MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Adam and Nigel shoveling snow..fa la la la


My Acura is buried!!!



Adam and Shannon - its only the second time she's seen snow!





Thank you Isabela!

Another hospitalization

Goodness gracious. Yesterday I took Kristie to the ER at Swedish in Seattle. She was complaining of stomach pain for several hours. We arrived at 4 p.m. got in to see a doctor at 5:30 p.m.

They took a urine sample, took a stomach x-ray, did a kidney ultrasound, drew blood for labs. Her creatinine was 3.2 so they admitted her overnight to give her fluid via an IV. Ironically, her stomach quit hurting about the time we arrived...go figure.

On top of all that, I started getting the flu about 5 p.m. (while in the ER room) and was sick the entire time. Nigel didn't get home from Hawaii until midnight and took a taxi straight to the ER to see Kristie and drive me home. I threw up in the car on the way home...lovely.

Kristie spent the night at the hospital by herself...first time ever. The nurses took good care of her though and we arrived at 9 a.m. this morning. Discharge orders had already been written so we were home by 11 a.m.

I'm still sick....AARRGGHH!

We got another 6 inches of snow today. Still can't get in the driveway. Nigel's out shoveling right now.

This snow reminds me of growing up in Minnesota! BRRRRR.

Nigel's son is supposed to arrive tonight from LA at 10 p.m. Wish us luck!

Katie, Nich and Calla arrived in Blackfoot, ID this afternoon and are having fun with YaYa and Serpa. (YaYa and Serpa are Nich's Mom and Step-Dad, Cathie and Scott.)

We're home!

We're home! Sacramento was great fun...even though Calla, Katie, Nich and Kristie had the flu...all at various times...I was lucky I did not catch it.

Calla is so much fun and it was REALLY fun watching her open Christmas presents this year. She loves her little play laptop computer that Katie and Nich got her. She loved the spinning top Great Grandma got her and the Teaching Puppy Aunt Suzie got her.

What was really fun was watching Calla in her home environment. She loves to run, not walk. She loves to terrorize the doggies. She loves to read books...I've never known a one year old to love books as much as she does. (She must have inherited the book gene from her Mom and Dad! She loves to go out to lunch and run errands with Mommy. She loves to help out...for instance, she helped me pack her clothes into the suitcase for her trip to Idaho. I love her so much.

Does anyone find Facebook as confusing as I do? Still trying to figure it out because I think it could be fun instead of frustrating?!

We have about 10 inches of snow in our neighborhood. Luckily our neighbor had partially shoveled our bridge so Kristie and I could navigate our way into the house...the driveway is a nightmare. Hurry home Nigel! He's scheduled to fly home from Hawaii tonight at 10 p.m. Yay!

Kristie's program has been cancelled since last Wednesday because Hopelink and Access (the bus services) cannot do pickups or dropoffs. Even though the main roads are clear, the side roads are not so good. Icy and snowy.

I left my camera at Katie's otherwise I'd take a photo of all the snow! It's beautiful!

Merry Christmas!

My favorite Snowman

A Winter Wonderland!

We got snow last night and the night before. It was beautiful while it was falling. But then the icy roads set in. It's really cold outside - in the 20s. Brrr.

We're supposed to be leaving for Sacramento Tuesday - please pray Kristie's doctor appointment goes well tomorrow morning...her stomach was hurting today. Sigh.

The Christmas Carol

Kristie playing Young Scrooge with her pretend Mom, Kerry Keenan



The Ghost of Christmas present, the Cratchetts & Scrooge




Young Scrooge

Well, after months of practice, Dress Rehearsal was Tuesday night and it went well but all the Moms were sort of thinking...hmmm...

Then, the production was Wednesday night and all the Moms were totally impressed!

The Christmas Carol was a smashing success! Everyone remembered their lines and they all looked smashing in their costumes.

Kristie and I are excited because we just found out that Barry Manilow is coming to Everett in March and tickets are on sale now. SWEET! Are there any other Barry Manilow fans out there?

Calla keeps running 103 temperatures...scary. We think its because she's cutting more teeth.

My foot is better, I can actually fit it into a real shoe now and almost walk normally. Yay!

We're supposed to get snow this weekend...good thing I have my SUV now!!

Australia

The 3 of us went to see the film Australia last night. It was FANTASTIC! Go see it! The cinematography is stunning and the story (based on true events) is entertaining. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman are sure to get academy award nomination. The little boy, Nalla, who they plucked out of the wilderness, literally, with no acting experience, is amazing. Its long - almost 3 hours - but sooooo worth it.

Yesterday Kristie's Connections program had their holiday open house and talent show from 3 to 5 p.m. I was sort of dreading the whole thing because while it sounds good, it never quite is. But this year, it was surprisingly fun! Kristie sang The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston. She brought the house down and lots of people shed some tears...that song is all about love and Kristie's favorite to sing in front of an audience. She does it well.

The Connections program is a program for adults with disabilities. They are only closed on Christmas and New Years Day. Kristie attends Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. SHE LOVES IT. This program is a HUGE part of her life. This is where her friends are and what she talks about the most. And now, because of State budget cuts, it could be on the chopping block. Grrrr. Isn't our most important task in life to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves? That is what this program does; gives the most vulnerable people in society a place to belong.

Speaking of stupid drivers...change of subject...twice in the last few days, I've had stupid drivers literally stop in front of me, in the middle of the road, FOR NO APPARENT REASON, and do stupid things. Its crazy. And weird. Its like I'm in the Twilight Zone.

Update on my foot: two days ago my foot was killing me. But yesterday, after being out and about on it for 12 hours, it was okay. I was inspecting it this morning and the swelling is about 80% gone; I can even get it into my Hafflinger shoe now. Still can't quite walk normally but after two weeks I'm impressed with its progress. Oh, and I got the stiches out last Thursday.

Kristie is doing well, although her blood pressure is still a little high but only at night.

My Dad is healing nicely. Mom said he's about 80% back to normal. Thanks for all your prayers.

Our house is full of holiday cheer...well, the downstairs is anyway. The upstairs - where the big tree is - is not...yet. My job today (besides getting my hair done) is to put the ornaments on the tree. While watching the Grinch who stole Christmas...my holiday tradition.

Have a GREAT Sunday!

A Great Thanksgiving

Whew! What a week! We had such fun with Katie, Nich, and Calla for Thanksgiving. Had loads of sweet Calla time...I so love that little bundle of joy! She's is the bestest little girl...so full of fun...she so busy figuring everything out. Stacking blocks, pulling toys with strings, stacking books, playing the piano, feeding herself with a spoon, eating ice and popcorn, trying to talk.

If you don't have a grandchild...GET ONE!!!

Medical updates. My foot is killing me! It really hurts. But, I know it'll be at least a six week recovery and its only been 10 days. Aargh.

Good news with Kristie though! Our transplant team doctor said we can go to once a month doctor visits with them and once a month doctor visits with her regular kidney doctor.

SWEET! I think we're on our way to good health...HERE'S TO 2009!!!

I booked out tickets to Sacramento for December 16 for Kris and me. Since the doctors gave us the go ahead and since Nigel is abandoning us for sunny Hawaii to spend time with his daughter and granddaughters, and since its gray and dreary here...well, you get my drift.

I bought a new phone. Had a Treo - don't get one, they're a nightmare. Went back to a regular, no frills cell phone. It's heaven. No more stupid little keyboard. Just a regular phone. It works great. And since it was buy one get one free, Kristie got a new phone too.

Here's some great photos for you to enjoy.

Foot Surgery

Well, its Sunday. I had my foot surgery last Friday morning. Nigel, Kristie, and I all got up at 4:30 a.m. and arrived at the hospital about 5:30 a.m.

Dr. Richardson performed the surgery at 7:30 a.m. and I was home by 10:30. Slept til 3:30...I was under the influence...man those drugs knock me out! Per the doc, the nuroma was huge and had scar tissue around it, thus the pain I'd been having for two years. Good thing I had it done.

Monica from my Women's Group delivered dinner which was yummy! Thanks Monica.

Saturday arrived and more Vicadin and more sleep.

Kathy from my Women's Group delivered dinner - italian - was great! Thanks Kathy.

And a big thanks to my new friend Asra who called today amidst her busyness to see how everything was going. It meant alot. Thanks Asra.

Nigel went to Costco and to pick up Katie and Calla at the airport. Nigel's been a huge help, taking care of me and Kristie these last two days. Last night we watched Kung Fu Panda with Kristie...GOOD MOVIE!

I'm trying to just take extra strength tylenol today for the foot pain so we'll see how it goes.

My Dad is still in the hospital but the good news is he's out of ICU. Hopefully he'll get to go home tomorrow. Please pray for his strength b/c he's really weak right now.

My next challenge is to take a shower or bath without getting my foot wet...hmmm...

Kristie update

We had a marathon doctor's appointment today. Left the house and 9 a.m. and got home at 3:30 p.m. Whew. They wear me out.

So we did our clinic appt...blood draw, blood pressure, medication review, see the doctor...then Kristie had her EPO shot...she cried. It hurt. Alot.

We had a lunch break before our next appt to have the "breathing treatment" which she's never had before. So to get out of the medical environment, we had lunch at Nordstrom's Cafe. They have THE BEST TOMATO SOUP IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! YUMMY.

We then drove back to the hospital to have the breathing treatment. Kris had to breath into a tube thingy and this liquid medicine turned to a mist which she breathed into her lungs. This medicine helps her to not get pneumonia since her immune system is suppressed right now. It was a 20 minute procedure that actually took about an hour when all was said and done. It gives you a metallic taste in your mouth so Kris had to rinse her mouth with water several times. She was a trooper. She'll have to have this done once a month for a while.

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS...HER CREATININE WAS 1.9!!!!! SWEET! The doctors were THRILLED to say the least and so were we! They want her creatinine in the 1s (preferably in the lower 1s but they'll take what they can get right now.) Its been in the 2s since her transplant.

Thanks to everyone for praying!

Now you can say a prayer for my Dad. He had his appendix out on Sunday morning...it had ruptured and spewed out lots of nasty stuff. They did alot of cleaning out. My Dad has never been admitted to a hospital before...not even when he was born so this is a new experience for him.

I asked my Mom today if he was being a baby or a big boy and she assured me he was being a big boy. He also spent the night in the ICU because of a high heart rate.

Please pray he heals quickly & his heart settles down.

My foot surgery is Friday...not looking forward to it but am determined to get it over with.

Katie sprained her back and was in alot of pain over the weekend, went to the doctor today and got some meds for it which is giving her some relief. Please pray for some quick healing for her. Nich also threw is back out and Calla just got 4 new teeth which she's a little grumpy about.

Geez, we're just a mess! Sigh.

The Last Lecture

I'm going to download The Last Lecture onto my Kindle and read it...Here is Amazon.com's review...I'll let you know mine when I finish.

Amazon.com Review"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."--Randy Pausch

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

Questions for Randy Pausch
We were shy about barging in on Randy Pausch's valuable time to ask him a few questions about his expansion of his famous Last Lecture into the book by the same name, but he was gracious enough to take a moment to answer. (See Randy to the right with his kids, Dylan, Logan, and Chloe.) As anyone who has watched the lecture or read the book will understand, the really crucial question is the last one, and we weren't surprised to learn that the "secret" to winning giant stuffed animals on the midway, like most anything else, is sheer persistence.

Amazon.com: I apologize for asking a question you must get far more often than you'd like, but how are you feeling?

Pausch: The tumors are not yet large enough to affect my health, so all the problems are related to the chemotherapy. I have neuropathy (numbness in fingers and toes), and varying degrees of GI discomfort, mild nausea, and fatigue. Occasionally I have an unusually bad reaction to a chemo infusion (last week, I spiked a 103 fever), but all of this is a small price to pay for walkin' around.

Amazon.com: Your lecture at Carnegie Mellon has reached millions of people, but even with the short time you apparently have, you wanted to write a book. What did you want to say in a book that you weren't able to say in the lecture?

Pausch: Well, the lecture was written quickly--in under a week. And it was time-limited. I had a great six-hour lecture I could give, but I suspect it would have been less popular at that length ;-).

A book allows me to cover many, many more stories from my life and the attendant lessons I hope my kids can take from them. Also, much of my lecture at Carnegie Mellon focused on the professional side of my life--my students, colleagues and career. The book is a far more personal look at my childhood dreams and all the lessons I've learned. Putting words on paper, I've found, was a better way for me to share all the yearnings I have regarding my wife, children and other loved ones. I knew I couldn't have gone into those subjects on stage without getting emotional.

Amazon.com: You talk about the importance--and the possibility!--of following your childhood dreams, and of keeping that childlike sense of wonder. But are there things you didn't learn until you were a grownup that helped you do that?

Pausch: That's a great question. I think the most important thing I learned as I grew older was that you can't get anywhere without help. That means people have to want to help you, and that begs the question: What kind of person do other people seem to want to help? That strikes me as a pretty good operational answer to the existential question: "What kind of person should you try to be?"

Amazon.com: One of the things that struck me most about your talk was how many other people you talked about. You made me want to meet them and work with them--and believe me, I wouldn't make much of a computer scientist. Do you think the people you've brought together will be your legacy as well?

Pausch: Like any teacher, my students are my biggest professional legacy. I'd like to think that the people I've crossed paths with have learned something from me, and I know I learned a great deal from them, for which I am very grateful. Certainly, I've dedicated a lot of my teaching to helping young folks realize how they need to be able to work with other people--especially other people who are very different from themselves.

Amazon.com: And last, the most important question: What's the secret for knocking down those milk bottles on the midway?

Pausch: Two-part answer: 1) long arms 2) discretionary income / persistence
Actually, I was never good at the milk bottles. I'm more of a ring toss and softball-in-milk-can guy, myself. More seriously, though, most people try these games once, don't win immediately, and then give up. I've won *lots* of midway stuffed animals, but I don't ever recall winning one on the very first try. Nor did I expect to. That's why I think midway games are a great metaphor for life.

From Publishers WeeklyMade famous by his Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon and the quick Internet proliferation of the video of the event, Pausch decided that maybe he just wasn't done lecturing. Despite being several months into the last stage of pancreatic cancer, he managed to put together this book. The crux of it is lessons and morals for his young and infant children to learn once he is gone. Despite his sometimes-contradictory life rules, it proves entertaining and at times inspirational.

New Car

Out with the old and in with the new! Well, new for us anyway. We turned in the leased Mercedes (lease was up...had it for 27 months) and purchased a 2007 Acura RDX with only 3000 miles on it. Its all wheel drive so it can tackle my mountain in snow and ice...yay! Got a good deal on it too, which is nice.

Remember I cleaned out my closet this summer? Today I took my clothes to a hoity toity consignment shop in Seattle...the "appointment" took me 3 months to get. She took half of my clothes and then the other half divided it into stuff she would not take and stuff I needed to bring back in the Spring. Interesting. Her shop only takes name brand clothing. I bought a couple of sweaters while waiting for her to go thru my clothes. A red Tommy Bahamas sweater and a black Ann Taylor sweater. Both yummy.

Kristie and I made chocolate chip cookies today. They were yummy too.

Tonight she is going to her "Turkey Trot Dance".

Our refrigerator/freezer is on the blink...I think...the stuff in the freezer were almost unthawed this morning so I transferred it all to the freezer in the garage. Then I noticed the refrigerator was not so cold either. I called Kitchen Aid and they told me that once the freezer goes out, the refrigerator will follow. The good news is its a built in and the parts are covered for 12 years! Sweet. Its ten years old now. So the repairman is coming out tomorrow afternoon to take a look. I turned it off and then on again and the funny this is, it now seems to be working again. But I'm not taking any chances and am going to keep the appt.

I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Katie, Nich and Calla are coming up. Calla just added 4 more teeth! She's following the dog around and hitting his bad leg though...on purpose...Katie's about ready to hand her off for awhile! Its okay Calla, Grandma's here!

Update on Kristie and the Kindle

Doctor appt was yesterday. All is well. Whew. Creatinine is 2.1 but they are living with it so no more doctors this week. Well, except Kristie has to see her Neurologist tomorrow for her annual appt....geez. But that's easy. No shots or hard stuff.

Next Monday they have already told Kristie she will have to have an EPO shot to help boost her red blood cells. She's had this many times but a shot is a shot is a shot if you know what I mean.

She also has to have a "breathing treatment" where she breathes into a mask that has some chalky medicine in it for about 20 minutes. At least there are no needles.

I met with my foot doctor yesterday for my pre-op appt. Surgery is scheduled for Friday the 21st...my 48th birthday. Yay for me. 6 weeks recovery time in a special shoe. Yay for me.

Nigel is headed to Hawaii to visit Diane, Fernando and the granddaughters! He hasn't seen our newest addition, Amelia,..its time...and he needs a break! He leaves on December 16 for a week.

I'm busy deciding what photos to use for the Christmas card. I'm also taking the clothes we cleaned out of my closet to the consignment store this Thursday...that'll be interesting.

The Kindle I bought for my birthday is working well. Easy to use but, alas, not the same as a book for some reason. I find myself wanting to turn pages. I'm reading the new David Baldacci book which only cost me $9.99 to download. I also subscribed to Newsweek which appears weekly like magic. I do like that feature. In addition, you can download for free books that you want to preview first. The jury's still out though...do I like it? do I not like it? Dunno as Harry Potter would say.

Calla and the Ducks

Feeding the ducks...enjoy!

News

ARE YOU READY FOR GREAT NEWS??!! Kristie doesn't have to go see the doctors until next Monday! SWEET!

So, geez...what do I blog about? Oh, my new favorite fruit salad!

Take a mango and chop it up, well after you peel or cut off the skin.
Take a Pomegranate and cut it in half, hit the backside with a rolling pin to get the fruit out
Take a cup of blueberries...Put all in a bowl and squeeze a half a lime over all
YUMMY!!!!

Oh, and those Debbie's Green Bags they are advertising to put your vegies into? THEY WORK! AND THEY ARE REUSABLE! Thanks Katie for the tip.

I'm making an election night dinner...steak, twice baked potato, and asparagus.

DID EVERYONE VOTE??!!

Oh, and my foot surgery is scheduled for Friday, November 21...my 48th birthday! Goodness. Guess I'll celebrate early. (I did get my birthday present early...I bought myself a Kindle Book Reader from Amazon.com...I'll let you know how I like it.)

Beautiful Fall Colors

Sorry its been so long since I've updated the blog! So much has happened in the last week.

Katie and Calla left yesterday after helping us out for 10 days! We had such GORGEOUS weather while they were here. It was so fun taking Calla to the park & playground. The colors were stunning! She was fascinated with walking thru the crackly leaves at the park...back and forth, back and forth. And she loved feeding the ducks!

It was a nice distraction because during those 10 days we put on 500 miles on the car driving Kristie to doctor appts and to her programs.

So here's the update on Kristie. She struggled thru last weekend with the low grade fever, taking Tylenol every 4 hours. Monday to the doctor. Creatinine back up to 2.3. Tuesday to the doctor, Creatinine 2.1. Wednesday, to the doctor for labs. Thursday to the hospital as an outpatient to get a blood transfusion and two shots.

She had to get blood because her white cell count is extremely low at 21. It should be in the 30s. A normal person's count is 37. The blood should help with that and the shots she had should help boost it as well. If this is not addressed then she runs the risk of catching a virus, or the flu, or a cold and from that she could get really sick since her immune system is shot right now (because of all the medicines she's taking.) In fact the reason her white cell count is down because she's taking a drug called Valcyte and in 10-15% of patients who take this, their cell count goes down.

They wanted us to go in for labs this Saturday and I told them we needed a break and could we just go in on Monday and they agreed. Sigh.

We're almost at our wit's end. I'm not sure how much more Kristie can take. She's emotional, cries at everything, its just alot for her to handle so please pray for her emotional well being and for the strength to get thru this difficult time.

On another topic, I've had trouble with my right foot for over two years now. It aches all the time and has progressively worsened. I've been seeing a foot doctor for a year. We decided last week that I needed foot surgery and it'll be schedule for the end of next month. Its an outpatient procedure and I'll be home afterwards with a two day recovery time. So, not bad. Better to get it done in 2008 so we can all be well in 2009!!

I'm looking forward to 3 days without doctors!

We miss you Calla!

Update

So, Wednesday arrived and we went to the clinic to get the catheter out. But, Kristie had a fever of 100.5 when she woke up. She's never had a fever since the transplant in July. If she has temperature of 100 or over we're instructed to call the doctors.

By the time we got into the clinic her temperature was 100.1 and they are concerned.

Walking around with a catheter and a bag is really annoying...the catheter is out...what a relief!

We waited for the lab results to come in and the good news is her creatinine is 1.6!!! Let's pray it stays there! It hasn't been that low since the transplant. Yay!

The bad news is that if her temperature reaches 101.3 she has to be admitted to the hospital again.

So far, we've managed to keep it under that. Right now its 99.3. (last night, it was 101.)

Hopefully, if all goes well today, we're going to take Calla to the Children's Museum.

Its cold and rainy so no playground today. Calla loves going to the playground to watch the kids and the ducks and the airplanes. And to play on the motorcycles. She can reach the pedals now.

Thanks everyone for praying. Please pray her temp comes down to normal.

We're home

We're home and Katie and Calla are here. All went well. Keep praying. Love, Julia

Happy Monday

Its Monday and we're in the hospital. Kristie was in alot of pain Friday & Saturday and after many phone calls to the transplant center at 1 a.m. Sunday we decided to admit her. Her stomach area was swollen. We thought it was from the biopsy last Thursday (the results of that were normal.)

