A quick update...I collected my pee for 24 hours, poured it in a container they gave me, stored it in the refrigerator and then transported it to Swedish Hospital this afternoon. Gave another pee sample and they drew another vial of blood...sigh
Then, they gave me another container and I get to do it all again. Yay!
Good times...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Lots of News
Well, it was one busy week! First let's start with my donor testing at Swedish last Monday...
They said it would be about a 3 hour appt. It was 5 1/2. I met first with the transplant coordinator, Diane. Then, I met with the social worker who walked me thru the transplant process and the efforts and people required to cover the various needs for Kristie and I after the surgery is completed. So here's how it will work. The transplant will be done on a Monday and then if all goes well, I will go home on Thursday or Friday. I'll need a week at home to recover...she said that someone would need to take care of me during that time. She informed me that I would not be the Mom during this recovery time; I would be the patient...hmmm.
As for Kristie, she'll be in the hospital about a week and then can come home. Katie will stay with her in her room at the hospital during that time and the medical staff will teach her how to administer the massive amounts of medication she'll need after the surgery when she goes home.
When Kristie comes home, she'll need around the clock care for a few weeks and trips to the hospital for lab work and medication adjustments.
What's that saying? It takes a village...
Anyway, we'll work it out. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to do whatever is necessary to help out...we'll be calling you!!!
Anyway, back to the appointment. My first stop after receiving my large packet of information and instructions was to the lab. They drew 17 vials of blood...yes...17!!!!!!! I've never seen that much blood in tubes in my life. And it took 4 pokes to get that amount. Evidently, my veins did not want to give up that much blood so it kept stopping after 6 vials. Then another poke and 6 more...you get the picture. I have a 4 inch bruise on my left arm where they tried to find a vein but it didn't quite work and its still there.
Then it was off to get a chest x-ray and an EKG. Also had a shot for a TB test. It hurt. Now I know how Kristie felt when she had to have 5 shots last month!
I arrived at 9:30 a.m. and left at 3 p.m. It was a long day. I went home and took a nap.
Then I have homework, yes homework. I have to collect my urine for 24 hours...lovely. So tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. I will pee into a container for 24 hours. And put the container in the refrigerator...lovely. I'll deliver the container to the lab and get ANOTHER container for another round. More homework. (I won't even tell about the stool samples...gross.)
After all that, the transplant team will meet and review my testing results and then if all looks good, they will send me to a nephrologist (kidney doctor) for an exam and a cat scan of my kidneys.
In the meantime, Kristie will see her kidney doctor on May 12 for her monthly appt. It will be interesting to see if her kidney function remains at the 21% or goes back down. Let's all pray it stays at 21%.
Other News - MY COMPUTER DIED....as Charlie Brown would say...AAARRRGGGHHH! The screen went out...permanently...and to get it fixed will take 2-3 weeks, according to the Geek Squad. Geez. And the Geek Squad has been telling me for almost a year that my hard drive is going out. So, my wonderful husband ordered me a new Dell computer. It'll be here on May 3rd or 4th. Then we'll have to transfer the hard drive info from one to the next. Geez. In the meantime, I'm using Nigel's computer when I can but if you need to get ahold of me, call me instead of emailing.
Its a good thing I backed up all the info with 4 GB cruzer back up thingy that goes in your usb port. Get one for your computer - its a good thing!
Thanks for your patience.
More news that happened last week. Kristie's caseworker met with us to complete her annual assessment. This is always a pain and takes a few hours.
My car is squeaking again...its like a little bird is underneath the hood...been going on for months so I had to take it in to get fixed, get a loaner car, etc. Dropping off, picking up...they did fix it...yay! No more squeaking.
Kristie started theatre class with a new group...they meet Tuesday nights in Kent from 7 to 8:30 p.m. She loves it! Yay!
Wednesday Kristie went to her volunteer job at Swedish Hospital and the transplant team called to say they needed one more vial of blood from her to do the cross match with my blood. She was not happy about that. But off to the lab we go...got it done.
Thursday we had to take the computer in to the Geek Squad but before I could do that the heating system in our house decided to not work. So had to wait for the heating repairman to show up. He tells me its because the filter is clogged and to go get a new filter. I do and guess what? It STILL doesn't work. Sometimes we'll get heat and sometimes we won't. The house was 62 this morning...Luckily it worked this morning. So, I guess on Monday I'll call them AGAIN!
Then Nigel had to take his car into the shop while he's in FL at his conference. He left Friday. So, I'm dealing with the heating issue, the car issue, the computer issue, oh yes and the kidney issue. Lovely.
