DONATION TESTS ALMOST DONE

Well, today was a first.  I got the “Piper” experience over at A.I. duPont Children’s Hospital.  I went in this morning for blood work at 8:15 am and got poked in the right arm.  They took three vials of blood for a lipid panel, phosphorus and some other tests I can’t really remember right now.  Luckily, the phlebotomist was excellent and there was virtually no pain.

Then, at 9 am, I went to Radiology and had a CT angiogram so they could take a closer look at my kidneys.  They took me back into the pre-op/recovery room and set me up on a bed and the young nurse nervously inserted an IV port into my left arm.  She said, “we’re not used to working with adult patients” just prior, which I knew was not a good sign for me.  Unfortunately, she didn’t let the alcohol swab dry completely prior to jamming the needle in there so it stung like crazy!  No way was I gonna show it though.  Not with all those little kids around who are enduring so much more than I ever will.  But seriously…it hurt.  Here’s what it looked like:

After that was done, I walked back to the CT scan room and got up on the table and the tech flushed my IV port with saline and then did a baseline image without contrast.  Isn’t it amazing you can just put saltwater into your blood veins?  Has anyone ever thought about that?  I’ve watched them do it to Piper a hundred times and now have seen them do it to me a few times and I have to wonder how nervous the patient and doctor were the very first time they ever tried that.

“Ok Frank, we’re going to put some saltwater into your veins.”

“Is it going to hurt Doc?”

“I don’t know Frank.”

“Is it going to kill me.”

“I don’t know Frank.”

“What do we do if something goes wrong?”

“I don’t know Frank.”

“What should I expect?”

“Ok, just shut up Frank and let’s do this.  Oh wait, sign here first…”

Luckily, Frank probably survived that test.  Anyway, the tech warned me that the contrast fluid would feel very strange as it circulated through my body, and she was right.  It didn’t hurt, but it was a bit uncomfortable.  It was a very warm feeling through my arm into my chest and it almost felt like I was having a bit of acid reflux into my throat.  Simultaneously, it felt like I was peeing my pants as the contrast fluid made its way into my bladder and…lower.  It was really strange but went away very quickly.  By 9:20 am, I was done and on my way to work.

On Friday, I have an appointment with an adult nephrologist at Christiana Hospital.  She will go over all of my lab work, ultrasound, CT scan and everything else and give the final “yes” or “no” for the transplant.  She’s an outside doctor who is not associated with A.I. duPont and they use her as an objective fail-safe.  I don’t expect any issues as Cathy McAdams walked me through all of my blood work today prior to my CT scan.  Everything has been absolutely perfect and I’m completely healthy.  Kidney function is great.  Electrolytes are great.  There is not even a trace of protein in my urine, which is remarkable.  Cholesterol is 185.  Triglycerides are 134.

And hey!  No HIV either!

The only thing that has caused anyone even a little bit of concern (and very little at that) is that my body mass index is a little bit high at 131.5.  The surgeon would like to see it below 130, but it’s not critical.  I’m 6’2″ and weigh 241 pounds.  If I diet, I weigh 238 pounds.  If I binge eat, I weight 245 pounds.  I cannot ever remember being below 235 pounds in the past 10 years and I cannot ever remember being above 247 pounds.  I just cannot change this part of me.  Most of you who know me these days can attest that I do not come close to resembling an “obese” person, yet that’s what my BMI indicates.  I will do my best to get down to 233 pounds or less by the end of October, but given that I have 1) almost no time to exercise, 2) a left knee with no cartilage and 3) am being pulled in 19 other directions, I don’t have much hope I’ll get there.

As for Piper, she was pretty happy this morning and it was great to see her walking around and playing before I left for my appointments.  We feel so badly for her because Harper is making so many positive strides forward in her development and Piper is getting left behind a little bit due to her energy levels and hospitalizations.  We will keep trying to get her caught up as best we can, but until everything is done and she has a new kidney, it looks like she’ll be a bit behind her sister.

On a side note, Sophia has been better at staying in her bed the last few nights.  This morning she came in around 6 am and climbed up in bed next to Erin.  I said, “Soph, get in the middle of the bed,” because I selfishly wanted her near me and she said, “No Daddy, I want to be on the edge so I can snuggle with Mommy for a little bit.”  Then, about 20 minutes later, she climbed over Erin and snuggled up in my arms and said, “Ok Daddy, I want to snuggle with you for a little bit now.  I love you sooo much.”  She really is a special little girl.  All of them are.

Thanks again to you all for the food, love, support and shoulders to cry on.

Love – Chris and Erin

Update:  I got a call today at 4:45 pm from Cathy McAdams to tell me that my CT scan results look great and there are no issues.  All of my vessels go where they are supposed to go and there should not be any trouble for the surgeon.  She did mention that the radiologist saw some evidence of degeneration in my spinal cord from the T12-L1.  This is from the thoracic area to the lumbar area which you can see here:

Anyway, it’s nothing to be concerned about and doesn’t impact my ability to donate but something I’ll want to keep in mind in the future.  This degeneration is common in people in their 30s and 40s and can even be seen as early as the 20s.  With 20 years of golf behind me, I’m not sure this comes as much of a surprise and it won’t keep me from doing anything in the future.

Also, gratuitous picture of Harper Lee and her tiny pigtails: