surgery day four.

Josh had a good morning and it was a possibility that he would be released. He had slept good and took a good morning walk. however, by late morning, his stomach was not feeling good. the gas pain was building and he just felt like yuck. by afternoon his stomach was so bloated - it literally pokes out and comes to a point. Severe gas pain is common with laparoscopic surgery but knowing that doesn't ease the pain any. I'll keep you posted.




Josh and Loren (his aunt). She is a nurse at the hospital across the street and she came by after her shift last night. it was a nice diversion for Josh.

surgery day three.

josh, mom and carol.



Today was a good day. Josh felt really well today. Did not need much pain med and was up and walking quite a bit. he also can get in and out of bed alone, which is impressive considering the soreness and pain in his stomach. mom did have some bleeding issues in a few incision spots but nothing too alarming.the best part of the day was having some new visitors. joe and carol came and stayed for nearly 2 hours. it was so great. carol (moms aunt) had a transplant this past august so its always good to see her doing so well now. joel cook also stopped by (cousin) and i hadn't seen him in several years, so that was great. plus we've had josh's mom and his brother johnny and his wife kaley. it is nice to have your support team! i am just hoping he didn't over-do it today. but as i sit here typing in the hospital, he is breathing nice and deeply and is sleeping soundly. 10 minutes ago i turned off my moms light and told her goodnight. i like seeing my 2 patients sleeping. it means they are comfortable and not in unbearable pain. its a good feeling.

surgery day two.

the race is on.


Wednesday february 27. Josh had a pretty rough first half of the day. he was in quite a bit of pain and just couldn't seem to get on top of it. he was itching like crazy from the pain meds and he just could not get comfortable. he felt best to be up and walking. that is also the best help to get the gas moving which is very important. the dr. ordered him a new med that he could get 4 doses of in addition to what he already had. he got his first dose in the early evening and it made the biggest difference. he was then able to enjoy the evening. he walked quite a bit, sat in moms room and visited with everyone and slept GREAT. i was so happy to see the improvement. mom had a pretty good day too. she has her pain under control and she was awake and talkative for quite a while. she also got up and walked. it was a good day.

surgery day one.

waiting for josh to be taken to surgery. wow. kind of emotional.


mom and josh before surgery.


posting pictures of day one. tuesday february 26. josh's surgery lasted 4.5 hours and moms was around 3. The kidney started working immediately upon "hook-up". When I saw josh for the first time after recovery he opened his eyes and asked how mom was and if it worked. Mom had a really hard time coming out of anesthesia but she would open her eyes and say hi and ask about josh. i think they will have a special bond now. Josh even managed to walk down to moms room late that first night. i think it was an emotional boost for them to see each other and that they were each doing well.

successful surgery

I do apologize for the delay... i haven't had my computer with me. I'll get to the point = surgery was successful and both mom and Josh are doing great. Josh had a rough day yesterday, but feeling much better today. Mom has been feeling good as well. the color is back in her face and her new kidney is working away. we are so happy and feel so blessed to have seen all of this transpire. the doctors think Josh may be able to go home tomorrow. I'll post pictures soon. I've taken them, just not downloaded them. thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. things are going so well here.

fortunes.

Tonight we had dinner at PF Changs (so tasty) with my parents and my brother Kendall. Josh and mom's fortunes were hmmm. appropriate. amazing.cool.

on the eve of transplant.

We are down in Salt Lake for the transplant surgery. We arrived Sunday afternoon where Josh and mom did their final blood cross match which came back great. Mom also had to have a chest Xray and an EKG. We then enjoyed a nice dinner out with mom, Johnny and Kaley (josh's brother and wife) at Good Wood Barbeque. (yum.) Me and Josh and mom then came back to the hotel where we enjoyed a movie together (The Ultimate Gift). Today mom had her last dialysis (yeah!!) and we had our meeting with the surgical team. We discussed the surgical process, risks, hospital stay etc. Josh and mom also received their "bowel clean-out" formulas! Josh's expected release date is Friday or Saturday, mom's is Sunday. They did inform us that Josh's kidney will be larger than what mom technically needs, so it should give her great function. We are now saying she is going to have a supercharged kidney!! As the night comes to a close and I stop long enough to really digest all that has taken place I feel so blessed. On this night, the eve of transplant I am filled with lots of different emotions.
1.excited that my mom is getting this chance to improve her life. It has been hard seeing her health so rapidly decline.
2. thankful that my husband is so caring and generous.
3. blessed that they are a match.
4. anxious to see them both come out of surgery and hear the good report.
5. loved for all the support we have received from family and friends. (a special thanks to my cousins for keeping my kids all week so i could devote all my attention to the patients- you are the best!!)

friends.

