Thank you God!

I'll say it again. Thank you God. The kidney is working inside Kristie's body and loves to pee...this is a good thing...its means its happy.



To those who have emailed....this is the first time I've been on the computer since July 16 so I apologize that I haven't responded to emails yet. I'm still not thinking as clearly as I would like because (I think) my body did not like all that nasty anesthesia and medicine. I wasn't prepared for the pain or the exhaustion and still haven't really made my peace with it but am trying to get thru it with as little complaining as possible.



Here's what I remember.



Thursday the 17th - surgery day. We all arrived at 6 a.m. as instructed. Katie, Kristie, Nigel and I all went up to our assigned hospital rooms on Floor 11 of Swedish Hospital. We had rooms next to each other so that was GREAT! Kristie and I got the fashionable gowns on and visited each other in our rooms. At about 7:30, they put me in the hospital bed and I said goodbye to Katie and Kristie as they wheeled me to the pre-op area to get my IV and wait with Nigel.

At the pre-op area, they put in my IV in my right arm. It went smoothly. Then about 8 a.m. they wheeled me away to start the surgery. I was asleep before I went in the surgery room.

I woke up hours later with no memory of anything. I woke up in my room on Floor 11. They told me that Kristie was doing great but that she was in ICU because of the anesthesia.

Evidently, both of us liked the anesthesia so much that we did NOT want to wake up! I took an extra 3 hours to come out of it and so did Kristie. Dr. Marks said we get the gold medal for sleeping.

I remember seeing Katie and Nigel Thursday evening but I was drifting in and out.

Friday I was on heavy pain meds and slept a lot. They wanted me up and walking so I did it but was sort of grumpy about it...I did get to see Kristie - she arrived in her room on Floor 11 (next to my room) about 3 p.m. So I slowly walked (with my IV pole) into see her. She looked GREAT! Her complexion was back to being pink and her new kidney was happy.

Saturday, I took 4 walks throughout the day. Problem: the pain meds they were giving me made my nauseaus so they gave me medicine for the nausea and so the vicious cycle continued. I'm fairly sensitive to medicine so they finally found one I did okay with. And I got to visit with Kristie alot. She was doing great.

Sunday I went home about 5 p.m. My friend, September, came up and spent the first 4 days with me...thanks September! She was very patient with me since I was a little grumpy because of the bloating, pain and constipation. Yes, folks, constipation. Not pleasant. In fact, the worst part about this whole experience was THAT! Geez. Nuff said.

Kristie came home on the 8th day and she was soooo happy to be home! Kristie's surgery was actually easier on her than mine was on me. But, the massive drugs that Kristie needs to take is now a challenge for her little body.

She lost 5 pounds and I lost 5 pounds. Yay. (I would have preferred ten but I'll take the 5!)

Kristie was home for a week and then started becoming naseaus and started having major diarreah because of certain meds. So, she was admitted back into the hospital for a short two day stay last Wednesday. She needed fluids and one of her meds levels was too high so the transplant team decided to admit her to get it all under control. Kristie cried but we talked about having a good attitude and being flexible and that right now we need to baby her new kidney.

She's coming home today. I'm in the hospital with her as I'm posting this. We're waiting for the last of her meds to get thru her IV. She's still got diarreah but its diminishing.

Okay, I'm off to get fish tacos for Sue and I...will write more later.

P.S. Its Friday, August 1st. I started this post last Saturday the 26th and am just now finishing it.

We're Ready

Everyone is here helping out and we're ready. Will post when I get a chance after the transplant.

Here's the schedule for Thursday - transplant day!

4:30 a.m. Shower with special soap
5:30 a.m. leave for Swedish Hospital
6 a.m. Pre-op stuff
8:30 a.m. Julia's surgery starts
9:30 a.m. Kristie's surgery starts

That's all I know.

I've had no food today, well, except jello. Does that count?

Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers...keep them coming!

A prayer

I want you to face the mountain
so that you can see,
when the mountain is out of the way
all that is left is Me.

Only I can move the mountain,
only I can push it away,
only I can conquer the problems
that you face today.

Your only job is to believe, to listen
to My voice,
and when you hear what I command,
obedience is your choice.

But I will not make it too difficult for the victory is already Mine,
and I will fill you with My Spirit and through
you My grace will shine.

Not when you are perfect,
like you think you need to be,
but when your heart is willing to become more
and more like Me.

Getting Ready

Obi One and Kristie

The MOST IMPORTANT thing we did today was put Obi One in the washer and dryer! Obi One is Kristie's bear that she's had for several years; she cuddles with him every night. I cannot claim the naming of the bear...Kristie named him...she's a HUGE Star Wars fan. Knows every movie by heart. Has 2 talking Yodas, a talking Darth Vader mask, and lots of Star Wars stuff.

Obi One was getting very stinky so I thought, why not? Let's pop him in the washer and dryer and sees what happens. He came out FABULOUS! I'm not sure what I would have done if he had NOT come out fabulous...

We're getting ready. Cleaning out closets. Buying new towels, installed new toilet seat and new shower head for the guest bathroom. Cleaning out clothes and donating the old to Goodwill. I finally parted with a bunch of pants that I no longer fit into and had to let go of. Kristie finally parted with old pajamas and old shirts no longer needed.