She had a cat scan of her stomach area at 4 a.m. and they found that the stint had moved up thru her new kidney (which is now positioned near her bladder) and was sticking out thru the top of the new kidney. The reason her stomach was swollen and she was having pain is because urine was seeping out of the new kidney into her stomach area.

Evidently, this is a rare occurrence. Nice.

So Sunday afternoon they gave her general anesthesia and repositioned the stint back into her ureter where its supposed to be...that's between the new kidney and the bladder. They also put a catheter in to help with the urine being directed down into the bladder instead of up and out.

We were back in her room about 3:30 p.m. and had an unbelievably patient Nurse, Heidi. Thanks Heidi.

What a noble profession nursing is. I am so impressed with the nurses on Floor 11 which is the transplant floor. Really, they're the best. (Mind you, I could never do it, but I feel like I'm getting the hang of things...well, a little anyway...okay, not really.)

So, its about 8:30 a.m. Monday and we just met with the team of doctors (3 to be exact) and the transplant coordinator, an intern, and the social worker...all at once. They like to show up all together and discuss. It really is like television. Only they are all really nice to each other.

So, the plan is to draw blood, get the lab results, and if they look good send her home today with the catheter. On Wednesday they'll take the catheter out and hopefully put this all behind us.

Yep, that's the plan. What I know for sure is that plans change.

Stay tune for more excitement in the Moore/McCleary kidney transplant saga!

P.S. Katie and Calla flew up last night about 11:30. Since I spent the night at the hospital and they went directly to the house, I haven't seen them yet but am looking forward to some baby time. (I might have to change that to toddler bliss since she's almost 16 months now!)

P.S.S. Kristie's creatinine spiked to 6.4 and is now back down to 4.6. Please pray for it to go down to 2. Thanks everyone!

Update

Well, its been a long week. Here's the update.

After going to the doctor last Friday and waiting 3 hours, I left without seeing a doctor. Evidently, he was dealing with someone on the phone while Kristie and I waited over an hour in person. I do understand though and I actually wasn't angry or upset, just disappointed that I didn't get to talk to him in person. He called me about a half hour later to apologize and indicated that Kristie should come in Monday for labs again and then they would make a plan.

Monday arrived and we went in for labs. Then Dr. Precht and Dr. Marks, the two top surgeons at the Transplant Unit, told us that two more tests would need to be done. First, a dye injection test and another biopsy.

So, Tuesday we did the dye injection test and they decided that everything looked good so they took the tube out of her kidney - remember the one that's been sticking out of her stomach for two weeks now? Yeah. that one. We were there from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fun times.

Wednesday, we actually had a doctor day off and Kristie went to her social program and her Drama Class - she's in A Christmas Carol where she plays Melinda and Young Scrooge.

Then Wednesday afternoon the doctors called and said they wanted to do a kidney biopsy on Thursday. Kristie had a biopsy two months ago and, unfortunately, it was not a good experience, painful. They actually go in thru the stomach and take a piece of her new kidney out to run tests on it. Not fun. They assured us that this time Dr. Precht would perform the biopsy and they would give Kristie what's called "conscience sedation" and that even though she would be awake and talking during the procedure, she probably wouldn't remember it later.

Thursday arrived, we had to be there at 8:30 a.m. for pre-admitting. The biopsy was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Because of the new computer system they are installing at Swedish Hospital called Epic it took them 40 minutes to input all of Kristie's medications into the computer. Evidently, the transplant team's computer system does not link to Epic, so what should have taken 20 minutes to preadmit (and put in an IV) took almost two hours.

I sang the patience song.

At 11 a.m. they finally did the procedure. Twice. The first sample they got wasn't quite big enough. I didn't look...just held Kristie's hand and helped talk her thru it. The good news is that the conscience sedation worked like a dream and Kristie was awake and talking, didn't feel too much pain and doesn't really remember it.

After the biopsy she had to lay in bed (almost flat) with a heavy sandbag on her stomach for 5 hours. Yeah, 5 hours. So we got home about 6:30 p.m. Another 12 hour day with the docs.

She's had stomach pain ever since. Its Friday and I just called the doctors to tell them about the pain. If it continues they'll need to admit her to the hospital.

Kristie's been through alot and frankly we're all tired of it. I wonder at what point do you say, enough is enough?

And, to top it all off, her creatinine is 3.4, up from 2.0. NOT GOOD. It should be going down. A normal creatinine level is .08 to 1.0.

Please pray for some answers. Answers for her doctors and answers for me as her mother.

P.S. There is some good news. The kidney biopsy showed a healthy kidney. Then why is her creatinine 3.4? That's the question of the day.

doctors and tubes

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors...as my husband would say "bloody ridiculous".

We spent six hours at the doctor Monday and then 3 hours today. They are evaluating whether or not to take the tube out of her kidney (mind you, its sticking out of her stomach...very weird.) If her labs come back on Friday okay, they say they'll probably take it out.

We're tired of the tube.

We'd appreciate prayers.

Thanks so much.

Kristie is dealing with everything quite well. I swear if "normal" teenagers/kids could see what she deals with every day, I don't think they'd complain so much.

News

Everything went well. Kristie is home and was brave thru the whole thing. Turns out they used general anesthesia and put the tube in her throat again but it was out before she woke up and she doesn't remember it.

Staying in the hospital overnight was a reminder of why we don't like hospitals. Constant interruption and noisy.

Katie's here from Sacramento and will take care of her while we fly to Vegas with Nigel's mom from England. We're meeting other family there as well. This trip has been planned for six months and will be a good getaway even though the timing sucks.