Friends. i love the fact that when you have a real friend, you can be apart for long periods of time, but when you see each other again its always good. not awkward. and you kind of just pick up where you left off. i love it. I went to college with Beverly (ISU) and we became fast friends our 2 years together there. i then moved to south dakota and she remained in pocatello. over the years we've emailed and she even came for a visit to sioux falls once. we also would usually see each other when i would come to idaho for vacations. anyway, on Presidents Day she and her 4 boys came up to visit. it was fun to catch up and see her kids. it was great to see that we are that kind of friends. not awkward. just picking up where we left off however many years ago.

video links.

some people have expressed an interest in some videos we've found on a nephrectomy and kidney transplantation. here are the links. sorry you will have to cut and paste, i'm being lazy and can't get the hyperlink thingy to work :)

Here is the surgery from youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siNLfrP9PHk



These are all very short (2 minute) video clips about dialysis and donation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvshNz80uZE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2RCc9q1wF4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OocAWejZ0-Q&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOhKoqyNstA&feature=related

A day at the salon.

Josh and Mom wanted to be sure the surgeons found them attractive so they spent the day at the salon getting pretty. haircuts. color. gossip. It's all good.

kidneys.

for those of you wondering what a kidney with polycystic kidney disease looks like. lovely wouldn't you say?

2 more treatments.

dialysis treatments are coming to a close. are we happy?? yes.

1. dialysis has been no fun for my mom. it takes 4 hours, 3 days a week and leaves her totally exhausted.

2. mom's blood pressure is out of control - not uncommon for it to be 210/119 or something crazy like that.

3. bottom line, she just feels like junk.

4. transplant date is scheduled: tuesday, february 26 at 5:30 am in salt lake city.

5. Josh is excited. so excited he is counting down the days like it is Christmas.

6. Mom is excited also. The kidney can start working the moment its placed in her. She is hopeful she will be feeling fabulous in a matter of days. she told josh she will walk on down to his room to chat b/c she is sure she will be feeling better than he will.

7. guess this leaves the nervousness to us on the outside.

big brother.

Mitchel really enjoys being a big brother. I can often find him playing with Coleman or reading to him or teaching him some wild and crazy boy behavior! He helps him get drinks and snacks and even helps him when they are out in the "deep" snow. It is so nice for me to see the kind and helpful side of Mitchel. It is a refreshing switch from his stubborn, teasing ways which are also so him!
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snuggles and a good book.

There is nothing greater than snuggles under a favorite blanket and a good book. Coleman and I love to sit in the comfy chair in the kitchen and read. The late afternoon light pours through the big windows and door and makes it all cozy. I'm so happy the boys like taking pictures these days - they actually snap some of me with the other kids and its great! Not that I really enjoy pictures of myself, but my kids are growing so quickly and before I know it these photos will be whats left of my favorite mom moments. (okay, in this case I actually ASKED Justin to take a few pictures while Coleman and I were having "our" time, but some times they do it all on their own!!)

tray for snack. pink.

Coleman really loved the whole tray idea for food! Friday when the big kids were at school Coleman insisted on a tray for his morning snack. He quickly chose the pink one, happy that Ashley was not home to fight him for it. I don't know if he really likes pink or just likes choosing whatever he knows Ashley will want. Whatever the reason, he was all alone and I was happy to indulge him with the pink tray.

reading to sleep.

grandma bought justin a new book and boy was it a good one. it is entitled Leven Thumps and it is a fantasy book for ages 10 and up. It is the longest book Justin ever attempted at 384 pages. Although Justin is an avid reader he always seems hesitant to tackle a book of such length. However, he was hooked from the first page and we would find him reading it long into the night. We worked on Justin's summarizing skills as he would tell us about it each morning (he has a habit of wanting to basically re tell the story word for word as he might miss telling us a really important part!!) In one weeks time he finished the book and took the accelerated reader test on it at school. the best part?? grandma bought him book 2 this week and he just started. I love seeing a child of mine all passionate about getting into a book just like I do. Makes me all happy inside.

ordinary lunch plus trays.

Yesterday we had a snow day. We were all excited to spend the day home from school. It really is a good feeling to be all snug and warm inside when its cold and windy and snowy out. the kids wish dads got snow days too :) When lunch time arrived I decided to spice things up and bring out the trays! What a hit! It had been a while and you would have thought they were eating something more than mac-n-cheese and chicken fries!

nighttime downtime

Coleman is a good sleeper. He goes to bed willingly most of the time, but he does insist on having his light on and he needs his down time. No matter how late it is, he always spends a few minutes in his room unwinding. Some nights its nearly 20 minutes, other nights, maybe just a few. On the long nights, we will most always find his room destroyed - all books and toys dumped out of buckets and on the floor and many things in his bed. We now have to keep the wipes in the bathroom, because he will empty the entire container of them and have them all over the floor and in his bed! yes, one time it was all 200! On shorter nights, we usually just find things in his bed with him. These are a few of my favorites from the week. Shoes that are still too big and Ashley's hat and sunglasses. It is always exciting to turn his light out at night and see what happened during his nighttime downtime!