 Michael's
Transplant
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12/5 (in Greenville) Blood work
12/12 (in Greenville) Clinic
MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) National Foundation for Transplants
Definitions: creatinine - A waste product of muscle tissue. It is produced at a constant rate and excreted by the kidneys. A level of 7+ is when dialysis is needed.
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November 17, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.5 Happy 1st Annivesary!!
May 15, 2007 4:00pm Michael came home from the hospital yesterday! YAY! He had a second cat scan on Saturday and it showed that his sinuses looked better. Since he had no fever the past 2 days, they said he could go home. He was prescribed some antibiotics and will meet with an ENT in a couple weeks. The boys and I are VERY happy to have him home.
May 12, 2007 12:30pm So, Michael is still in the hospital. He continues to have headaches and a fever. He had an MRI done on Wednesday night, but has yet to hear the results on that. He met with an ENT earlier in the week, but he didn't really do anything because he assumed the antibiotics would do the trick. Well, Michael continues to have really bad headaches, so he is supposed to meet with the ENT again since some of the pain should have already been relieved.
May 6, 2007 7:00pm Michael woke up today with a fever of 101.8 and a terrible headache, so they gave him another dose of antibiotics. He met with the infectious disease doctor again and found out that the spinal tap came back normal, so he doesn't have meningitis or anything like that. They are still waiting for the results on a few cultures they did, so in the meantime, they were going to give him different antibiotics to focus on his sinusitis. He seems to look better than he did yesterday, so hopefully that's a good sign. He is bored and hates the food. Poor Michael.
May 5, 2007 Creatinine level = 3.0 9:30pm Well, today was fun. We spent the day at the hospital! Michael has been having terrible headaches lately and also waking up with a low fever. He had been taking Tylenol for the fever and the pain and that usually was enough. He had clinic last week and they told him his headaches were probably due to allergies and told him to take some over the counter medication. This didn't help. On Wednesday, his fever was up to 101.2, so he went to see the nurse at his nephrologist's office. She thought it was a sinus infection and gave him an antibiotic. If he wasn't better by Friday, he was to call them back. Well, on Friday he wasn't better, but no one was at the office that day.
This morning he
woke up with a fever of 102.8 and we decided to go to the ER at Greenville
Hospital.
He was finally admitted to a room around 2:30pm. We met with an infectious disease doctor and he thought we should do a spinal tap to make sure it wasn't something more serious. Since his immune system is being compromised due to all the medication he needs for the transplant, he can easily catch something. Michael's spinal fluid looked good (it was clear like it's supposed to be), but they were going to run some tests on it to check for anything.
They ran some other blood cultures that were going to take 2-3 days to get the results back. The nurse seemed to think Michael would be in the hospital until at least Monday. He got a little nauseous after the spinal tap and later again this evening so they gave him some medication for that. So, he's a little out of it and hopefully will sleep well tonight.
March 28, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.7 3:30pm Michael had clinic in Greenville today. Everything looks good. He will have more lab work in a few weeks and clinic again in a month.
March 21, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.6 9:30am Sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile. Not much has been happening. Michael's creatinine is down to 2.6 and he went this morning for blood work. Next Wednesday he has clinic, but it's here in Greenville. I will update this when we get his results back.
March 4, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.8 9:30am This past Monday, Michael had blood work done and his creatinine was unchanged. He also switched over to his new medication, Rapamune. He will get blood work again tomorrow after being on Rapamune for a week.
February 24, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.8 10:30pm Michael's 4th biopsy was like all the others. It was scheduled for 9:00 am, but he didn't get it done until about 12:00. It's a little frustrating since the main reason was that the surgeons wanted to do all the biopsies for the day at the same time, so he could do them one right after another. The results came back as "Normal" with NO rejection. His creatinine was 2.8 and his WBC count had jumped way up to 9.1. So since everything looks good, he is starting his med switch from Prograf to Rapamune. Michael stopped the Prograf last Thursday, and will start the Rapamune Monday morning. He will be getting lab's on Monday and then again the following Monday. We are looking forward to seeing if his Creatinine level will be lower. If the doctors really know what is going on, then it should. We are hoping for anything below 2.0, so we will just keep our fingers crossed.
