MORE GOOD NEWS

I spent the better part of my day at the children’s hospital yesterday and my suitability as a donor continues to look better and better.  The first thing they did was take a bunch of blood for a variety of tests to look at organ function and things like that.  Then I had a chest x-ray, a bunch of meetings with doctors, a nutritionist, a pharmacist, a donor advocate and a social worker and then I had an EKG and echocardiogram

While I was in my 3 hours of meetings, the lab results came back on my blood work and my kidney function is essentially perfect (despite all my best efforts to damage them over the years!).  They were very happily surprised to see that my creatinine levels are very low for a man and I am not leaking any protein.  In fact, the nutritionist didn’t have any specific advice for me based on the fact that my blood work results were so good.  Basically, eat some vegetables and drink more water.

The only blood work I have left to get done is my lipid panel and that requires fasting.  I will try to get that done later this week.  After that, I have appointments on Oct. 1st and Oct. 27th with two different adult nephrologists, one of whom is the surgeon who will remove my kidney.  Then, the last step is a CT angiogram where they will look at the anatomy of my kidneys to determine which one is the best to give Piper.  Some people have 3 arteries to one kidney and 1 to the other.  In those cases, they take the one with 1 artery because it’s simpler.

One of my meetings yesterday was with one of the transplant surgeons who will implant my kidney into Piper.  She described what my surgery will be like and what I can expect including potential risks and complications.  Although my surgery will be laparoscopic, that doesn’t mean that I won’t have some serious incisions to recover from.  The laparoscope and surgical tools will be inserted through small incisions in my abdomen, but the kidney will be removed through a 4 or 5 inch incision near my belly button or just above my pelvic bone.  I am fully aware that Erin has had two c-sections, so I will not complain about any pain, but the doctor and pharmacist were very adamant that I will be in pretty intense pain for a few days and I will need serious pain medications.  They implored me not to be a hero.  Don’t worry ladies.  Not a problem!

I also met with the donor advocate, who was very sweet woman.  She is basically a social worker whose job is to make sure that my emotional, mental and physical well being is looked after through this process.  She has no connection to Piper and does not even look at her charts so as not to get emotionally attached to the child.  Unfortunately in these situations, donors are oftentimes coerced into donating their organs by family members.  When that happens, there is rarely a happy outcome as the donor will either renounce their intention to donate on the operating table or the donation will go forward, but the donor will be emotionally scarred.  Clearly, that’s not an issue here, but the donor advocate asked me a lot of questions about my family, my understanding of the procedure and risks, possible outcomes for Piper, alternatives to donation, my support system and more.  It was a nice appointment and I enjoyed speaking with her.

All in all, these doctors and health professionals just want to make sure I know what I’m getting myself in to.  The donor advocate told me yesterday, “you don’t have to do this.”  My reply, which sums up my feelings perfectly is, “I know I don’t have to do this, it’s my privilege to do this.”  I have not had a second thought about doing this and am genuinely excited and happy that God is allowing me to give my kidney to my little girl.  The only thing I ever get nervous about is the removal of the catheter after surgery!

In other news, Piper woke up today with a very puffy face and she will have dialysis at 12:30 pm.  Hopefully she will be able to sleep through it today and the dialysis will give her some relief.  She has been very clingy and whiny, which is to be expected through all of this, and her teachers at school have been very sweet with her.  I’m so happy with the great care she and the other girls get at the Educational Enrichment Center here in Wilmington.  They’ve really been wonderful through all of this.

Last night my oldest friend Jimmy Torrell was in town for work so he came by the house and had dinner.  We’ve known each other since we were 7 years old and it’s amazing how normal the friendship feels even though we see each other once every other year or so.  Tonight, Lindsay and Brooke Pavlish are coming into town for a few days.  It will be great to have them here and I know Erin is really looking forward to spending some time with Lindsay.  Erin has been so strong through all of this and we’re all really lucky to have her.

I also want to thank all of the friends that we’ve met through EEC.  They have been wonderful through all of this and have arranged a Meal Train for us.  It is so nice to have so many people around us who care.  We are truly blessed.

Here’s a little entertainment for you:

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Thank you again to you all for all of your support.  We are overwhelmed by all of the love.

Love, Chris and Erin

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