Life and Love

Read this blog if...

2010-06-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

you want to know what it's like to have a kidney transplant take place. I'm the kidney donor and my daughter receive the kidney. It happened almost 2 years ago, July 17, 2008. Read those posts dated around that time to get the gist.

It was a hard time but now everyone is healthy and happy and that is what's important.

If you are going to have a transplant or know someone who is going to have a transplant or if you are going to donate a kidney to someone and just want to talk about it. Please contact me at juliajmoore@comcast.net and let me know your story. We'll chat. It'll help.

Love ya! Julia

Facebook wins!

2009-09-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I know I haven't posted in awhile because I've been too busy with posting on Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook has won my heart when it comes to blogging and posting photos and videos.

I'm discontinuing this blog and I am grateful to those who followed Kristie's journey on this blog for her new kidney.

Since this is my final post, I can tell you that Kristie's health is great. Her creatinine is stable and her new kidney is functioning perfectly. And most of all, she's back to her happy healthy self.

Thank you God for your many blessings.

Come on, you can do it! Sign up today; its' free and easy. Search for me once you're there and invite me to be your friend, then you'll see my posts. I try to get on it every day.

See you on Facebook.

Fun photos of Calla

2009-09-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

At the playground

At playground with Aunt Kristie. They love to swing together on the "big girl" swings.

Katie and Calla both in pigtails.

Grandma and Calla at the sandwich shop.

Calla at her swimming lessons with her teacher Eric. Eric got her to go underwater! She loves to swim.

Geez, I can't believe its been since July 17th that I've posted to the blog. you can find me on facebook and twitter now too.

We're in Sacramento for our August trip and go home Thursday. Things are great with Kristie's health and we're moving forward now with life! Yay!

I miss Calla!

2009-07-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

Sigh

Raspberries on Grandpa!

2009-07-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

This is a great video of Calla & Grandpa!

2009-07-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Calla! We love you sooo much!

Calla Videos

2009-07-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Grandpa couldn't resist and bought Calla's first set of golf clubs. She loves it!

Calla watering Grandma's flowers.

Our Movement - Official Store - TOMS Shoes - A Pair of New Shoes is Given to a Child in Need With Every Pair Purchased - One for One - TOMSshoes.com

2009-06-26T22:56:00.001-07:00

Our Movement - Official Store - TOMS Shoes - A Pair of New Shoes is Given to a Child in Need With Every Pair Purchased - One for One - TOMSshoes.com

Shared via AddThis

Calla

2009-06-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Wow. Walking thru the mall with no diaper on Calla was quite the challenge. Don't ask.

Its been a fun week with the little rascal and I'm glad Mommy and Daddy are coming home tomorrow!

She's an angel one minute and as Katie puts it a monster the next. It wears me out.

By 5 p.m. I'm pretty much done but she has 3 and half hours to go!

Ever heard of hulu.com? Its a site where you can watch television shows so that's where we watch Elmo at 4 p.m. each afternoon.

Oh, its 4, gotta go...

Video Clips

2009-06-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

Grandpa & Calla at the mall on the "Jeep"

Swimming!

Feeding the Ducks with Grandpa!

Good News!

2009-06-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Kristie's creatinine was 1.8!!! She had her monthly check up last Tuesday and we just got the labs back a couple of days ago.

Normal creatinine level is 1 or below and for a kidney transplant patient, 1.8 is really really good! In fact, she's never had this low of creatinine since she developed kidney disease in 2007.

SWEET! Thank you God!

More good news, I've lost 6.5 pounds thanks to Alli! Katie gave her half full bottle of Alli she had left and since she can't use it now since she's pregnant, I started taking it about 2 weeks ago. Since that time, I've lost about 5 pounds.

Alli is a fat blocker but you don't really notice a difference except I pee alot more. The literature claims that you'll lose 50% more weight while on a weight reduction program - I'm doing Weight Watchers - and its working!

I was struggling on WW before, even though I was NOT cheating, the weight just was not coming off - a half pound here, a half pound there, nothing of much consequence; then I'd go up a pound out of nowhere...very frustrating.

So, thank you Alli!

We're headed to Sacramento (with Nigel this time) on Saturday to take care of Calla while Katie and Nich spend 5 days in Kaui. Its their 10 year anniversary trip...Yay!

Can't wait to get warm again. Here's the rule in Seattle...don't expect it get to above 75 in a consistent manner until after July 4th...just doesn't happen. Am counting the days until July 5th.