February 17, 2007 12:40pm So much for last week being Michael's last trip to Charleston. Michael got a message from MUSC that they want to have him come back down next week and have another biopsy of his kidney done (this will be the 4th one). They didn't really give an exact reason except that they want to make sure he is not having any rejection. It is possible to have rejection and not have any signs of it. Michael thinks that it is most likely because of the way they have been controlling his medications. He is on a much lower dose of his Prograf. His body has about 1/3 the level that they usually try to maintain in patients. He is also on 1/2 the dose of the other main rejection medicine (Cellcept). So it makes sense that they want to get a clear picture of his condition right before they make the switch to Rapamune. We are not really happy about going back down, but if the doctors think it is necessary, then that's what is important. We are driving down Monday night and will probably be there all day Tuesday since biopsy results usually don't come back until 4-5 in the afternoon. We will try to post the results on Wednesday morning.
February 10, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.7 8:45am It looks like Michael might have had his last trip to Charleston for a while (we hope). His creatinine was roughly the same at 2.7 and his WBC (white blood cell) count is up a little to 2.8 (but still low). The doctors still want to switch him from Prograf to Rapamune but are still concerned about his WBC since the Rapamune can lower it more. The final decision was to wait a couple more weeks. On the 17th of February, it will have been 3 months. At that time, transplant recipients normally stop taking Valcyte. Valcyte lowers the WBC count, so the plan is that after Michael stops taking the Valcyte, they will check his WBC count about a week later. They expect that it will be higher, and they can make the switch to Rapamune. Since he's going to be returning to work in the office soon, they said he can start getting his blood drawn at LabCorp since it is closer to where he works. Also, they are going to start having him come to the clinic in Greenville for his follow up visits.
February 1, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.6 8:30pm Michael went to get blood work done on Monday January 29th. He talked with his post transplant coordinator, Sarah, today and found out his results. His creatinine came down a little to 2.6 and his white blood cell count in still low. Sarah said they are planning on switching his medication to Rapamune once his white blood cell count comes back up some. Michael passes all the other requirements to be on that drug (low protein in the urine and low cholesterol), so his white blood cell count is all we're waiting on. He doesn't need to do anything else until next Thursday when he drives to MUSC for blood work and clinic.
January 25, 2007 Creatinine level = 2.7 11:30am Finally some good news! Michael's creatinine is down to 2.7!! The doctors think that perhaps his one medicine (Prograf) is the reason his creatinine hasn't been coming down. In some people, Prograf can restrict the blood vessels and that can affect the function of the kidney. This past week, they lowered his Prograf drastically and now his creatinine is lower. They are thinking about putting him on a different medication, Rapamune. It is a newer medication, but he would need to qualify for it. In order to qualify, he would need low protein in his urine, a good cholesterol level, and a higher white blood cell count. Since his white blood cell count was low again today, he wouldn't qualify for this different drug at this time. The main concern to the doctors right now is getting his white blood cell count back up. Since it was low, they tested him for parvovirus (fifth disease or "slapped cheek disease"). It's possible he has that and that it is causing his white blood cell count to go down. He has to go back to MUSC in 2 weeks for another appointment.
January 20, 2007 Creatinine level = 3.2 10:00pm The last 3 days
have been a little rough. Michael has come down with a fever. Thursday
morning he started feeling pretty bad. His temperature was 100.6 which is
just above the temp when MUSC would want to know about it. They were ok with
waiting until Friday morning to get labs done to see what might be going on,
and they had him take Tylenol to help control the fever.
January 13, 2007 Creatinine level = 3.1 9:30am Michael had blood work done at GMH Friday morning. His creatinine was 3.1 and his white blood cell count had gone up to 3.2 (from the Neupogen shot). His CMV test from the day before also came back negative (meaning back to a dormant state). We are still waiting on results from the MRA from MUSC. So for now, nothing more until next Friday.
January 11, 2007 Creatinine level = 3.0 9:00pm Today was the big day Michael got his urinary stent removed. For those of you who don't like to think about such things, I won't go into details. Michael described it as "fun" but I sensed some sarcasm in his tone. It went smoothly and he was done in a little over half an hour. Then he was off to the clinic. Clinic today was slooooooow. He got in a exam room quickly but ended up sitting in it for an hour and a half. His creatinine is steady at 3.0 but his white blood cell count is back down a little to 1.8. They gave him another Neupogen shot and wanted to have him fill a prescription for 2 more for the next 2 days (to give to himself). Once again Cigna did not make things easy for us (they require a preauthorization which can take up to 72 hours for injectables), and after another 2 hours of waiting, we had to leave without the shots. If he needs them, he will have to go back to the ER in Greenville again. So, blood work at GMH tomorrow morning to see the effect of the shot and clinic in 2 weeks unless something comes up.
January 9, 2007 9:00pm Michael had an
MRA of his transplanted kidney this morning at
Greenville Radiology. He had an MRI
of his knee last July after a volleyball injury, but the MRA was a little
different. First of all, this time he had to have an IV for a contrast
solution.
January 5, 2007 Creatinine level = 3.2 Happy 2nd Birthday Joshua! 4:00pm Michael went for blood work yesterday morning. His creatinine has basically stayed the same at 3.2 and his WBC count dropped a little to 2.1. They are also testing his CMV level again, but we don't have those results yet. Last week his CMV level was 1875, and we're hoping it will continue to drop even more. They also requested he get an MRA (very similar to an MRI) and that has been scheduled for next week at Greenville Radiology.
December 29, 2006 11:00pm Today we got some good news...We don't have to drive back down to Charleston for 2 weeks! YAY! Michael will need to get blood drawn on Thursday at GMH, and then we will go back down to Charleston the following week for blood work, clinic and the stent removal. Let's keep our fingers crossed that nothing changes, and we don't get a call next week saying we need to come down sooner.
December 28, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.3 11:30pm
December 26, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.4 10:00pm I have nothing to report since our post transplant coordinator is on vacation this week, and the person filling in probably didn't think to call us since we'll be there Thursday. So I guess no news is good news. I'll update the blog on Thursday.
December 24, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.0 Merry Christmas Eve! 3:00pm We got a call with the results from this mornings labs. Michael's creatinine was at 3.0 again (we just can't break 3.0), and his WBC count was 1.5. So it's good news that the WBC has risen a little. Michael is not feeling great right now. For the last couple days he has felt like he is getting a slight cold (a little achy and a slight sore throat). So far he has no fever, and we just have to keep a close eye on him.
10:00am Michael was at GMH early again this morning for his blood work. Today went smoothly and he was done by 8:30. We should get a call from Sara (our transplant coordinator at MUSC) later today with the results.
December 23, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.1 7:00pm Michael had blood work this morning at GMH (Greenville Memorial Hospital) and then also had to get another Neupogen shot. Due to the holiday weekend, Michael had to get all this done in the ER. Needless to say it took a while. He was there for about 3 hours. We didn't get his results back until late. His creatinine was about the same at 3.1 and his white blood cell count is still low (1.1). They say it is going to take a while for it to work its way back up to a safe level. Hopefully, we will see it a little higher tomorrow.
December 22, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.0 3:30pm Michael had blood taken at Greenville this morning. MUSC called with the results of today's test and the results of the CMV test from yesterday. The good news is that Michael's electrolytes are all good. His creatinine also came back today at 3.0. The bad news is that his WBC (white blood cell) count is still too low (1.0 today). They want him to have 2 more Neupogen shots today and tomorrow to boost his WBC as soon as possible. He will need to go to Greenville Hospital to get these. His CMV test came back at a low level which is good. A normal person who tests positive for CMV (in its dormant state) would be about 500. His came back at about 2000. So it is slightly elevated, but not high enough to be treated with antibiotics. To help raise his WBC count, they are going to hold off on his Cellcept (one of the 3 main immunosuppressant drugs) until his count rises. They are also going to have him take more of his Valcyte (a drug that helps fight viral infections). He needs to have blood work again tomorrow to check what effects these changes have made. In his words, "I feel like a lab rat".
