So yes, its been a while since the last update. The graft (organ) is still going strong. And I got taken off a couple of more medications. Still waiting for word on white cell count recovery. Tomorrow (or should I say today), I'll be seeing one of the 2 head coordinators for the UW transplant team. The other half is the surgeon who did my operation. The doctor half is Dr. Connie Davis.
She's the type that looks intimidating because of her height. I am easily intimidated by people who are shorter than I am and have medical degrees. Thats just me, and I'm getting over it lol. But she is an awesome doctor, seriously, I am thankful God put her into my life.
You know, I can't help but talk about God, as you can see. I just can not imagine going through any of this without Him. On my own I suppose it would have been a losing battle. A. Because I cannot stand needles and B. I cannot stand needles. But really, there has got to be a source of the supernatural in there to give power to overcome this stuff.
The sun is out in Seattle. The temperature is leveling off to a decent 50. I hope Monday brings good news. Will post a status on Fb soon. There's nothing to say except, have a beautiful and blessed rest of the week.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
2 Months of Freedom from the 'chine
RECAP
January went by so fast, I can't remember what we did or if we did anything of significance, aside from living the normal, suburban life. I do recall getting my Tacrolimus increased which is fine with me. What DID we do in January??? LOL! OH! My children started Junior Bible Quizzing and won third place :D
February is coming to a close, and with a roar might I add. No pun intended. Started the month with a viral infection that almost killed me. Thank God, its getting treated now with oral medication. The pain was pretty harsh though. I'd rather go through another angioplasty WITHOUT anesthesia again, than to have to go through all of what happened. The virus is called CMV and is common among children. As you get older your immune system eventually suppresses it enough, so that you don't have any recurring infections. Transplantee's and other patients who are on immunosuppresive drugs are mainly at risk for reactivated CMV infection. I think the virus count in my blood got to about 8000 before I finally complained about the pain lol.
Pain and I are good friends. We get along nicely on one hand, and on the other I tend to squeeze the Lord's... and I'm sure you might be able to see my nail marks on His hands ;) CMV affects everyone differently. You may feel symptoms throughout your body but mainly it affects the abdominal, esophagus areas. And thats where it affected me. If you've ever experienced having an ulcer, think of a CMV infection as having 40 ulcers going off all at once.
CMV can be treated by oral or intravenous medications. I'm on an oral one and it seems to be working. I feel 100% better and the pain is quite gone.
MARCH is just 48 hours away. I'm not quite ready for it yet. March being my birth month and all. When you have been sick for a very long time, you tend to count your days and live each one as though it were your last. When that is taken away (not saying its a bad thing), you tend to look at life with a different set of eyes. I no longer see life being stuck in a 4 cornered room 8 hours a day, 3 times a week.
I now see life beyond the horizon. And it is, B-E-A utiful :)
January went by so fast, I can't remember what we did or if we did anything of significance, aside from living the normal, suburban life. I do recall getting my Tacrolimus increased which is fine with me. What DID we do in January??? LOL! OH! My children started Junior Bible Quizzing and won third place :D
February is coming to a close, and with a roar might I add. No pun intended. Started the month with a viral infection that almost killed me. Thank God, its getting treated now with oral medication. The pain was pretty harsh though. I'd rather go through another angioplasty WITHOUT anesthesia again, than to have to go through all of what happened. The virus is called CMV and is common among children. As you get older your immune system eventually suppresses it enough, so that you don't have any recurring infections. Transplantee's and other patients who are on immunosuppresive drugs are mainly at risk for reactivated CMV infection. I think the virus count in my blood got to about 8000 before I finally complained about the pain lol.
Pain and I are good friends. We get along nicely on one hand, and on the other I tend to squeeze the Lord's... and I'm sure you might be able to see my nail marks on His hands ;) CMV affects everyone differently. You may feel symptoms throughout your body but mainly it affects the abdominal, esophagus areas. And thats where it affected me. If you've ever experienced having an ulcer, think of a CMV infection as having 40 ulcers going off all at once.
CMV can be treated by oral or intravenous medications. I'm on an oral one and it seems to be working. I feel 100% better and the pain is quite gone.
MARCH is just 48 hours away. I'm not quite ready for it yet. March being my birth month and all. When you have been sick for a very long time, you tend to count your days and live each one as though it were your last. When that is taken away (not saying its a bad thing), you tend to look at life with a different set of eyes. I no longer see life being stuck in a 4 cornered room 8 hours a day, 3 times a week.
I now see life beyond the horizon. And it is, B-E-A utiful :)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Reasons why I'd want to move back to Oak Harbor:
- Get away from Puget Sound I-5 Corridor related Traffic craziness
- Get to live in the main part of the infamous 'convergence zone'
- Sales Tax is lower than King, Pierce and Snohomish counties
- Population growth is tempered by the Whidbey Naval Base
- Did I mention the traffic is significantly milder than down hither?
- Closer to the Robinsons of Anacortes
- My son would say he'd died and gone to heaven listening and watching all the military planes
- Get away from certain relatives, not naming names.
- Wouldn't have to worry about traffic..oh yeah I said that already
This week went by faster than latkes at a Sabbath dinner. I so enjoy seeing relatives that have been hibernating since before Barack Obama became president. Thats always a great thing. And what I mean is, face to face. Facebook is well and good, but nothing like the real thing right? I'm thirsty right now for some reason.
Been frustrated as of late. Won't go into detail, just keep me in your prayers tonight. So ready for the Lord to come back, anxiously waiting. Meanwhile, His work continues. I'd like to be a part of that Great Commission. During the next couple of weeks I'm sure many of you, including yours truly will be re-evaluating our year and what we have learned, what we have gained in wisdom and knowledge, past mistakes, past successes, blessings, trials and future goals.