On a good note, it was sunny today and 65 degrees. We haven't seen the sun in weeks and the temperature has been 10 degrees below normal for a month. It was a good day.
P.S. Miss Mazoo has two teeth and is crawling up the stair and down the stair now without falling!
They said it would be about a 3 hour appt. It was 5 1/2. I met first with the transplant coordinator, Diane. Then, I met with the social worker who walked me thru the transplant process and the efforts and people required to cover the various needs for Kristie and I after the surgery is completed. So here's how it will work. The transplant will be done on a Monday and then if all goes well, I will go home on Thursday or Friday. I'll need a week at home to recover...she said that someone would need to take care of me during that time. She informed me that I would not be the Mom during this recovery time; I would be the patient...hmmm.
As for Kristie, she'll be in the hospital about a week and then can come home. Katie will stay with her in her room at the hospital during that time and the medical staff will teach her how to administer the massive amounts of medication she'll need after the surgery when she goes home.
When Kristie comes home, she'll need around the clock care for a few weeks and trips to the hospital for lab work and medication adjustments.
What's that saying? It takes a village...
Anyway, we'll work it out. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to do whatever is necessary to help out...we'll be calling you!!!
Anyway, back to the appointment. My first stop after receiving my large packet of information and instructions was to the lab. They drew 17 vials of blood...yes...17!!!!!!! I've never seen that much blood in tubes in my life. And it took 4 pokes to get that amount. Evidently, my veins did not want to give up that much blood so it kept stopping after 6 vials. Then another poke and 6 more...you get the picture. I have a 4 inch bruise on my left arm where they tried to find a vein but it didn't quite work and its still there.
Then it was off to get a chest x-ray and an EKG. Also had a shot for a TB test. It hurt. Now I know how Kristie felt when she had to have 5 shots last month!
I arrived at 9:30 a.m. and left at 3 p.m. It was a long day. I went home and took a nap.
Then I have homework, yes homework. I have to collect my urine for 24 hours...lovely. So tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. I will pee into a container for 24 hours. And put the container in the refrigerator...lovely. I'll deliver the container to the lab and get ANOTHER container for another round. More homework. (I won't even tell about the stool samples...gross.)
After all that, the transplant team will meet and review my testing results and then if all looks good, they will send me to a nephrologist (kidney doctor) for an exam and a cat scan of my kidneys.
In the meantime, Kristie will see her kidney doctor on May 12 for her monthly appt. It will be interesting to see if her kidney function remains at the 21% or goes back down. Let's all pray it stays at 21%.
Other News - MY COMPUTER DIED....as Charlie Brown would say...AAARRRGGGHHH! The screen went out...permanently...and to get it fixed will take 2-3 weeks, according to the Geek Squad. Geez. And the Geek Squad has been telling me for almost a year that my hard drive is going out. So, my wonderful husband ordered me a new Dell computer. It'll be here on May 3rd or 4th. Then we'll have to transfer the hard drive info from one to the next. Geez. In the meantime, I'm using Nigel's computer when I can but if you need to get ahold of me, call me instead of emailing.
Its a good thing I backed up all the info with 4 GB cruzer back up thingy that goes in your usb port. Get one for your computer - its a good thing!
Thanks for your patience.
More news that happened last week. Kristie's caseworker met with us to complete her annual assessment. This is always a pain and takes a few hours.
My car is squeaking again...its like a little bird is underneath the hood...been going on for months so I had to take it in to get fixed, get a loaner car, etc. Dropping off, picking up...they did fix it...yay! No more squeaking.
Kristie started theatre class with a new group...they meet Tuesday nights in Kent from 7 to 8:30 p.m. She loves it! Yay!
Wednesday Kristie went to her volunteer job at Swedish Hospital and the transplant team called to say they needed one more vial of blood from her to do the cross match with my blood. She was not happy about that. But off to the lab we go...got it done.
Thursday we had to take the computer in to the Geek Squad but before I could do that the heating system in our house decided to not work. So had to wait for the heating repairman to show up. He tells me its because the filter is clogged and to go get a new filter. I do and guess what? It STILL doesn't work. Sometimes we'll get heat and sometimes we won't. The house was 62 this morning...Luckily it worked this morning. So, I guess on Monday I'll call them AGAIN!
Then Nigel had to take his car into the shop while he's in FL at his conference. He left Friday. So, I'm dealing with the heating issue, the car issue, the computer issue, oh yes and the kidney issue. Lovely.
On a good note, it was sunny today and 65 degrees. We haven't seen the sun in weeks and the temperature has been 10 degrees below normal for a month. It was a good day.
