.

Life at Home

Drew and I are so grateful Drew is at home. Drew's brother Casey has been driving Drew into Charlotte for his Plasma Pheresis every day, which has been a huge help. Drew's creatinine has been slowly dropping which is such good news. He is also receiving a drug called Rituxan which will prevent his body from making more antibodies against his (formerly my) kidney.

Drew is in a kind of isolation, he can't do any gardening (what I call playing in the dirt). The yard and inside plants are in sorry shape because of this. Drew moved several of his inside plants outside the 2 days he was at home before his bowel obstruction. It had turned warm and was raining, Drew likes to put his inside plants outside when it rains. I totally forgot about his plants when the snow came a couple of weeks ago. You can tell from the picture what happened. These Jades were propagated from a very old Jade plant I had before we were married. Luckily we still have the original Jade plant.

Our neighbors and friends from the gym where Drew works out have been bring dinner every night. We have been getting wonderful food, it has been awesome.

Home

Drew is finally at home and I can relax a bit. I have been doing way too much and I feel it right now. I have been getting the house ready for Drew's homecoming and Casey's visit. Today I can relax.

Finally at Home

Drew made it home about 8:30 last night. He was started on Rituxan which the doctor said would prevent Drew's body from making more of the antibodies. It's given as an infusion over a couple of hours and the medication did not arrive to the floor until 5pm. You can imagine Drew was not happy when he heard he had to wait while the Rituxan infused.

Casey's visit is a God send. Drew's brother picked the perfect time to come visit. Drew has not seen Casey for several years but they keep in touch through phone calls and Facebook. As a matter of fact, I set up Drew's FB account just so he can see Casey's page and listen to his music. Casey's day job is on ocean going tug boats. He is at sea for weeks at a time, in his spare time he writes and plays music. Casey frequently uploads his song and videos to Facebook. With Casey here, I feel I can relax a bit.

Going Home

We just got great news X2. Drew will be able to go home today after his treatment. Drew is ecstatic. We think he will be home by 6pm tonight. Drew is so looking forward to sleeping in his own bed tonight (me too).
The other good news is the Plasma Pheresis treatments appear to be working. His creatinine is down to 3.9. Drew will continue with daily PP treatments until Friday, on an out patient basis.

Day By Day

Drew looks and feels much better today. His creatinine is holding at 4 something. I missed the nephrologist today, so I have not gotten an update. To me he looks good enough to go home but the docs said at the very beginning that they were going to keep him in the hospital at least 36 hours longer than he thinks he needs to be here. He went to his Plasma Pheresis today at 10:30 so he is already back in his room, sleeping of course. The doc said 5 straight days of PP treatments so I'm guessing he will be in the hospital through Wednesday.

Drew's brother Casey is coming to town tomorrow, Drew is really looking forward to his visit.

Not Any Worse

The good news today is Drew's creatinine is just the same as it was yesterday. It had risen by a point every day since Wednesday until now, YEAH! Drew had the Plasma Pheresis yesterday and will continue daily PP treatments for 5 straight days. The lab work they drew Friday will be processed Monday then they will know what type of antibody problem they are dealing with. It sounds like Drew will continue getting the PP treatment for a while because the doctor talked about weaning him from the treatments over a period of time (weeks maybe? didn't ask). I have found the docs don't like to talk about too far into the future. If I press them, they mumble something about a crystal ball.

Drew had a rough night last night. The treatment drained his energy so much he slept several hours afterward, then he was awake during the night. Now he is sleeping, I don't have the heart to wake him up to make him take a shower.

How I'm Doing

I frequently forget that I too had major surgery. I'm feeling great for having a kidney removed. I feel like someone kicked me real hard in the side of my abdomen. The pain is very tolerable during the day but I do take a pain pill at night to sleep. I am back in my regular jeans but sometimes when I really hurt I will unbutton them while I sit in Drew's room. Sometimes I forget to button them back up so if you see me in the cafeteria with my pants unbuttoned then please tell me.

Signs of Rejection

Drew is still in the hospital. His creatinine has gone from 1.5 to 4.3. Yesterday he had a kidney biopsy. The biopsy had some good news and bad news, the good news is there is no ATN (Acute Tubular Necrosis) meaning the kidney tissue looks good, the bad news is they found some antibodies his body is making against the kidney. This is bad. Apparently there are 2 types of rejection- the kidney cells can reject the body which is most common and best treatable then there is what Drew has which is where the host will make antibodies against the kidney (Drew's body is rejecting the kidney). This is also treatable but more difficult. They have changed his central line out to a Perm-a-cath so that they can do a Plasma Pheresis (they changed out his IV in his neck to a catheter that they can do a form of dialysis where they remove the protein in his blood which will also remove the antibodies). This will give him roughly 50-50 chance of keeping the kidney. What is on our side is the kidney tissue looks very good the antibodies have not damaged the kidney so we are on the positive side of 50-50. They caught this early and the docs are staying on top of his condition.
Having said that- I can't say enough good things about how Drew is being treated here on 10 tower. I am very pleased with the nursing care here, of course, they all know I work here and they are not holding that against me. I have never been a floor nurse but I know ICU nurses can be very territorial.The nurses on 10 T have been great. The docs have been awesome too.

Please keep Drew in your prayers! Your overwhelming support has been a huge comfort to the both of us.

Update on Drew

Drew, I think, is over the worst of it. He is working hard sitting in the chair and walking around the unit. We are waiting for his bowels to "wake up". I was talking to Drew's sister-in-law (married to Drew's brother) when I told her that she laughed saying she never knew a Leonard who couldn't fart, how true. Drew is giving it all he's got.
Drew's new kidney is working great, his last creatinine is 1.5.
I have been bring get well cards to him at the hospital, he really enjoys them. He may be up for visitors (no one with a cold and no children please). I think having people stop by might cheer him up.

Fixed it

Adhesion near a fixed hernia

The kink is fixed. He may have even have had this for a while. The doctor says it would be a low chance that it would have worked out on its own. He said that surgery was the right thing to do.

A few more days

Drew will be in the hospital a few more days. Patrick and John are going home today. Millie is still doing really well. You can call her on her cell phone if you want to chat.

Doctor says "Let's go in"

Surgery Scheduled

The doctor still thinks that it wasn't course altering and that he still needs to directly de-kink Drew's small intestine. So the surgery is scheduled for 9:30 AM this morning. Please pray.

Praise God for Poo

Movement in the Night

Millie got a call about 4:30 AM from Drew saying that he had had a bowel "event." The doctor will see him this morning but we are hoping that this will put the anticipated surgery on hold for now. It may still happen; we will see what the Dr. says.