Life is Good!

Lovely Photos

2009-06-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

at Steve & Rebecca's house Memorial Day weekend near San Francisco. A little chilly but a GREAT day! Thanks for a fabulous time guys!

The bunny in our yard yesterday eyeing our new plants! I know what he's thinking!

Getting comfy for the drive-in with Katie & Kristie last weekend. We saw Up! and it was awesome!

Our girls night out (while Calla & Nich were in ID) We had the BEST meal at Scott's Seafood Restaurant in Sacramento overlooking the river. Katie had filet mignon and crab legs and I had lobster tail and Kristie had crab raviloi. SO YUMMY!!!

Kristie loves anything with crab!

THE PROJECT

2009-06-02T19:48:00.001-07:00

Our 2.5 mile walk today with the doggies.

Kristie pretended she was on the treadmill to keep up. This is along the American River Trail.

Katie's about 17 weeks pregnant! Kinsey Lee McCleary Miller will be here around November 2!

The project is coming along nicely! Stay tuned for the final pics tomorrow!

Calla

2009-05-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Calla and the Cow video!

Health Care Reform

2009-05-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

This is an email I rec'd today from President Obama's team:

Good afternoon, You are receiving this email because you signed up at WhiteHouse.gov. My staff and I plan to use these messages as a way to directly communicate about important issues and opportunities, and today I have some encouraging updates about health care reform.

The Vice President and I just met with leaders from the House of Representatives and received their commitment to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by July 31. We also have an unprecedented commitment from health care industry leaders, many of whom opposed health reform in the past.

Monday, I met with some of these health care stakeholders, and they pledged to do their part to reduce the health care spending growth rate, saving more than two trillion dollars over the next ten years -- around $2,500 for each American family.

Then on Tuesday, leaders from some of America's top companies came to the White House to showcase innovative ways to reduce health care costs by improving the health of their workers. Now the House and Senate are beginning a critical debate that will determine the health of our nation's economy and its families. This process should be transparent and inclusive and its product must drive down costs, assure quality and affordable health care for everyone, and guarantee all of us a choice of doctors and plans. Reforming health care should also involve you.

Think of other people who may want to stay up to date on health care reform and other national issues and tell them to join us here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/EmailUpdates Health care reform can't come soon enough. We spend more on health care than any country, but families continue to struggle with skyrocketing premiums and nearly 46 million are without insurance entirely. It is a priority for the American people and a pillar of the new foundation we are seeking to build for our economy.

We'll continue to keep you posted about this and other important issues. Thank you, Barack Obama P.S. If you'd like to get more in-depth information about health reform and how you can participate, be sure to visit http://www.HealthReform.gov.

Kidney Donation Site

2009-05-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain, go away, never come another day. Woke up to a thunderstorm last night about 2 a.m. Supposed to rain for another two days then sunshine this weekend. Sigh.

On a good note, Kristie is feeling good! God is good! Thanks for all your prayers! I watched a segment on the Today show on kidney transplants and the average wait time for kidney donations is 5 years...not good. People die every day who are waiting for a kidney. But there is good news. A doctor started a matching website for people who need kidneys and those who want to donate their kidney while still living. Go to http://www.matchingdonors.com/ and register if you need a kidney or register if you want to donate your kidney.

Having donated my kidney to Kristie, I can tell you its totally worth the 2 to 6 week down time. Just to see her smiling face every day, happy and healthy.

If you know of someone who needs a kidney, have them register on this site. The Today show indicated that 6000 had registered to give kidneys and only 400 to receive them, simply because nobody knows about the site! Let's get the word out!

Kristie and I are headed to visit Calla in Sacramento May 16 for a couple of weeks. I need some sunshine and Calla time!

I've lost 3.5 pounds on Weight Watchers and Nigel's lost 10. Go figure but its all good. He is working out alot harder then me.

Cute girls

2009-04-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

Aren't we cute? This is our group at Treena's 3 day walk event. Treena is fundraising for the 3 day walk this Fall. We had a great time!

I was searching for ways to recycle the old cell phones we have and ran across a site called http://www.gazelle.com/ They buy your old electronics like cell phones, pdas, backup systems like Seagate, digital cameras, laptops, etc. Granted, they don't give you a whole lot for them, but if you're wanting to recycle them, its a good choice.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

I'm getting into the 3 Rs now. I just took another load of clothes to my favorite consignment store yesterday, after I cleaned out Kristie's closet! Kristie's lost so much weight that she's down to a size 8 and she went from a 36DD to a 34C. Wow. And since her kidney doctor wants her to stay her current weight of 120 pounds, I felt it was safe to clean out the closet.

My next project is to find a place to donate all my old glasses to. I went on the Lion's site and they recycle old eyeglasses to other countries who need them so I'm going that route. Turns out my church is a drop off for them...go figure.

We're going to see the Soloist tonight. Jamie Foxx is one talented individual...did you know he has a sister with Down's? And, of course, Robert Downey, Jr. rocks.

I'm starting to get into country music...well, the new country music anyway. Like Rascal Flatts, NOT the twangy stuff. Did you know that Darius Rucker is now a country singer? Oprah had him on with Carrie Underwood, Sugarland and someone else, I can't remember. So I ordered some CDs and just started listening to them. Sugarland can be twangy but they have a few good ones.

Katie had her first ultrasound yesterday and all is well with the new baby. Yay. She also took her 3 hour glucose test and she's not diabetic, yet. Course, that's what happened the last time and then she became diabetic a few months later. So, we'll see. Her new due date is November 2nd.

I had my blood drawn last Monday for my hormone levels. Can't wait to find out what's going on with that next week. Takes 5 business days to get to the doctor.

It was 74 for two days last week and then dropped 25 degrees. Depressing.

Michael J. Fox

2009-04-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhb8Vf2bbqI

Michael J. Fox is a true inspiration! A great man, a great leader, a great family guy, and soooo funny! I bought his new book yesterday, Always Looking Up, and it chronicles what's been going on with his life and his Foundation to find a cure for Parkinson's Disease since he quit his television show, Spin City in the year 2000.

I've always loved Michael J. Fox (and love saying his name). I grew up with him in Family Ties and all his movies, from Teen Wulf to the Back to the Future movies. It took me a while to get used to the humor on Spin City but he's fantastic in it. (Of course, Nigel watched it for Heather Locklear.)

I wasn't sure where I stood on the whole stem cell research issue but after reading his book...I cannot put it down...half way thru it already...go buy it now....you'll love it...I now understand that the stem cells will be thrown away if we don't use them for research. Most of them are left over from invitro fertilization. It makes sense.

His Foundation is www.michaeljfox.org Let's all donate to help cure Parkinson's Disease in our lifetime. Even if its $5 or $10, it will help!

I bought another book...Hungry Girl 200 under 200. 200 Recipes under 200 calories and all have Weight Watchers points. Yes, I started WW again. I'm a lifetime member you know. Sigh. Been on it a week and have lost a pound. Geez, a whole big whopping pound. Nigel started with me and he's lost 6 pounds. Every day he weighs himself and loses something. NOT ME THOUGH! GRRRRRRRRRRR! We're eating the same thing...does that make sense? NOOOOOOOOO!

My goal is to lose 20 pounds by October when we head to Hawaii for two weeks. I can't wait!

Katie's Birthday

2009-04-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

Katie's bday present from Nich & us - a painting of her dogs!

Nigel, Calla and me

Opening presents!

We had a GREAT time in Sacramento! We celebrated Katie's 30th birthday and it was very fun. I cooked all morning and we had a yummy menu:

Steak sandwiches

Vegie sandwiches

Mac & Cheese

Fruit

Vegies

Dips

Hummus

Pita chips

Cupcakes

Nich and Cathie decorated and set up the bar! Katie's friends arrived and we all had lots of fun, complete with Katie's demonstration of her Zoomba moves!

Nigel, Kristie and I stayed in Napa at our timeshare for 4 nights. And we listened to an update presentation and rec'd a free vacation to Hawaii...yay! I hate the presentations but sometimes they're worth it (as long as you don't buy anything!) It was only an hour's drive from Sac.

Sunday, Nich, Katie, Calla, and Cathie (Nich's mom) drove up and we all hung out at the pool and had lunch in Napa. I had a spectacular facial on Monday while Nigel played golf and then we went home that night.

Snow and the Green Room

2009-04-01T18:25:00.001-07:00

It was snowing this morning...April 1...and that ain't no April Fool joke!!! What the heck is going on???

We're leaving for Sacramento tomorrow morning for Katie's 30th birthday party! Yay! We've been planning it for weeks so we're excited. Oh, and may we have a little sun please?

We needed a project last weekend so the white room is now the green room and its gorgeous! We love it!

Before

During

After!

BIG NEWS

2009-03-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

First Lady Michele Obama - she's awesome!

Future President Calla Suzanna McCleary Miller

Go to whitehouse.gov and read all about what our President is doing! What a GREAT website! Now the american people can actually be involved in what's going on in Washington D.C.

Oh, and if you own a home, take advantage of the 4.85% interest rates to refinance now.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Katie and Nich are pregnant! SWEET! Calla will have a brother or sister in early November. No, she hasn't been to the doctor yet but took 3 home pregnancy tests that were positive. And she feels sick, a sure sign.

Maybe he/she will be born on Kristie's birthday, November 11. Or my birthday, November 21?

I can't wait to hold a sweet little baby again. Sigh.

Love at First Sight

2009-03-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Aaah Barry Manilow. His first hit was "Mandy" in 1975 and when I heard it, as a girl of 14, I was in love! He was my first serious "artist" crush.

Kristie and I went to his concert last night at the Comcast Arena in Everett. It was a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis and the place was packed! He sang all of his previous hits, and when it came to Mandy, he showed a video clip of him singing on the Dick Clark show (in white pants and a baby blue silk shirt and long blond hair!); after the first part of the song, they merged to him singing the song on stage at the piano...I was crying at that point. And I was thinking, this is crazy, I shouldn't be crying, get a grip!, but it seemed to just bring back all those memories of how you felt when you're 14!

Other highlights were "Somewhere Down the Road" and "I can't smile without you". We had a GREAT time!

Remember Bobbie Sherman? He was my second crush.

Rant: Why would Everett build an event center smack dab in the middle of downtown and NOT build a parking garage to go with it? Really annoying.

Sorry for the delay in updating my blog. I've been really sick with a darn cold that just won't quit. I caught it from my darling Calla so it was worth it but man oh man. I'm still blowing my nose and its been two weeks!

Oh, big news...I took off my artificial nails last week, after 18 years. My thoughts were that surely, now that I'm older, I would be able to grow my own nails. I was mistaken. I can't do it simply because of the shape of my nail beds. I know what you're thinking but its true! They're going back on this week. Sigh. At least I tried.

An update on my Women's Group...its the best. I'm really enjoying it. Thanks for asking.

Kristie is feeling REALLY GOOD! PRAISE GOD. Thank you for your prayers.

I just had my annual physical and am off birth control pills for 3 weeks; then I will take an FSH test which will tell me if I'm fertile or not. I'm hoping not. Will let you know.

Have you had your mammogram lately? Mine is scheduled for next Wednesday. Yippy Skippy.

Are you watching American Idol? We are and we're voting. Don't be a phone snob. Vote for your favorite! My prediction for the final - Danny and Adam. The guys are definitely better than the girls this year.

Catching Up

2009-03-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

The e and 3 keys are working! I got a new keyboard which I installed myself. Nice.

Our Vegas trip was great. My conference was awesome...the new Spring/Summer line of jewelry is fantastic. Lots of pretty stuff! I actually won a 14 k gold, diamond, and topaz ring because our team did over $300,000 in sales last year. In fact, over 60 women won that special ring. It was great.

Nigel and I saw a couple of shows, Wayne Brady - sooo funny! And Penn & Teller - great magic show! I'd recommend both. You can take kids to the P&T show but not the Wayne Brady show.

We had lunch with Sue & Stephen at Emeril's restaurant, Delmonicos, at the Venetian...yummy! We had the best steaks ever!

We got home Tuesday and then I picked up Kristie on Wednesday.

She had a GREAT time with Katie and Nich. Thanks for taking care of her!

My last cooking class when we returned home from Vegas was really fun. Our chef asked us to choose a favorite dish that we wanted to learn how to cook or cook better. I chose Beef Stew. After making the dish with Chef Tom, I figured out what I was doing wrong at home...I was cooking it too long and it was getting tough. I also learned how to make a "slurry" with flour and water thicken it a bit.

We also had:

Steak Tartar - not my favorite but okay
Paella - not my favorite but okay - a beautiful looking dish though
Lavender Creme Brulee - I prefer vanilla - we got to burn our own tops though - very fun
Chicken Diavolo - not my favorite but okay
Beef Stew - really good

I needed some Grandma time with Calla...the last time I saw her was right before Christmas so almost 3 months! Tickets were $79 each way so last Friday I flew down to Sacramento and came home Sunday night. Just me. It was so nice to spend time with Calla. She's so adorable. I'll post photos when Katie gets them to me. (I need to buy a new camera; mine is just not working anymore.)

So, here's what she's into:

Talking - well almost. She's saying some words like "Wuv you" "Aunt K" "Ganma"

She LOVES BOOKS! I've never known an 18 month old to just want to sit and read for an hour. She'll go pick out the books - a stack of them - make you sit on the couch with her and read them to her. Its her favorite.

She loves being outside. She loves running errands. She does not like to just stay home.

She eats every 2 to 3 hours. We should all take a lesson on that one.

And the big news is, we went to Ikea and got her a "big girl bed". Nich and I put it together on Sunday (Katie was sick) and she's sleeping in it just fine. She likes it alot.

I just love watching her grow up. Its always sad when I have to leave; I so wish we lived closer.

I'm working hard on earning my trip to Cabo San Lucas - a 5 star all inclusive resort. Wanna help me? Go to my website at www.myparklane.com/jmoore and do some online shopping for yourself or gifts for others.

Sorry, I know, shameless advertising.

2009-02-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

my e and 3 keys are barely working...they're sending me a new keyboard...sigh.

2009-02-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

We're off to Vegas! See you next week!

2009-02-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

GOOD NEWS! Dr. O'Neill called last night and Kristie's labs were pretty good!

Creatinine was 2.2 (down from 2.6)
Rapamune was 4
Prograf was 3.3
Hematocrit was 30

SWEET!

And the sweetest part is that she doesn't have to see the Dr. until March 10th!

I'm breathing a sigh of relief...in and out, in and out.

Thanks everyone for your prayers!

Catching Up

2009-02-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Kristie is feeling so good! Thank the good Lord! She's excited to go on vacation this week...she leaves for Sacramento on Wednesday to stay with KT and Nich for a week. They're driving down the coast to have a little getaway.

Meanwhile, Nigel and I leave for Vegas on Thursday. I'm attending my Park Lane Conference and he's golfing! We're also having lunch at Emeril's Steakhouse (YUM!) on Sunday with my Sue & Stephen, and seeing a show with September & Phillip on Monday...Wayne Brady, here we come! We come home on Tuesday.

Last Wednesday we went to see Kristie's regular Nephrologist (aka kidney doctor) and he was happy to have her back on his roster. I was fairly frank with him about my questions/concerns with the transplant team and he confirmed my hunches. Hopefully, we'll be done with the team for a while. Dr. O'Neill is so much more laid back and straight forward. He wants to see Kristie once a month...yay!

Okay, onto Cooking Class! Again, so much fun! The dishes are getting a bit more complicated and a bit more time consuming. And since Chef Tom likes to talk, I didn't get home until 11:15 on Wednesday night! Our emphasis was on braising and stewing.

So here was the menu:

Gregorio's Arroz con Pollo (chicken with chirozo and rice)
Basic Pot Roast
Corn and Leek Medley with Cream
Mixed Greens with Bacon Vinaigrette
Black Beans with Sherry
Braised Fennel with Mushrooms
Lemon Curd

I made the Fennel and learned that I really don't like fennel...oh well. I also made the salad and helped with the Lemon Curd. The Lemon Curd is to die for! I mixed some of it with my plain yogurt this morning for breakfast...nice.

Concasse means taking the skin off the tomatoes in boiling water.

We had so many leftovers that I took home dinner for Thursday! Yummy.

We have two classes left. The next class to take is the Techniques Class which, again, is a six class series. Then the Essentials Class and then the Masters Class.

But, I'm excited because after you take 5 classes with this school, you can be put on the Student Assistant list and then sign up to help with classes for free! SWEET. Michele is our SA and she said it's totally worth it.

It was Nigel's birthday yesterday so I surprised him with attending a Magic Show that was a fundraiser for Special Olympics and then dinner on the water at Saltys in West Seattle. The Magician, went into the audience and chose Nigel to come on stage for the classic stint of musical hands. It was hilarious. Kristie had a good time too. It was a fun day.

Then we came home and watched Righteous Kill...only watch it if you love Al Pacino and Robert Deniro...which we do. Good acting.

Olympia WA

2009-02-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

Chris Strano and Kristie McCleary lobbying at the Capitol today in Olympia today! What a GORGEOUS day!

Don't they look cool???!!! Very cool.

We had a GREAT time and I'm glad we went. We met with Senator Fred Jarrett, Representatives Judy Clibborn and Marcie Maxwell.

It doesn't end today; please keep making those phone calls. We'll be attending a Town Metting next month to keep it in the forefront.

2009-02-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

I turned on the Superbowl just to see the score with 6 minutes left...nuff said. I'm sure my family in Arizona were not happy...sorry Dad, Ken, Sue, Stephen, Laurie.

What was I doing before then?

Went to church and listened to an amazing preacher, Roosevelt Hunter. He's an African American who preaches around the world. The topic was A Perfect Storm. A few months ago, he wasn't feeling well, was dizzy when he stood up so he went to the doctor and they found a 4 inch tumor on his colon. The guy is in his 40s so a bit unusual. So during the surgery, it was not 4 inches, but the size of a grapefruit. They took it out but it had already spread to his lymph nodes and he's at stage 4. Sigh.

He's a dynamic speaker and talked about the passage in Mark 4 where Jesus was in the boat with his disciples; Jesus fell asleep and a storm came up. The disciples were afraid so they woke him up. Jesus calmed the rain and winds and waves.

The point was if we never go thru a storm, we don't have the chance to draw near to God. To trust him to get thru the storm; to get thru to the other side.

I feel like with Kristie's illness, we're going thru a storm. We're not thru the other side yet, but we're getting close. And, it's been a test. Definitely. The bad news is, I haven't always trusted as I should. I've screamed and cried and said a few explicit words. But the good news is I have grown closer to God.

Then, Kristie had her friend Greg over and we all watched a movie together - Jurassic Park. This is actually a monumental thing...Kristie's never in her life had a friend over. Greg lives with his sister and niece.

We're fighting the Governor's budget right now. She's trying to eliminate the Adult Day Health Program entirely from the budget. This program is vital to about 2000 developmentally disabled adults in WA state. Kristie attends this program 16 hours a week.

Kristie and I are lobbying in Olympia tomorrow with about 150 others to try and save this program. Pray we succeed. It's really important.

If you live in WA state, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call and ask them to save this program. The number is 1.800.562.6000.

Why does everything have to be such a struggle for people who, thru no fault of their own, were born different...Good grief.

Cooking Class

2009-01-30T09:47:00.000-08:00

Cooking Class last Wednesday was all about Grilling! We grilled all seven dishes...even the salad.

So here was the menu:

Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Compound Butter
Flank Steak with Dry Rub
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Grilled Local Zucchini
Caesar Salad
Grilled Pineapple w/vanilla Mascarpone
Bacon Fat Grilled Collard Greens

So the chicken was awesome! So moist and juicy. When was the last time you had a juicy boneless chicken breast? Brining is the secret! Here's the recipe:

8 skin on boneless chicken breasts
4 T kosher salt
1 C brown sugar
2 quarts water

Combine the water, salt and sugar. Place the chicken in the brine for an hour.

Make the compound butter:

5 cloves garlic, minced
2 lemons, juice and zest
1 stick butter, softened
1 lime, use the zest
2 T cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all and roll up in a log style in wax paper and freeze while you're preparing the chicken.

Grill: Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. grill until done on both sides. Plate and place 1 T of butter compound on each breast. It will melt over it and be really yummy!

This is the most delicious chicken!

I was in charge in the Grilled Pineapple which was fabulous! The dollop of mascarpone cheese after grilling was lovely. On a side note, Nigel gave me a cheese making kit for Christmas and I just now got around to watching the DVD where, among other cheeses, she demonstrates how to make mascarpone cheese! It looks easy. (Of course, that's what I said about the last batch of cheese I attempted and ended up throwing away!)

Kristie is feeling GREAT! Thank you for your prayers. Her next doctor appt is next Wednesday and its not with the transplant team...its her first appt with her regular kidney doctor since the transplant. Yay.

President Obama's Weekly Address

2009-01-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 5:55 am
President Obama delivers Your Weekly Address

In his first weekly address since being sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, President Barack Obama discusses how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will jump-start the economy.

"This is not just a short-term program to boost employment," he said. "It’s one that will invest in our most important priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century."