Kristie has to go in for labs Thursday and Friday. There is actually a tube the size of a straw sticking out of her stomach...I know weird.

Just another day in paradise.

Hospital Tuesday

We had the ultrasound this morning at 8 a.m. Same results as last Thursday. Creatinine was 2.1 last Thursday and its down to 1.7 which is GREAT!

So the deal was if the above happened then they weren't going to do the "extra procedure". uh huh. Not so. Here's what happened this morning after the ultrasound and after the lab results were in. Dr. Precht and Dr. Marks (the two top surgeons on the transplant team conferred and decided that since the kidney was still showing signs of fluid retention, which is not normal, that they needed to do the procedure. And the procedure needs to be done in the hospital under what they call the conscience sedation and she'll need to spend the night.

Sigh.

So, the extra procedure is this. They put her to sleep, and put a small tube into her new kidney to drain the fluid. Then they put dye in her tube so they can see where the blockage is (if there is a blockage) and then, if needed, they put the stint back in to keep the flow going from the bladder to the new kidney. Then they put a bag to catch the fluid for two days, then they take the tube out.

Sigh.

I trust these doctors so at some point you have to say, okay. So, I said okay.

Of course this had to happen the week our weekend trip to Las Vegas was planned with Kristie. And Nigel's Mom and sister, Jenny, are in town from England this week and are coming to Vegas with us. Oh, and did I mention that we're also meeting Nigel's son from LA in Vegas? And that we all have tickets to see Cher on Saturday?

Yeah.

So, Plan B is Katie to the rescue. Again. She's flying up Wednesday night to stay with Kristie while we go to Vegas. She said I needed a break. She's right.

But, I feel guilty.

More prayers needed

Had the ultrasound yesterday. Do you want the good news or the bad news? Okay, the good news first. The kidney looks fine. Thank you God.

The bad news is there is a potential plumbing problem. The artery that goes from the bladder to the new kidney looks a bit distended and that could be why her creatinine is up, maybe. So, they're going to do another ultrasound Monday and if it looks the same and her creatinine is down, then they'll do nothing.

If her creatinine is up and the ultrasound shows more distension, then they have to do an extra procedure where they insert a tube into her new kidney to drain it for two days and then they put the stint back in. All of this would be painful for Kristie.

Please pray that her creatinine goes down and that her ultrasound shows nothing new.

Sigh.

Prayers Needed

Kristie's creatinine is up to 1.9...it should be 1.0 so we're having an ultrasound today. Please pray it goes down today. Not fun.

UNBELIEVABLE

Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, prescription plans, health plans, THIS MESS IS UNBELIEVABLE.

Okay, so the powers to be, i.e., the government, decided to terminate Kristie's Medicaid and put her on Medicare. Up until now, filling her prescriptions was easy. Nigel's private insurance was primary and Medicaid picked up the rest - no monies out of pocket. Same with the medical visits and the surgeries and the hospital stays. Easy peasy.

NOT ANY MORE!

Enter Medicare with all their rules and regulations. No primary or secondary system, but rather an "either, or" system. I have spent so much time on trying to figure this out that its UNBELIEVABLE. I don't know how people do this who actually have a full-time job too. Its stressful.

Here's what I've finally figured out after many phone calls and reading of booklets.

Doctor visits and hospital visits are covered by Nigel's insurance first, then Medicare.
Prescriptions are sometimes covered by Medicare but if we want to use Nigel's insurance we pay a $25 copay per prescription. I just spent a half hour on the phone with Medicare's Prescription Drug Plan called "Medco" going thru Kristie's list of medications to see what they cover, if they need pre-authorization by the doctor (which is different than actually handing them a written prescription by the doctor!!!!), if they don't need pre-authorization.

And to top it all off, if I want to use Medco for her prescriptions, I can only go to the pharmcies who are Medco pharmicies. So goodbye Bartell Drugs and hello Wallgreens. I was going to use Safeway, but after experiencing 3 20 year olds working there yesterday in the prescription department, I was NOT impressed. So am switching to Wallgreens. Wish me luck there.

GRRRRR - please pray for patience.

Also, Kristie's red blood cell count is down to 27 - it should be 37. She had an EPO shot to help with that last Thursday but it only went up 2 points. She'll probably have to have another EPO shot this Thursday - haven't told her yet. And if it doesn't go up she'll have to be given blood. That's a little scary and I don't want that to happen. Pray her count goes up - we'll do labs again tomorrow. Also tomorrow, after our clinic appt., she has to have a bone scan (xray) to make sure her bones aren't getting brittle from all the meds. Something they typically do 8 weeks after a transplant.

Yes, its been a long 8 weeks.

We're hanging in there.

Childeren Need our Help

I watched Oprah today and am shocked at the thousands of children that are victims of sexual abuse each year althought I shouldn't be because I am a survivor of sexual abuse. Please help by emailing your Senator right now to help pass Senate Bill #1738. I just did it and it only took a few minutes by cutting and pasting the letter below. Thank you!. Julia

Help Pass Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act

Hundreds of thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse each year. Due to the sheer lack of resources, law enforcement is unable to follow up on the majority of leads they have.The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.

Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

Act Now!

Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately.Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senators in your state. Search for your senator by name or state by clicking on the arrow from either dropdown menu. Contact information is provided here.

To send an e-mail, click on "Web Form" below his or her name, and e-mail your letter to make a difference!