December 21, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.3 11:00pm Michael had his
usual blood work done at 8:00 in the morning. His clinic appointment
was not until 11:30 so we went back to the hotel to hang out. Once in clinic
we found out that his creatinine was at 3.3. The good news about this (for
Michael) is that he won the pool we had going (it's bad news for the rest of
us who lost money). 3.2 to 3.3 is not really what they consider a change, so
they did not have much to say about the level. What they were concerned
about was his white blood cell (WBC) count. It came back at a
critically low level. Normal levels are from 4-10. His was at 1.1.
Anything below 2 they start to worry about. There are of course several
different things that could cause this to happen. First, it could be
the medications he is taking. Second (and more distressful) is that his CMV
virus may have become active.
December 18, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.2 7:30pm Michael had blood work done in Greenville today and his creatinine went down slightly. There is nothing new to report. We will be driving down to Charleston again Wednesday afternoon for his clinic appointment Thursday. If all goes well, we won't have to drive back down there for 2 weeks, but will continue to get blood work done in Greenville.
December 14, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.3 5:30pm Michael had blood work done this morning and then a clinic appointment at 11am. His creatinine level increased a little today, and the doctors and nurses really can't give us a reason why it's happening. We just have to be patient and wait. He needs to have blood drawn on Monday at Greenville and then we will be returning to MUSC next Thursday. We are of course a little disappointed about the level, but as long as it is not rejecting the doctors say all we can do is wait.
December 11, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.1 6:00pm We received a call from the post transplant coordinator and Michael's creatinine level is down to 3.1. We are hoping to break the 3.0 barrier on Thursday!
5:00pm Michael got blood drawn at Greenville Hospital today and the results were to be faxed to MUSC. We had hoped to hear from his post transplant coordinator earlier today, but we haven't heard anything. Michael just called her and left a message. Hopefully we will hear something later today if not then by tomorrow morning.
December 7, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.6 11:45am We met with the urologist and he feels the stent is not causing any problems. So, he is going to keep it in there until January 11th as previously planned. Michael's creatinine has also come down to 3.6, so today was full of good news. He will need to have blood drawn at Greenville Hospital next week, and we will be back down here at MUSC next Thursday for clinic.
8:30am We drove down last night and got up early this morning for blood work. We are now sitting around until 11am when Michael will get to meet with Dr. Fred Savage! We're hoping to get his autograph. =) We should receive a call from the post transplant coordinator with the results from Michael's blood work.
December 4, 2006 Creatinine level = 4.1 5:30pm Michael's biopsy is normal. The preliminary reading of the renal scan is normal, but they are going analyze the results more thoroughly. Michael has to go back to MUSC on Thursday to have blood drawn and see the urologist. During the transplant, a stent was placed in his ureter. A stent is an internal tube to help support the ureter-bladder connection as it heals, and to make sure urine flows easily from the kidney into the bladder. There is a possibility that the stent is causing problems for his creatinine levels.
3:00pm After Michael's
biopsy, ultrasound, and Doppler test, the doctor decided he wanted a more
detailed view of his kidney.
10:00am Michael is back at MUSC for his clinic appointment. He had some lab work done, and they also removed his staples. Since his creatinine has gone up, they are going to do another biopsy. They just want to make sure that he is definitely not rejecting the kidney. It's possible that the sample they took before was okay, so they will take another sample from a different area. They will be doing the same procedure as last time, using the ultrasound to guide them. He is also going to get a Doppler test done, which is a special part of an ultrasound exam that assesses the blood flow. They want to make sure the blood is flowing well through the artery (remember, they had to take the 2 arteries Tom's kidney had and another artery from a cadaver's kidney and put them together).
December 1, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.5 3:30pm Michael's lab results came back and his creatinine level has dropped slightly to 3.5. Hopefully over the next few weeks it will continue to go down further. Ideally the level would be down around 1.2-1.5 but it varies with each transplant. We'll just keep our fingers crossed and wait. We will be driving down to MUSC Sunday night for our Monday clinic appointment. Hopefully Michael will be getting his staples removed. Unless something comes up, we probably won't post any updates until Monday.
10:00am We were up early (7:00am) this morning to go to Greenville Memorial to have labs taken and sent to MUSC. All went fairly smoothly and we were home again by 9:00am. Michael is still not sleeping very well due to some pain and also his need to use the bathroom frequently during the night. This should get better as time goes by, but right now they really want him to push his fluid intake as much as possible. We should know the results of his blood work later today.
November 30, 2006 Today was Michael's first full day home and all he did was just take it easy. He is still in some pain but it seems to be getting better slowly. Around 5-6pm, he started feeling worse and had an upset stomach (similar to what happened Monday). We think that it might be a side effect of another one of his meds (Valcyte). He takes it every Monday and Thursday morning to help his body fight infection. He will be able to stop taking this one after about 3 months. Hopefully his body will start to adjust to all the meds so he won't feel as many side effects.
November 29, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.6 7:30pm
3:00pm We have the results from all the tests today. No urinary tract infection, and no problem with the new kidney. So, we are able to go home! YAY! Michael will need to get blood drawn on Friday at Greenville Memorial Hospital and then we will come back here Monday for clinic. It will be nice to be home and see the boys.
1:00pm Michael had lab
work done once again this morning. After that, he was scheduled to have a
bone density test. The bone density test is a normal procedure that all
transplant patients have done. This is because one side effect of Prednisone
(one of the meds he is on) is bone loss. Yearly, Michael will need to have a
test done to see if he is having any loss. After the test, we waited around
for the lab results to come back. Michael's creatinine stayed the same at
3.6 and his white blood cell count appears to have gone up. The doctors are
a little concerned that he might have the start of a urinary tract
infection, so they did a test for that. One other possibility for the high
count is a result of the steroids that he was given on the day of the
biopsy. Michael also mentioned to the doctors that he is still having pain
in the area of the biopsy. Mostly when he is walking or standing. The pain
from the biopsy should not really last much longer that 1-2 days, so another
ultra sound of the transplanted kidney was ordered to make certain there was
no internal bleeding. The ultra sound was done at 12:00pm and we are waiting
on the results. If everything checks out, we are going to be allowed to go
home for the weekend.
November 28, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.6 9:00am All Michael had to do today was get blood drawn. When we got back to the hotel, he received a call from his post transplant coordinator. His creatinine stayed the same and they told him he needs to increase his fluids. When they get the rest of the results of his blood work, they may alter his meds.
November 27, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.6 7:00pm Today was a long long day at the clinic. But, the good news is that the biopsy came back normal, meaning he is NOT rejecting the new kidney! It sounds like they just don't have the right mix of meds yet. They are going to continue taking blood for the next 3 days and hope to see the numbers improve.
More about the biopsy....The biopsy is done with a long thin probe that has little spring loaded fingers that shoot out the end. They use an ultrasound to guide the probe right up against the kidney. They then press a button and the little fingers shoot out and grab a sample of the kidney. It didn't hurt Michael since the kidneys have no nerves in them. It took about 3 minutes of the surgeon's time and afterwards, Michael had to be monitored for 2 hours to make sure he was okay and there was no bleeding.
5:00pm I just talked with the nurse and she told me they are going to give Michael a dose of steroids. We still don't have the results of the biopsy yet, but they are doing this steroid treatment just in case he is rejecting the kidney. Michael is very tired from the nausea medicine, but otherwise is doing alright. The steroid dose will take about 30 minutes and then hopefully we can head back to the hotel to rest.
2:30pm Michael’s biopsy went well and we came back over to Rutledge tower (where clinic is) to meet with a nurse. We were told that the results to the biopsy wouldn’t be in for at least 2 hours, so we could go back to the hotel and wait there for someone to call us. As Michael stood up to leave, he felt nauseous and wound up throwing up. They gave him some medicine to help with the nausea and they are giving him an IV to give him back some fluids he lost. He’ll be on the IV for about an hour, so I’m out here in the waiting room…waiting.
10:40am We came into the clinic today to get blood draw
November 26, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.4 3:00pm We received a call from a nurse at MUSC with Michael's test results. His creatinine level has gone up, and she told him that based on his results tomorrow, they may do a biopsy on the new kidney. That would help the doctors determine what exactly is going on with the new kidney (is it working properly, is it being rejected, etc).
9:00am Michael had blood taken this morning by the hotel nurse. It will most likely be another slow day without much going on. We do know that Michael's creatinine level is not as low as they would like. Usually people can start going home once they get below 2.0. Every transplant is different and they can try different things to help the kidney get fully started. One possibility is more thymo treatments. We will have to wait and see what his test results are today and what course of action they think is best for him.
November 25, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.1 7:30pm Another slow day for Michael today. The hotel nurse drew blood at 8:30 and that was about it. We got out of the room for a while this afternoon and took a walk. It was a very nice day out. Michael has not been sleeping very well but feeling pretty good. He still is in a fair amount of pain if not taking the pain killers.
November 24, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.0 2:00pm Today is the first day Michael didn't have to go to the hospital, but the nurse stopped by at 6am to draw blood! Michael's parents left this morning to head back home. We want to thank them for coming down and being here for us during this time. We miss them already! I came back this afternoon to continue my job as caregiver and blog updater!
November 23, 2006 - Thanksgiving !!! Creatinine level = 3.0 This year
Want to see Tom's scars? Click here. There are 4 actual openings (a horizontal incision and 3 smaller incisions) and then a bruise from the retractors.
8:00am No trip to MUSC
this morning. Due to the holiday, the clinic is closed the next 4 days. Our
home nurse came by this morning to take Michael's blood for testing. After
the doctors review the results, he might have to go in to MUSC (main
hospital) for another Thymo treatment. We won't know until 10:00 or 11:00
today. If he does need the 5th dose, it will then take 5-6 hours for the
infusion. So Michael might be having a long day to
10:00am Michael had to go in for his last treatment of Thymo. I came back to Easley to have Thanksgiving with the boys. It's been 8 days (as my mother constantly reminds me!) since we left. Joshua didn't even want to come near me, but by the end of the day he was happy to see his Mommy. Of course, in the morning, I will be driving back to Charleston to take care of Michael until he can come home. So, I guess Joshua will get mad all over again.
5:00pm Michael's treatment went well and he's back in the hotel with his parents. They are having their own little Thanksgiving dinner there.
7:30am We went to clinic today so Michael could have his blood drawn and get another treatment of Thymo. While waiting to be called back for the treatment, Michael wasn't feeling well. He finally went back and was going to talk to a nurse. I left since I can't sit in the treatment room with him, and decided to go back to the hotel for a few hours. As I'm pulling out of the parking garage, Michael calls telling me they are not going to do Thymo and he needs me to get him. So, I pull out of the parking lot, just so I can pull right back in! The nurse seems to think the Thymo treatment from yesterday along with the raising of one of his meds, caused him to feel a little tired and just not right. So, we're at the hotel now and Michael is napping. He might have to do the last dose of Thymo tomorrow. We will find out later today.
November 21, 2006 Creatinine level = 3.5 9:00pm We got back to
the hotel around 5:30pm and had dinner. A nurse also came by to check on
Michael. He will have a nurse come every night to check his vitals, and also
on days where he doesn't need to go to the clinic (Thursday, Saturday and
Sunday).