The Administration is still working with Congress to refine the plan, but in the address, President Obama lays out the key priorities. He goes into detail, noting that the plan will update our electric grid by laying more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines; weatherize 2.5 million homes; protect health insurance for more than 8 million Americans in danger of losing their coverage; secure 90 major ports; renovate 10,000 schools; and triple the number of science fellowships.

Watch (yes, a real Utube style video) the President's weekly address at www.whitehouse.gov.

Its only 5 minutes...you've got 5 minutes right?

How cool is this? To watch your President every week update us on America's weekly progress...Nice!

Movie Reviews, Katie

2009-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Movie Reviews...okay...ummm...errr...okay...I thought...well...ummm...(clearing of the throat) Let's chat about Paul Blart - Mall Cop. Disappointing is the first word that comes to mind. I'm a big Kevin James fan and since I know that he's normally hilarious I'll forgive him this movie. Not that it didn't have its funny moments...it did, definitely. I didn't like all the fat jokes. It's a renter.

We just returned from seeing Slumdog Millionaire. Its about a boy who is from the India slums who is on India's version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire." This movie has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Its an excellent film. We enjoyed it very much. Yes, its about his appearance on Who Wants to be a Millionaire but its actually a love story (but not a chick flick) and about how he grows up. Very well done and a contender for the award for sure! I'd see it before the Academy Awards because its sure to win and you'll want to say you've seen it.

Guess what? No doctors this week! Now that you've picked yourself up off the floor...I'll say it again. No doctors this week! Well, I think anyway. We went for labs on Friday and they never called me so, as they say, no news is good news.

Katie turns 30 on April 12th...wow...incredible. She is so awesome. Those of you who know her, understand why I say that and those of you who don't ...well, you're missing out. She's a brilliant writer and will be a famous author in the next few years. (You might want to get to know her now before all the hoopla happens.) I know that probably all mothers are proud of their daughters but I'm especially proud of Katie for all the sacrifices she has made for Kristie. Lots and lots of them. They do not go unnoticed.

Kristie has a great life because of people in her life who love her and put her needs first. Katie is one of those people. Thanks Katie. You're the best sister in the whole wide world and the best daughter.

I talked to Katie, Nich and Calla today using Skype...if you don't have Skype, get it right now. Its free to download and free to use when calling from computer to computer. Nigel uses it to call his Mom in England for only 2 cents a minute. It works so well that we cancelled our home phone last month, saving us a big whopping $40 a month. Nice.

Calla is getting so big and, of course, she's beautiful. And she said Grandma...well...gama...but that counts! She's sweet.

Movie Day and Cooking Class

2009-01-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

Well, its been a busy week and I'm tired. So we've deemed this weekend "movie weekend". We're going to see Mall Cop today for a little Kevin James' fix and then tomorrow we'll see Slumdog Millionaire that seems to be the buzz for the Academy Awards. Check back to see my reaction to both.

I'm the type of movie goer that is fairly superficial. If its a comedy, I want to laugh out loud, not just chuckle. It also has to have some sort of viable story but that requirement really is secondary.

If its a drama, it has to have a story that makes sense and moves along at a fairly quick pace.

I did LOVE Australia because its 3 stories in 1 but it's slow. However, Nicole and Hugh made up for the slowness because they were so fun to watch and the cinematography was stunning.

I absolutely ADORE true life stories...my favorite.

Okay, so Miss America is on tonight. Take a looksee at Miss Illinois' jewelry. My jewelry company, Jewels by Park Lane, is her official jewelry sponsor (they're based out of Chicago.) And, for the first time ever, the public can vote for their favorite to get into the top 15. Honestly, I can't believe there still is a Miss America Pageant but if you get past the beauty judging stuff, they do a lot of good for charitable causes. Well, that's my justification for watching every year anyway.

Oh, here is the cooking class report for last Wednesday:

Our menu was:

Roast chicken
Mashed potatoes
Pan Gravy
Candied Brussel Sprouts
Salad with blue cheese and cranberries
Balsamic vinaigrette
Squash Soup
Candied pecans
Roasted pears with Camembert cheese

I volunteered to make the mashed potatoes because I noticed on the recipe card that they were using a food mill. Now, I've seen them do this on the Food Network (which I watch constantly, I admit I'm addicted) but thought to myself "that's a lot of work and it can't make that much difference" HOW WRONG I WAS!