Call Your SenatorsIf you choose to contact your senators by phone, be sure to tell them, "Vote yes on Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act."Write to Your Senators

If you choose to write a letter, fax, telegram or e-mail, you may use the following sample letter—and modify it how you see fit.

Dear Senator:I know that you believe, like I do, that we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual predators. That is why I am asking for your help.Last year alone, U.S. law enforcement identified over 300,000 criminals who were trafficking in movies and pictures of young children being raped and tortured. Experts say that one in every three of these criminals has local child victims. Child pornography trafficking over the Internet has given us a trail of evidence that leads straight to their doorsteps, but the vast majority of these children will never be rescued because investigators are overwhelmed, outnumbered and underfunded.As your constituent, I urge you to do everything in your power to pass the PROTECT Our Children Act (S. 1738, Biden-Hatch). This bipartisan legislation passed the House 415-2, but it is now the victim of petty partisan politics.Now that we know where these children are and how to protect them, there is no excuse for the Senate to fail to take action this session.

(Your name here)

Instructions for How to Copy and Paste the LetterTo copy and paste the letter into your senator's web form at www.senate.gov, point your mouse arrow at the beginning of the text that you want to copy. Click your left mouse button and hold it down. While holding the left mouse button, drag your arrow to the end of the text that you want to copy. Release the button. The text should be highlighted. Place your mouse arrow over the highlighted text, click your right mouse button once and let go. A new menu should appear. Select Copy from the drop down menu. When you get to the message form field for your senator at www.senate.gov, point your arrow at the beginning of the message field that you want to copy your text to and right click with your mouse. Click Paste from this menu.

Submit your form and help our children!

Vegies

Vegies are not my thing so I am forever on the lookout for vegie or saled recipes that I think I might like. I dug out my "Best of Cooking Light" cookbook and found a recipe for a Spinach, White Bean, and Bacon Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing. Both Nigel and I LOVED it. Here you go:

1/4 cup maple syrup (buy real maple syrup at Trader Joes; its cheap there)
3 T cider vinegar (I used rice vinegar and it was great)
1 T olive oil
1 T Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 15 ounce can white beans or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sliced green onions
5 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
2 7 ounce bags of baby spinach (I used one bunch of fresh adult spinach for us)

Combine first syrup, vinegar, oil, mustard and salt & pepper in a microwave safe bowl, stir with a whisk and microwave on high for 1 minute or until hot.

Combine rest of ingredients in a large bowl; add the dressing, toss well. Serve immediately.

8 servings. 124 calories, 4.2 g fat per serving (1 3/4 cup serving size)

To make two large servings, I used 1/2 can of the beans and one large bunch of spinach. I made the dressing as usual and saved the remainder for another time.

YUMMY

VOTE

Thanks to Cathie for sending this photo to me as a reminder why ALL WOMEN NEED TO VOTE!!!


Oprah has started her new Fall shows...yay! Yesterday she had all the Team USA Olympic athletes on - they are so amazing! We watched alot of the Olympics while it was on television and it was so nice to share in their dream.





Today she had on Charice who is the girl from the Phillipines she had on a few months ago. You can find her on U-Tube. She sounds like Celine Dion and she's only 16!





Oprah's starting a new program featuring smart and talented kids. If you want to enter your child, go to oprah.com and upload your video of your child doing their thing! Notice she said "smart" or "talented", so they're not just looking for singing or dancing. Cool.





I'm on a quest to save money by cutting spending painlessly. How am I doing that? One example is by looking at some of the monthly expenses we've been paying that need tweaking. I looked at my cell phone bill and realized that I wasn't using two of the features I thought I would use so I went to the Verizon Wireless store today and asked them to revamp my plan...guess how much I'm going to save each month? $60!!!!





I'm also on a quest to "use what we have first". For example, after visiting the Verizon Wireless store, I walked into the new Sephora store and spent about 15 minutes trying to find a lip gloss that wasn't sticky and the color I wanted...I walked out without buying anything. Why? Because I have a lip gloss already and two tubes of lipstick that are not used up yet. Am I totally happy with them? No, but I need to use them up first before buying something else. I'm using all my lotions up too before buying any other. I have about 5 assorted lotions sitting in my basket, just sitting there!





It's surprising how well this works with food too. Make a commitment to use what's in your pantry and freezer first before going to the grocery store.

I'm also following Katie and Nich's lead in that I'm trying to buy food grown or trucked in from locals which means I shop first at my local neighborhood family owned fruit and veggie stand first where I can get fruit, vegies, and some dairy. Then I shop at my family owned meat market where I can get all my organic meat, chicken, lunchmeat and cheeses. These two places also carry some canned items and local bakery items. I only go to QFC now for whatever these two places don't have.

Goodbyes

Eating Popcorn with Mom.

Her new Mizzou pajamas!

Helping Grandpa pack the van!

Saying Goodbye to Kermit & Kristie!

We'll miss Katie & Calla!

Throwing Rocks!

Goodness gracious. The house is quiet...way too quiet. To keep busy, we're painting today.

Katie left a message at 8:30 a.m. that after driving all night, they arrived home to Sacramento safe and sound.

Thank you Katie. You're our angel and my light in the dark days.

Happy Labor Day

After 3 doctor appts last week that were more than 4 hours each, we're all really tired of doctors. Don't get me wrong, they're all really nice (well, all but one so far) but by the time you travel there and wait, then wait some more, pretty much your whole day is shot.

Another problem is parking garages. Last Wednesday, I dealt with two parking garages. Paying to park a car is ridiculous and patients who HAVE to go to a doctor's appt SHOULD NOT have to pay to park. $5 here and $10 there, don't we have enough to pay for if we're going thru a medical situation? Sheesh...