3:00pm
November 20, 2006 Creatinine level = 4.1 9:10pm Michael was discharged from the hospital tonight. We are back in the hotel and he is doing well. We have to go back to the hospital tomorrow for clinic. They will draw blood and he will get another dose of Thymo intravenously which takes 6 hours, so we will be there all day. Thymo is used to help prevent rejection. Tomorrow should be his last dose of it.
12:30pm I wanted to clarify what happened during Michael's surgery. Apparently, when they removed Tom's kidney, they discovered that it had 2 arteries and 1 vein. Usually there is only one of each. Since he had 2 arteries, they were both smaller than a normal single artery. When they hooked the new kidney into his body, they were not getting enough blood flow to the new kidney. So, like any good plumber, they made an adaptor from an artery taken from a cadaver from that day. They took Tom's 2 arteries and tied them into the cadaver artery. Then, they tied the single artery in to Michael. The blood flow was much better and everything went on fine from there.
Also, Tom left the hospital early yesterday and is already home in Maryland. He is doing very well.
November 19, 2006 Creatinine level = 4.8 I went to see Michael today at the hospital and he seems to be doing very well. He walked up and down the hall a few times and is eating well. They have a bell down the hall that you ring in honor of those who donated an organ. On one of his walks, he went down and rang it for his Uncle.
Want to see a picture of his scar? Click here.
November 18, 2006 Creatinine level = 6.0 8:00pm Michael has been up and about. He walked down the hall and back.
6:00pm Michael seems to be doing well. He is sleeping a lot because of the medication they are giving him. He got up once earlier and sat in a chair for awhile. And just awhile ago, he was sitting up eating dinner.
10:50am I talked with Michael this morning. He seems to be doing okay. He's in some pain, but that is to be expected. He hasn't walked yet, but I'm sure they will try to get him out of bed today. I still can't go see him (the surgeon wants me to stay away one more day), so I will update whenever I hear anything from Michael or his parents. Here is a picture Michael sent me this morning.
November 17, 2006 Creatinine level = 6.5 9:30 Michael's surgery is done. They ran into a little problem. The vessels on Tom's kidney were smaller than normal and when they hooked up the kidney in Michael there wasn't enough blood flowing through to the kidney. The doctor took vessels from a cadaver that came in this morning and used them instead. After hooking it up, the blood flow was very good and the doctor was pleased with the outcome. Michael is resting comfortably and his parents will be able to see him probably in about an hour.
8:30 Tom is up in his own room now and recovering nicely. Michael is still in the OR. His parents got a call from the doctor saying that everything is going fine and that the doctor would be out in about an hour to talk to them.
6:45 Tom is awake and Alicia (his wife) was able to visit with him. He seems to be doing well. Michael is still in the OR.
5:30 Tom is out of surgery and recovering. He is doing fine. Carol (Michael's mom) asked the doctor when they thought Michael would be out and he said he would probably be in there for another hour.
3:30pm Michael was just
taken to the Operating room.
1:50pm I just received word that Michael was taken back to be prepped for surgery at 1:30.
12:15pm Michael just let me know that they took Tom back. So, it looks like Michael will be going back soon too and the surgery will be underway.
7:00am Michael just called to let me know that his surgery has been put on hold. We knew this could happen if an organ from a cadaver became available since those transplants need to happen quickly. So, for now he's been instructed to stay there and not eat.
5:30am Michael left the hotel to go to MUSC for his transplant. I unfortunately have come down with something and can't even be there for him. His parents are down here and drove him over there. Hopefully I will get to feeling better and can go later today to at least see him. Michael doesn't seem too worried about the surgery. His only concern is that he's going to have to have a catheter for 3 days. What a baby! :) I will update this blog as soon as I hear anything. The surgery takes anywhere from 3-6 hours. |
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It
has been a year since Michael had his transplant and things seem to be going
quite well. We had a small celebration today with good food and even better
dessert! It's a shame that we couldn't spend this day with Uncle Tom because
without him, we wouldn't be here today, but he was definitely in our
thoughts.
