Big news! We met with the nephrologist yesterday and she was very pleased with how Scott is doing from a kidney perspective. Scott is now in the “recovery phase” with regards to kidney function. I wasn’t sure this day would ever come! The doctor said that he doesn’t need dialysis right now and she’d see him in a month. His kidneys are functioning at 25-30% right now and they’re hopefully still improving. It’s only when kidneys work less than 10-15% that dialysis is needed. She did say Scott’s kidneys will never be 100% but that’s okay. The reason people can donate a kidney is that kidneys are capable of doing a lot more work than a body needs.
What an answer to prayer this is! I feel very overwhelmed knowing that so many have prayed and fasted specifically for this blessing. This is also the fulfillment of priesthood blessings. This feels almost as big as the news that there was a heart available. I am very grateful and humbled to be so blessed!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Cautiously Optimistic
Scott came home overnight on the weekend on a pass. When he is discharged he’ll be set up to get his antibiotics through the picc line with a timed pump. He won’t need a nurse to administer it every 4 hours. It really helped to get out for awhile. Hopefully he’ll be home again in a day or two.
Today Scott went into the OR again. They repositioned his Peritoneal Dialysis catheter. They didn’t have to completely replace it but they still had to go in surgically. He’ll be pretty sore tomorrow again.
Good news though. I’m trying to be cautiously optimistic but it’s hard to keep my hopes at bay. So many have been praying for months that Scott’s kidneys will recover. He’s been on dialysis for over 4 months now. Because he has had no way to do dialysis for the last 10 days he hasn’t had it. BUT…. his kidneys are starting to do some work! There certainly isn’t a full recovery but the signs are good. His frequent blood work is looking good. He is retaining a lot of fluid but his toxin levels are acceptable and not rising so far. Today he started diuretics to get rid of some fluid and they are working too. He is doing so much better than the last time he went 10 days without dialysis in March. The doctors certainly won’t say whether or not he’ll continue to need dialysis yet but they are happy with the current trend. SO AM I!!!!! I just pray that it continues.
Thank-you for all of your kind deeds, words, thoughts and prayers! It really makes a difference to us.
Today Scott went into the OR again. They repositioned his Peritoneal Dialysis catheter. They didn’t have to completely replace it but they still had to go in surgically. He’ll be pretty sore tomorrow again.
Good news though. I’m trying to be cautiously optimistic but it’s hard to keep my hopes at bay. So many have been praying for months that Scott’s kidneys will recover. He’s been on dialysis for over 4 months now. Because he has had no way to do dialysis for the last 10 days he hasn’t had it. BUT…. his kidneys are starting to do some work! There certainly isn’t a full recovery but the signs are good. His frequent blood work is looking good. He is retaining a lot of fluid but his toxin levels are acceptable and not rising so far. Today he started diuretics to get rid of some fluid and they are working too. He is doing so much better than the last time he went 10 days without dialysis in March. The doctors certainly won’t say whether or not he’ll continue to need dialysis yet but they are happy with the current trend. SO AM I!!!!! I just pray that it continues.
Thank-you for all of your kind deeds, words, thoughts and prayers! It really makes a difference to us.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Did I say it was getting easier?? oops
Still in the hospital. There are a few reasons but Scott feels fine. The antibiotics have been working and he has no symptoms of an infection now. It was confirmed that he had a staph infection on his dialysis line and it progressed to a full-blown blood infection, or sepsis. His cardiologist told him(when he was past the worst) that it was the kind of infection that “could do a person in”. So we’re lucky and grateful we caught it in time. Scott was close to being admitted to the ICU – not the CICU – worse. Thankfully it didn’t get quite that bad.
Scott has been receiving IV antibiotics and will be for the next 3 weeks. He only stayed in the CICU for one day then he was moved to unit 81 – the same room as before. They plan on putting a picc line in his arm again so he can go home on the meds. BUT the big issue is dialysis. Now he can’t have hemodialysis because they took out the catheter for access. Because he already has a PD catheter line that was put in surgically over a month ago they were just going to start PD dialysis Tuesday night. When they tried to use the PD line it didn’t work properly. They took an xray and it isn’t in the right spot. Now surgery gets involved again to make it work. But that means wait and wait and wait. So Scott feels fine and wants to come home but instead he sits in a dreary hospital room on a beautiful, sunny day waiting for a surgery that could take days to happen again. This really stinks! I try to tell myself to be grateful because it could be so much worse but it still isn’t easy.
Scott has been receiving IV antibiotics and will be for the next 3 weeks. He only stayed in the CICU for one day then he was moved to unit 81 – the same room as before. They plan on putting a picc line in his arm again so he can go home on the meds. BUT the big issue is dialysis. Now he can’t have hemodialysis because they took out the catheter for access. Because he already has a PD catheter line that was put in surgically over a month ago they were just going to start PD dialysis Tuesday night. When they tried to use the PD line it didn’t work properly. They took an xray and it isn’t in the right spot. Now surgery gets involved again to make it work. But that means wait and wait and wait. So Scott feels fine and wants to come home but instead he sits in a dreary hospital room on a beautiful, sunny day waiting for a surgery that could take days to happen again. This really stinks! I try to tell myself to be grateful because it could be so much worse but it still isn’t easy.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Back in Hospital
I know I said on my last post that I wouldn't update for awhile. But when things get hard it helps me to do the updates. Yesterday(Sunday) Scott took his temperature like he does every morning. It was definately a fever at 39.2 degrees Celcius. After calling the transplant team they said to wait and see if it got better by the evening. Unfortunatley it didn't and the chills started. So they told us to go into Emergency. It was a short wait in the waiting area when the doctor calls to say you are coming. After getting a bed in the ER they did a bunch of blood work and hooked Scott up to everything (blood pressure cuff, heart monitor, IV etc.) His fever kept rising. At one point it was 41.7!!!! They told us they were going to admit him for an infection. He had a rough night with blood pressure dropping and a high heart rate, body-shaking chills and a consult with the ICU doctors. In the morning they took out the dialysis line from his neck. It looks like that was probably the source of the infection. We won't know for sure until the results come back from the tests on it.
After a night and a morning in an ER bed Scott was finally admitted to the CICU. Back to that place again. His fever is getting better but he's just plain wore out from fighting this big infection. Hopefully it's a good night tonight and the antibiotics do their job. I'm praying for a short hospital stay!
After a night and a morning in an ER bed Scott was finally admitted to the CICU. Back to that place again. His fever is getting better but he's just plain wore out from fighting this big infection. Hopefully it's a good night tonight and the antibiotics do their job. I'm praying for a short hospital stay!
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