One thing I have learned this past month, busy-ness, has consequences. Sooner or later, we forget to keep the main thing, THE MAIN THING. And the main thing is to Love God, and Love your neighbors. I've been guilty of harboring anger against fellow brethren and I do not want that to keep me out of heaven. Of course who doesn't love the hustle and bustle of Christmas?!!! An extrovert by nature, I am not one to shy away from having a good time.
But again I say, busy-ness, has its consequences. I am guilty of the 'Martha' syndrome. This coming year I want to learn to be a 'Mary'. Sitting at the feet of the One who is gracious, and loving, and willing to let me start over again. Will you join me? It only takes one step. Every step you take, He'll take leaps and bounds to be with you.
- Get to live in the main part of the infamous 'convergence zone'
- Sales Tax is lower than King, Pierce and Snohomish counties
- Population growth is tempered by the Whidbey Naval Base
- Did I mention the traffic is significantly milder than down hither?
- Closer to the Robinsons of Anacortes
- My son would say he'd died and gone to heaven listening and watching all the military planes
- Get away from certain relatives, not naming names.
- Wouldn't have to worry about traffic..oh yeah I said that already
This week went by faster than latkes at a Sabbath dinner. I so enjoy seeing relatives that have been hibernating since before Barack Obama became president. Thats always a great thing. And what I mean is, face to face. Facebook is well and good, but nothing like the real thing right? I'm thirsty right now for some reason.
Been frustrated as of late. Won't go into detail, just keep me in your prayers tonight. So ready for the Lord to come back, anxiously waiting. Meanwhile, His work continues. I'd like to be a part of that Great Commission. During the next couple of weeks I'm sure many of you, including yours truly will be re-evaluating our year and what we have learned, what we have gained in wisdom and knowledge, past mistakes, past successes, blessings, trials and future goals.
One thing I have learned this past month, busy-ness, has consequences. Sooner or later, we forget to keep the main thing, THE MAIN THING. And the main thing is to Love God, and Love your neighbors. I've been guilty of harboring anger against fellow brethren and I do not want that to keep me out of heaven. Of course who doesn't love the hustle and bustle of Christmas?!!! An extrovert by nature, I am not one to shy away from having a good time.
But again I say, busy-ness, has its consequences. I am guilty of the 'Martha' syndrome. This coming year I want to learn to be a 'Mary'. Sitting at the feet of the One who is gracious, and loving, and willing to let me start over again. Will you join me? It only takes one step. Every step you take, He'll take leaps and bounds to be with you.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
December brings glad tidings of comfort and joy....
.Sixteen years living in Seattle and still, the weather is choice topic starter. Thank God for a warm and dry house this year. I am thanking God for material blessings . We receive graciously and we gladly thank you O'hana.... And most of all I am thanking Him for the gift of salvation.
Now, I realize that November has passed, but Thanksgiving will never. So this is an extension of my gratitude to a loving Father. This is His time. This is His celebration. Salvation is the greatest gift human kind could ever hope to receive. And we ought to receive it, for He is offering it to us. We who are unworthy, can be recipients of the richest gift of all time, of all ages.....He, Himself.
Now, I realize that November has passed, but Thanksgiving will never. So this is an extension of my gratitude to a loving Father. This is His time. This is His celebration. Salvation is the greatest gift human kind could ever hope to receive. And we ought to receive it, for He is offering it to us. We who are unworthy, can be recipients of the richest gift of all time, of all ages.....He, Himself.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Rebirthing
It has been approximately 2 months since surgery, and I am doing very well. To the left, is an image of my current medications and the 'mediset' to which I fondly call, my dinner plate. Its a potent drug, with side effects ranging from the 'shakies' (tremors) to intense headaches, of both I have experienced, (and have not enjoyed). Though the shakies are somewhat amusing. I, who have scoffed at tremors in other clinical patients, am now a first class, shaky myself. In other news, unrelated to kidney disease, the weather in the Pacific Northwest has officially turned, soggy. The ground, the roof, the air, my driveway....all soggy. They should add another climate term right after 'rainy and cloudy'....and 'soggy' fits the bill. Daily life around here is back to some semblence of normalcy. Our family is functioning according to the amount of prednisone I have in my blood stream. I am tempted to put a Mommy Mood Gauge of some sorts on the wall, just as a precaution to my dear love ones. They need not anticipate a surprise visit from the Mother from....well...you know...if they can see it on the wall, they can prepare.
Cynism aside however, and I blame the negativity on medication, easy out, right? Really, it has been a fun experience rediscovering who I am, and how kidney disease has re-defined yet re-affirmed some things in my life. Faith in a real, tangible, loving God, faith in His Word and seeing it come alive in front of my very own eyes, the power of prayer.....these have been re-affirmed and refreshed in my life.
The redefinition comes in the form of actual, physical manifestations. I literally feel, brand spanking new. And thats not metaphor for my spiritual body, I'm talking about my flabby, 30 lbs over weight, over-eating, medicine junkie, physical body. There's no lingering weakness in my joints and muscles anymore. And certain, female attributes, of which I will not indulge in a public forum, are functioning again. I'm able to look at a life of opportunity without the constraints of physical weakness.
It's a great place to be, expecting wonderful things, being on the edge of welcoming something wonderful and not knowing what it will be. There are things that remain the same however, the God whom I serve, His Word, my family, the people who've supported us every step of the way. They remain the foundation. And I'm thankful that I can build upon something that won't sink, that won't crumble or fade away.
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