Question? Do we keep the two extra bathrobes I have? Do I keep the extra pillows that belong to the old couch? Probably not, but I did.




The most fun thing we did today was go pick up photos I ordered from Flickr of Calla at our local Target. What great service!

A new mattress pad for Kristie's bed, a new ironing board cover for Nigel. He's the only one that actually irons in the Moore household. Evidently, I don't do a good enough job.

The weather was pretty crappy all weekend so we did the usual; saw a movie on Friday night with Kristie - WallE - go see it - its wonderful! Teaches a lesson too.

Then, for date night, Nigel and tried a new restaurant in Bellevue. The O/8 Seafood Grill which is attached to the Cork Wine Bar in the Sheraton. We found it on Open Table...for those of you who don't know. Open Table is a free online service that you can use to obtain last minute reservations in your area. You open a free account and accumulate points and then you get a free meal somewhere...haven't used it yet for the freebie, but both Nigel and I have an account and we use it at 4 p.m. on a Saturday to see who has last minute reservations open...it works great.

Nigel did manage (in between the rain) to spread bark that we ordered with our neighbor. The yard is looking good. Cathie and Nich will be proud...but we're saving some work for you both, so don't worry!

We are also huge Wimbledon fans and usually spend the July 4th week watching various matches. We taped the Women's and Men's finals and spent a good part of the mornings watching them. This was the BEST year ever! Serena and Venus Williams, sisters, were pitted against each other...the first time in 5 years. Venus, the older sister, won. She deserved it.

Then, the Men's finals had Rafa Nadal from Spain and Roger Federer, the defending champion for 5 years running, from Switzerland...they played for 5 hours with about an hour rain delay. It was the BEST match we've ever seen. Nadal won. He deserved it.

A few years ago, we attended Wimbledon in England. It was quite the event. We loved it. Would do it again. No, never got tickets for Center Court but it didn't matter. If you're tennis fans, you should go.

Now, we need to attend the U.S. Open in New York...I'll put that on my to do list.

We love Calla!

I LOVE CELL PHONES!

ME AND MY FLOATIE GET ALONG JUST DANDY!

GRANDPA NIGEL AND ME IN MY BACKYARD

ON THE GONDOLA AT LAKE TAHOE WITH MOMMY AND AUNT KRISTIE!
DADDY AND ME IN FLORIDA

Wildlife

BEAR SIGHTING!

Okay, a few days ago, I went to put a sack of garbage in the garbage can. It was tipped over and a sack of garbage (paper stuff) was laying on the ground. I thought it was odd but just cleaned everything up.

I mentioned it to Nigel the next day. He was using his new weed wacker at the edge of our yard that butts up to the "forest" when he noticed two bags of garbage ripped open just inside the forest/edge of the yard and garbage strewn about.

Yep, you guessed it, a bear dragged the two bags across our yard and down to the forest and did his thing. Its quite a way from our garbage can to the forest - probably 200 yards or so.

Then, our neighbor just one street up sent out an email yesterday saying they saw a bear in their yard.

So, its official...WE HAVE BEARS!

Ramblings

Kristie had her two shots today and then we ate at Taco Del Mar. I'm sick of Taco Del Mar but don't tell Kristie that!

So, no more doctors for almost two weeks...until the transplant on the 17th. Geez.

Both Kristie and I are scheduled to do some pre-admit stuff on the 14th. Like meeting with doctors, having some blood drawn. And, Kristie has to have an EKG and a chest x-ray.

We're just concentrating right now on staying healthy.

Onto other topics. I gotta tell you, I love Tom Hanks! He absolutely rocks as a human being, and as an actor. His latest movie, with Julia Roberts, is phenomenal! First, its a true story so that's always good because it teaches us something about life or history or whatever. Its On Demand right now or rent it...Charlie Wilson's War. Charlie Wilson is in his 70s now and is still a Senator in Texas. Watch it, its great!

When I'm in recovery mode, I think I'm going to have a Tom Hanks movie marathon. SWEET.

I roasted some garlic today and am marinating a pork tenderloin in olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon (from Katie's lemon tree), and roasted garlic. Can't wait to grill it.

I asked my meat market guys...yes, I have meat market guys...if they could fill a large order next week if I gave them a list. I figure since we'll have an additional 6 people here for a few weeks, it would be nice to just go to the freezer for the main course each night and just hit the fruit and vegetable stand during the day.

Yesterday I went to the foot doctor, as if I don't have enough doctors lately! But my right foot is hurting me to the point I can't go to sleep at night. So I have what's called Morton's Noroma which basically means the nerves in my right foot are inflamed and they get a burning, aching feeling. You can get it from years of wearing shoes that have high heels and are too narrow for your toes which, of course, I did while working for lawyers for 18 years. My doctor also recommended wearing Chacos in the summer and Hafflingers in the winter which I've been doing for six months...they do help.

Affirmations that were on Oprah today:

Out of this experience, only good will come. I am safe. The world is conspiring in my favor. The universe is rising up to meet you wherever you are.

And, make yourself a vision board. I'm going to make one - maybe while I'm in recovery? Good idea!