The doctor there said we should start with some blood work,
a chest x-ray and a CAT scan to see what's going on. His creatinine
had gone up a little, but probably due to the fact that he didn't have much
to drink today. The chest x-ray showed a little fluid in his left
lung. The CAT scan came back showing that he did have sinusitis. He
was given some antibiotics (maxipeme and vancomycin) and some medication for
the headaches.
He also had to be placed much further into the "doughnut" then
when they scanned his knee. Michael said it was easy to see why some
people 
Each one of the scans took
between 20-30 seconds, and he had to hold his breath every time they were
scanning. The whole process took about 40 minutes. They took over 700
images total of his 
Want to view a clip from the MRA? Click
Yippee!
another biopsy. Michael had his 3rd biopsy today at MUSC. He had the normal
blood work done in the morning, then the biopsy. Due to the holiday it was
PACKED at the clinic. Michael was done with the biopsy at 11:45am and then
had to recover for 2 hours. As usual, they wanted us to stay in the area
until the results came back. That happened at 5:30pm. So, it ended up being
a long day and we did not get home until 10:00. But Michael's biopsy came
back normal again, so that is good. His WBC count is also up again from
2.5(Tuesday's results) to 2.7. His creatinine is staying roughly the
same though...3.3 today (it was 3.4 on Tuesday).
we
received Wednesday night in the hotel about the noise the boys
were making). Who goes to sleep at 8:30pm? The boys also got to see the
ocean for the first time. They really like throwing shells into the water,
running from the waves, and watching the seagulls fly around them.
So,
Michael went to get a renal scan in the nuclear medicine department.
We
arrived at home around 7:30pm. It was nice to be back! The boys were
very excited to see their Daddy!
n. Michael's creatinine level has gone up again. It is now 3.6. The doctor wants to do a biopsy of the new kidney in order to determine what the problem is. One of the medications Michael is taking is Prograf. They have been adjusting its level daily based on his blood work. His levels have been high the past few days and that could be causing his creatinine level to go up. Another possibility is that he is rejecting the kidney. If this is the case, there are various treatments they can do. We just have to wait until we get the results of the biopsy. Since it's being done so early, we're hoping to have the results by this afternoon. After the biopsy, Michael will be in recovery for a few hours to make sure he's fine and there is no bleeding. Then we will have to sit around and wait for the results. We need to be here in case they need to treat him right away.
we
are VERY thankful for Tom, Michael's kidney donor. He is Michael's uncle
(his mom's brother) and lives in Maryland with his wife Alicia and has 3
kids, Beth, Joe, and Maryrose. It wasn't long after we told the family
how close Michael was to needing either a transplant or dialysis that Tom
came forward and offered to donate! He will never know how grateful we
are for his generosity! Even after all the hassle with insurance (yes,
they are a PAIN), he was completely committed and never looked back. Thanks
again for everything. We love you, Tom (and Tom Jr. a.k.a. Uncle Tom's
Kidney). 
day. We will have to wait
and see. Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving. We miss you all!
You would be amazed at the amount of pills he has. It's like a drug store in
here! They are constantly changing his amounts based on his lab results. We
have a sheet that lists all his medications, what they look like, when to
take them, how much, etc. It can be a little overwhelming, but so far
Michael has been doing really well with it. Some of these drugs will
be stopped 3 months from now, while others he will continue to take for the
rest of his life.
We arrived at
clinic early this morning so Michael could have blood drawn. We also met
with a social worker to help discuss our Medicare options and our
post-transplant coordinator to go over Michael's medications again. After awhile, he was given his Thymo treatment and won't be done with that
until around 5pm. At that point, he can come back to the hotel.
He will have to have another Thymo treatment tomorrow at clinic, so it will
be another long day. I have added his Creatinine levels to each day's
heading. As you can see, slowly but surely it is dropping. It was 6.5
the day of surgery and is already down to 3.5. 
