So Far So Good!

A friend of mine sent me a text and said "Where's an update? People want to know how the boys are doing!" Sorry it's been since last Wednesday. Doug has just been settling in at home, resting but feeling good. It's amazing what a working kidney can do. With his kidney function being at 11% prior to the transplant it left Doug swollen from retaining the fluid that his kidneys were not filtering. You could see it in his face, hands, legs, and feet. He has now lost almost all the puffiness in his face, hands and legs. His wedding ring has even slipped off several times. He looks really good! Home health came last Thursday for a blood draw and everything looked great only issue was low phosphorus which can be fixed with a little extra dairy and dark soda. Home Health will come every Monday and Thursday so we had another visit this morning and we should get those results this afternoon. Doug's follow-up visit with the surgeon and nephrology team is tomorrow, Tuesday and he hopes to have the drain removed. We anticipate that everything will go well and we will get a good report on how everything is healing and working.

Dan is doing great! The Vaughn family came for dinner on Saturday night. It was so great to see the boys together doing well. Dan is continuing to have some residual pain and at times he tires easily but that's apart of the healing process and his body adjusting. He will also have a follow-up visit with his surgeon on Tuesday then Dan and his family will be free to go home to Normal, IL. We will hate to see them go but life for all of us needs to get back to some sort of normalcy and he will be able to continue his healing in the comfort of his own home. TYD!!! ;)

I have been asked about Doug's native kidneys and also the placement of the transplanted kidney on several occasions so I thought I'd address those questions now. In regards to any kidney transplant they typically do not take the native kidneys out during the surgery, the old kidneys are not disconnected and the 'new' kidney is placed into the front of the abdomen most of the time on the right side. Why not take the kidneys out? First, a transplant surgery can typically last from 4-6 hours and to remove the kidneys can also be a very lengthy procedure as well. Both of these procedures are major so doing both at the same time is not optimal. Second, PKD kidneys are large and most of the time adhered to other organs leaving many issues that can occur during removal. Last but not least, in general doctors do not like to remove the kidneys, PKD or not, unless there is a medical need to do so. The question now becomes, will Doug have his removed? We hope and pray that in time he will be able to have his removed as with every cyst that ruptures there is pain, bleeding, risk of infection and the fact that in general the size of his native kidneys make it hard for him to breathe. Doug's late father had his removed when he had his transplant which cause a lot of problems and Doug's sister Sarah had her native kidneys removed 10 months after her transplant with no complications and she is doing well. If I remember correctly each of her kidneys weighed approx 7-8 lbs. Folks that's like birthing twins only you don't get to take them home. Only time will tell if removing the kidneys will be an option for Doug.

This journey is a marathon and not a sprint! Someone said to me the other day 'So now that Doug has the 'new' kidney everything is fine and he can get back to his life right?' Well yes, when he recovers from surgery he will get back to life as he knew it prior to his health declining. As I've stated before he will have to take anti-rejection medicines everyday for the rest of his life to lessen the chance of rejection. It will take time for Doug to heal and to adjust to the medicines. He is doing great and we pray he will continue to do well but a kidney transplant is not a cure it is simply a treatment. There may be complications along the way but Doug (we) can't live in the what if's and that's very hard to do but in time our family will get back to life as we know it. We look forward to paying forward all the help and support that has been given to us during this time.

One last quick topic! April is Organ Donation Awareness month. I hope that our story not only gives others hope for those waiting on an organ but that it also encourages others to become organ donors whether it's registering when renewing your drivers license, signing up on the organ donor registry website (see below) or even becoming a living donor. There are over 123,000 individuals out there waiting on organs and you can help! Share Your Spare!!

organdonor.gov

Thanks for reading! Will update later this week after the appointments.