P.S. Miss Mazoo has two teeth and is crawling up the stair and down the stair now without falling!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Kristie Update
First the good news! Kristie had her April appointment and had her blood drawn. She had to have an EPO shot and another Hepatitis immunization but she handled both of them well. That's not the good news though. The good news is that her kidney function went from 18% to 21%. I asked the doctor why her kidney function improved and he said he didn't know why but that we would take it!
Of course I know why her kidney function went up! Because everyone is praying! Let's all keep praying that Kristie's kidney function will stay at 21% or improve. Please forward this prayer request to anyone you know who will pray for her. Thank you! Her next appt is May 13.
The bad news is that Kristie was required by the transplant team to have an abdominal ultrasound and the results are in. She has gallstones in her gallbladder. So, here's the deal. If you have a transplant and the gallstones travel down to the liver at some point in the future, she could have an infection and it can cause all kinds of dreadful problems. So we have to talk to the transplant surgeon to see what he wants to do at this point. Blech.
In the meantime, I am going to Swedish Hospital next Monday, the 21st, for donor testing. Because Katie had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with Calla, she is not the best candidate for donating her kidney. They are not ruling her out, but their goal is always choose the most healthiest person to donate - that is their number one priority. My health history is pretty stellar (except for family history of heart disease) so we'll start with me and go from there.
I'll know more after the appt but I do know I have to go thru the same tests that Kristie just went thru; an ultrasound, an EKG, an ECC, blood draws, cross matching and it'll probably take a couple of months.
We'll move forward just in case her kidney functions drops quickly and we need to do the transplant, we want to waiting and ready and not get caught off guard.
Other News in the Moore household.
It's snowing right now...sigh. Ridiculous. I want to move my beautiful home to California.
We've been looking for a couch and couple of chairs for the living room just off the dining room. Its not a room we use that much, except for my business meetings at my home, but still it needs furniture. We've been in the house for almost a year and we simply cannot find a set that suits our tastes and budget! I admit it, I'm cheap when it comes to buying furniture. So I looked on costco.com and found a set that I like. So I ordered a swatch on April 1st. The set is on sale until April 30th. Has the swatch arrived yet? No. So I ordered it again and sent them a nasty email. Supposedly it worked and they mailed the swatch out...again. Sigh.
There is a bird that likes out front door. This little bird pecks on the kickplate on the front door. Its the funniest thing. But weird to hear pecking at your door!
I love Greek food. When Kristie and I were in Sacramento last week, Katie introduced us to Opah, Opah. Yum yum. Now I just have to find greek food here. And, indian food. I also been craving homemade doughnuts.
We're all going to see Celtic Women tomorrow at the Paramount. Sweet. I can see Katie and Nich rolling their eyes right now. They're just jealous.
Katie and I cleaned out her closet and sorted those items that needed to be given away and those that needed hemming or mending. We had huge piles of both! We decided to take Clinton Kelly's advice and take all those clothes that need hemming and mending to a professional and let them do it! I was so inspired that I took 4 pairs of jeans to my drycleaners the other day for hemming. And, Clinton says to decide whether you want your pants/jeans hemmed for flat shoes or high shoes. Make a decision and stick to it. I opted for the flat for now.
Here's a few more Clinton Kelly tips if you are a Petite:
1. Pants should be 1/2" off the floor
2. Crop pants should be just below the widest part of your calf or wear a Bermuda short instead
3. Shirts should cover the widest part of your butt not not any lower
4. Get a pencil skirt
5. If you don't love your skin, don't wear skin tone clothing
6. Cut out pockets in pants and sew them down - he says they do this all the time on What Not to Wear - especially in white pants! Who knew?
7. If you have to wear pantyhose (and you probably don't have to, just go bare leg) wear hose that is the closest to your skin tone (and nude won't do it). OR wear a color like black.
8. Jewelry tips: V-neck shirts: wear pendants; Curved necks: wear rounder necklaces; High neckline: wear chains. During the day, natured inspired jewelry is in right now.
9. Buy less and wear them more. 5 outfits is really all you need. hmmm
Go to Oprah.com and take the FREE workshop from Marcus Buckingham. He was on the show last Friday and it was fantastic! He's a consultant who teaches you how to play to your strengths and learn to do what you love and get paid for it. I'm all for that! I'm taking the workshop...who wants to take it with me?
Of course I know why her kidney function went up! Because everyone is praying! Let's all keep praying that Kristie's kidney function will stay at 21% or improve. Please forward this prayer request to anyone you know who will pray for her. Thank you! Her next appt is May 13.
The bad news is that Kristie was required by the transplant team to have an abdominal ultrasound and the results are in. She has gallstones in her gallbladder. So, here's the deal. If you have a transplant and the gallstones travel down to the liver at some point in the future, she could have an infection and it can cause all kinds of dreadful problems. So we have to talk to the transplant surgeon to see what he wants to do at this point. Blech.
In the meantime, I am going to Swedish Hospital next Monday, the 21st, for donor testing. Because Katie had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with Calla, she is not the best candidate for donating her kidney. They are not ruling her out, but their goal is always choose the most healthiest person to donate - that is their number one priority. My health history is pretty stellar (except for family history of heart disease) so we'll start with me and go from there.
I'll know more after the appt but I do know I have to go thru the same tests that Kristie just went thru; an ultrasound, an EKG, an ECC, blood draws, cross matching and it'll probably take a couple of months.
We'll move forward just in case her kidney functions drops quickly and we need to do the transplant, we want to waiting and ready and not get caught off guard.
Other News in the Moore household.
It's snowing right now...sigh. Ridiculous. I want to move my beautiful home to California.
We've been looking for a couch and couple of chairs for the living room just off the dining room. Its not a room we use that much, except for my business meetings at my home, but still it needs furniture. We've been in the house for almost a year and we simply cannot find a set that suits our tastes and budget! I admit it, I'm cheap when it comes to buying furniture. So I looked on costco.com and found a set that I like. So I ordered a swatch on April 1st. The set is on sale until April 30th. Has the swatch arrived yet? No. So I ordered it again and sent them a nasty email. Supposedly it worked and they mailed the swatch out...again. Sigh.
There is a bird that likes out front door. This little bird pecks on the kickplate on the front door. Its the funniest thing. But weird to hear pecking at your door!
I love Greek food. When Kristie and I were in Sacramento last week, Katie introduced us to Opah, Opah. Yum yum. Now I just have to find greek food here. And, indian food. I also been craving homemade doughnuts.
We're all going to see Celtic Women tomorrow at the Paramount. Sweet. I can see Katie and Nich rolling their eyes right now. They're just jealous.
Katie and I cleaned out her closet and sorted those items that needed to be given away and those that needed hemming or mending. We had huge piles of both! We decided to take Clinton Kelly's advice and take all those clothes that need hemming and mending to a professional and let them do it! I was so inspired that I took 4 pairs of jeans to my drycleaners the other day for hemming. And, Clinton says to decide whether you want your pants/jeans hemmed for flat shoes or high shoes. Make a decision and stick to it. I opted for the flat for now.
Here's a few more Clinton Kelly tips if you are a Petite:
1. Pants should be 1/2" off the floor
2. Crop pants should be just below the widest part of your calf or wear a Bermuda short instead
3. Shirts should cover the widest part of your butt not not any lower
4. Get a pencil skirt
5. If you don't love your skin, don't wear skin tone clothing
6. Cut out pockets in pants and sew them down - he says they do this all the time on What Not to Wear - especially in white pants! Who knew?
7. If you have to wear pantyhose (and you probably don't have to, just go bare leg) wear hose that is the closest to your skin tone (and nude won't do it). OR wear a color like black.
8. Jewelry tips: V-neck shirts: wear pendants; Curved necks: wear rounder necklaces; High neckline: wear chains. During the day, natured inspired jewelry is in right now.
9. Buy less and wear them more. 5 outfits is really all you need. hmmm
Go to Oprah.com and take the FREE workshop from Marcus Buckingham. He was on the show last Friday and it was fantastic! He's a consultant who teaches you how to play to your strengths and learn to do what you love and get paid for it. I'm all for that! I'm taking the workshop...who wants to take it with me?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Miss Mazoo
Miss Mazoo practicing standing up! She lets go and stands for about 3 seconds then lets go!
The master crawler!
We love the park and it was 90 degrees!!!!
Calla loves being outside...its her favorite thing to do!We arrived home from our Sacramento trip this past Monday evening and then I was sick for 3 days...my sweetie pie gave me her cold. Oh well.
I have lots to update on Kristie's kidney challenge...will do that tomorrow!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Happy Birthday Katie!
29 years ago, I was in labor for 8 hours in Alexandria, MN. I gave birth to Katie Jo at about noon and she weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces; she was 21 inches long.Katie is 29 today and is the light of my life! She's grown into a woman who I admire and respect and love spending time with. In fact, I would rather spend time with Katie than anyone else!
Her choices in life have lead her to where she is today. She's a Mom to her own amazing little miracle, Calla Suzanna, and shares her life with Nicholas who is the perfect guy for her personality - they balance each other. She's a loving sister to Kristie and would do anything for her, including giving her a kidney! She's a professor and her students adore her. She's also a generous friend.
She's the best daughter in the whole world. And I love her so much!
(I used to call her pumpkin when she was little...she calls Calla muffin.)
Kristie and I will be home on Monday. Happy weekend!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Kristie Update
Hi everyone. Kristie had her abdominal ultrasound and she was great! We had the same technician as last Fall for the kidney ultrasound so that helped alot. Thanks Sidney!
Katie got a call from the transplant team coordinator and they are concerned about her gestational diabetes that she had when she was pregnant - it could have damaged her kidneys. In addition, when she gets pregnant again, there is a good chance she could have the gestational diabetes again and she'll possibly need both kidneys. They are not ruling Katie out as a donor but they need to choose the most healthiest donor.
So, we're moving onto me as the donor for now. I'll give them a call next week.
This is too weird.
Kristie has her April appt tomorrow with the blood draws and lab results. Please pray for her peace of mind.
Onto a lighter subject...Treena and I went to see Clinton Kelly from What not to Wear yesterday at the Macy's in downtown Seattle...SO MUCH FUN!!! He was full of energy and was so funny! He gave us 6 tips to look fabulous; here they are:
1. Athletic shoes aka tennis shoes are for working out only! Get some flats for out and about errands.
2. DO NOT WEAR MOMMY JEANS! Get a dark wash, straight leg jean that fits well.
3. No oversized t-shirts! Get some great fitting blouses and wear with #4.
4. NO SWEATSHIRTS OR FLEECEWEAR! Get a few great fitting structured jackets to wear over your great fitting blouses!
5. Get a professional bra fitting.
6. Get some supportive undergarments - you don't have to wear them every day but on those occasions when you want to look fabulous! Spanx are great!
7. Tailoring - this will take you from good to fabulous!
8. Try on QUANTITIES of clothing! On the show they try on clothes for two days, 12 hours a day to find about 5 outfits. To find jeans, you'll have to try on at least 20 pairs to find one that fits. And, yes, get your jeans tailored!
They film 4 days, 12 hours a day, to make one Friday night show. He loves it though. I'll have more tips for you later...gotta to my FREE yoga class. Wish me luck!
Katie got a call from the transplant team coordinator and they are concerned about her gestational diabetes that she had when she was pregnant - it could have damaged her kidneys. In addition, when she gets pregnant again, there is a good chance she could have the gestational diabetes again and she'll possibly need both kidneys. They are not ruling Katie out as a donor but they need to choose the most healthiest donor.
So, we're moving onto me as the donor for now. I'll give them a call next week.
This is too weird.
Kristie has her April appt tomorrow with the blood draws and lab results. Please pray for her peace of mind.
Onto a lighter subject...Treena and I went to see Clinton Kelly from What not to Wear yesterday at the Macy's in downtown Seattle...SO MUCH FUN!!! He was full of energy and was so funny! He gave us 6 tips to look fabulous; here they are:
1. Athletic shoes aka tennis shoes are for working out only! Get some flats for out and about errands.
2. DO NOT WEAR MOMMY JEANS! Get a dark wash, straight leg jean that fits well.
3. No oversized t-shirts! Get some great fitting blouses and wear with #4.
4. NO SWEATSHIRTS OR FLEECEWEAR! Get a few great fitting structured jackets to wear over your great fitting blouses!
5. Get a professional bra fitting.
6. Get some supportive undergarments - you don't have to wear them every day but on those occasions when you want to look fabulous! Spanx are great!
7. Tailoring - this will take you from good to fabulous!
8. Try on QUANTITIES of clothing! On the show they try on clothes for two days, 12 hours a day to find about 5 outfits. To find jeans, you'll have to try on at least 20 pairs to find one that fits. And, yes, get your jeans tailored!
They film 4 days, 12 hours a day, to make one Friday night show. He loves it though. I'll have more tips for you later...gotta to my FREE yoga class. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Ultrasound
Okay....one more ultrasound for Kristie. The docs want an abdominal ultrasound to make sure her stomach is healthy. I told Kristie today that she had to have one tomorrow. She started crying and it broke my heart. Please pray that she'll be okay with it tomorrow. For some reason she just HATES ultrasounds. I know its no big deal to us but to her, it seems she has as irrational fear or something about it.
One day at a time right?
One day at a time right?
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