Nuff complaining.

I love the Food Network; I learn alot from it. for example, this morning, I watched Molto Mario and learned an easy way to peel butternut squash. Nigel and I ate at Mario Battali's resturant in Las Vegas and it was so yummy! Please go if you're ever in Vegas...Emerill Lagasse's restaurant in Vegas is great too. Make reservations though. The next time we go to Vegas, we're going to eat at Bobbie Flay's restaurant. Can't wait.

We're painting the guest bedroom; well, I helped with the roller part yesterday until my stomach muscles near my incision could not take anymore, Nigel did the rest, and its looking good. The second coat will go on today and we'll put the new bed frame together (from Ikea), put up new curtains, add a table or two, move the dresser into the closet, and it'll look like a real guest room.

Nigel's Mom is coming to visit from England and will be arriving on September 26th. Thus, the big push to fix up the guest room. His sister, Jenny and her boyfriend is coming as well. We're going to Vegas with all of them the first weekend in October - got tickets to see the Cher show - fun.

His Mom, Beryl, has been to the U.S. before but Jenny has not and they all wanted to see Vegas. Hopefully, Kristie will be well enough to travel...we'll have to clear it with her doctors in the next couple of weeks. They did say she could go back to her social programs the middle of September. That's good because she's really missing her friends for almost two months now.

Calla is such a little bundle of energy; she's so interested in anything that you're doing or anything you're eating. She's so fun to watch and to play with. Of course, she's exhausting too but sooooo much fun. Our house will be to to quiet when she leaves on Friday. Sigh.

Happy Labor Day!

Good Grief

When will the hard stuff be done? Today was a hard day for Kristie; she had to get her "stint" removed. The stint was put in during the transplant and the doctors explained to us that it would need to be removed after six weeks so we knew it was coming. The stint is a very small long hollow tube that links the bladder to the new kidney to sort of hold them together while they heal together.

So how do they take it out you ask? If you're squeamy don't read this next part. They put a very small telescope into Kristie's uerethra, find the stint and yank it out. I know what you're thinking...that's gotta hurt. You're right. Although they did numb it before they stuck the telescope in with some numbing gel (which stung).

Kristie was so brave and cooperative, it was truly unbelievable...I was so proud of her. We talked her thru everything. Dr. Chapman and his nurse, Jenny, were really great. Really helpful and patient; they made her feel welcome.

Tomorrow, she has to have her second round of Sydocam which is a special medicine given to her as an outpatient at the hospital thru an IV. So, another 4 hours will be spent watching her Sydocam drop into her arm on a lovely Thursday afternoon.

I swear this is a full-time job. I don't know how anyone could do this who actually had to go work a 40 hour week elsewhere...its so time consuming, especially with all the stuff we have to do at home. Measuring input and output, filling prescriptions, traveling to/from the clinic and the hospital. Geez.

Speaking of prescriptions...one of her new medicines cost $2550 for a 30 day supply and the other I just got a refill on today cost $1920 for a 30 day supply. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??!! Thank God we don't have to pay anything because of Nigel's good insurance and Medicare.

I'll be glad when these 3 months are past. Kristie and I counted how many hard things she's had to do...hmmmm, let's see.

1. The Transplant itself
2. The breathing tube
3. The neck IV
4. The catheter
5. The needles twice a week
6. The biopsy
7. The stint
8. The medicine - 13 prescriptions
9. The nausea
10. The diarreah

Good grief. Thank God the kidney is working GREAT!

Life is Good

She's getting so BIG!

I love swimming!

From Daddy's Garden! The Biggest Cucumber ever!

Reading Braille with Aunt Kristie!

The new do!

So, I was watching Joel Osteen this morning. He's sort of cheesy and does weird things with his eyes while he speaks, but always has an uplifting message; something I definitely needed today. I need to remember that God is my cheerleader and has given me the strength (and hope) to keep looking forward to each new day. I am destined to be great. I hope that doesn't sound egotistical because its meant to sound self confident. I have confidence in my abilities to move my life in the direction God intends it to go. I feel that I'm doing the things he wants to do with regard to Kristie and her health and now he'll do it for me in a more personal sense.

I made a list this morning of things I want to do (and need to do).

I guess I'm getting my energy back because I haven't felt this sort of drive in a long while. And I'll do these things more slowly with a savoring of each experience so I enjoy each day.

I'm also going to attend my company's Leadership Conference in Dallas, TX next month; that will be exciting. Nigel and I decided to not go to the Bahamas (the trip I earned free this year with Jewels by Park Lane) because the date was September 2nd and we didn't feel Kristie would be well enough for us to leave her. Instead we cashed out the trip and spent the money on new clothes! After cleaning out my closet, it was money well spent. I've decided that I want to follow Oprah's rule on clothing - only wear what you love. So that means, for me anyway, to buy less clothes and wear more of what you love to wear. I also read a book that my friend Sue gave me to read during my recovery and there was a chapter that said clean out your closet, buy less, and wear more of what you love...hmmm...I knew that but needed to hear it again! Thanks Sue!

In one of my last posts I talked about losing friends....but I now choose to focus on all the friends I DO have in my life. Thank you to all of you who have stuck my me during Kristie's illness this past year and the transplant - I do appreciate all your phone calls and voicemails, your support, your encouragement, your cards, your time and your prayers.

Time to move on. Life is Good.

P.S. I bought something on QVC this morning...my first time on QVC...its a Giant Cupcake Baking Pan...how cool is that?!