I know what you're thinking, why not just throw it all in the kitchen aid (or whatever you normally do) to mash the potatoes with some chicken stock...well, that is what I normally do and to be honest, sometimes it turns out and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it turns out sticky or gummy or just not a very good texture. My instructor (the Mario Batali look alike chef) says its because all the starch comes out of the potatoes and ruins the texture.

I'm a convert. Use the food mill and you'll see what a difference it makes! If you want creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes, here's what you do:

Peel and cut 4 pounds of yukon gold potatoes into uniform chunks. Cover with cold water, add some salt, and bring to a boil. Boil until done but not mushy. Drain and put the hot potatoes thru a food mill a little at a time. Melt a stick of butter and 1 cup of half and half together in a sauce pan. Pour over the potatoes a little at a time and mix to get that creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper and you're done! DELICIOUS!

So delicious that I went out and bought a food mill at Macy's yesterday. (Had a gift card from Christmas...thanks Nigel!)

I remember growing up that we used a food mill for making applesauce but that was it.

The Squash Soup was to die for! I didn't care for the brussels. Or the pears, which surprised me but oh well.

Here's what I learned:

How to dice an onion - I sort of knew this but got to practice the right way with a sharp knife.
How to use the food mill.
How to peel a butternut squash the easy way.
How to truss a chicken.

So much fun! Oh, and I put my knife block and all my rusy knives in the recycle bin this past week. I'm taking my two good knives to get sharpened next week. Can't wait!

On another note, one of Nigel's coworkers attended the Inauguration. She said they left their hotel room at 4 a.m. and it was 12 degrees. During the day it only got up to 20 degrees. Brrr. She said it was an amazing experience.

God Bless America

2009-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

Kristie loves Martin Luther King. She has books and tapes and loves to hear him talk. Today our country honors him. As well it should.

I'm watching Barak Obama on CNN right now helping to paint a teen center. How great is our country?! Thank God we live in America. I wish we could have gone to Washington DC to watch this historic event. I'm DVRing it all day tomorrow since I have to take Kristie to get labs in the morning and won't be home until after 2 p.m. Then I have my Women's Group tomorrow evening.

God Blessed America with Barak Obama. I'm a Republican and a Democrat. I believe government should help people (especially the most vulnerable) and our leaders should work together to make that happen. I can't wait to see what the next 4 years will bring. My hope is he will unite our country.

So today, we left the house at 6:15 a.m. and arrived home at 2:15 p.m. Sigh. Kristie had her stint taken out of her bladder. Dr. Chapman also "tested" the link between her new kidney and her bladder to make sure it was not blocked; it wasn't. At least they didn't cut her open, they went thru her you know what. Good grief.

When Kristie comes out of anesthesia, she always asks me two things. First, she asks me if I'm mad at her. Next, she asks me if I still love her. She's done this 4 times in the last 6 months, after each procedure. It breaks my heart each time.

I forgot to mention that I'm taking a series of cooking classes at Culinary Communion. My first class was last Wednesday and even though Kristie was still in the hospital and I was dead tired, I still went. It's a 3 hour class and then we eat our food!

I LOVED IT!

There are 8 in my class - 5 men and 3 women. I'm the oldest (which suprises me because I expected older women to attend this class) and the most experienced cook and the only one that said "I love to cook" while introducing ourselves.

Our instructor chef is Tom Black who was the Executive Chef at the Barking Frog Restaurant; that restaurant is #2 is our state. Its exquisite food. Nigel and I ate there once (its rather spendy) and we would definitely go again.

So, like I said we cooked for 3 hours. There were 8 of us and 8 dishes. Here was the menu:

Salad with blue cheese and cranberries
Green Goddess Dressing
French Onion Soup
Pork Chops with Fresh Herb Sauce
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms
Spaetzle
Sauteed Green Beans with Bacon
Myer Lemon and Goat Cheese Tart

YUMMY! We were each assigned a dish and I chose the French Onion Soup.

We all started by learning to slice an onion correctly and holding our knife correctly. After each of us sliced our onion, I carmalized all of them in a huge pot (not saute pan) using only 1 T of butter. It was amazing. Took a while but an amazing result.

Our instructor poured us some wine and it was so fun just cooking, drinking wine, visiting with the other students.

Chef Tom said that my onions were carmalized perfectly and called the students over to look at them. Nice. Lots of roasty toasty flavor.

I learned that caramalizing onions doesn't depend on butter or the pan. It just takes time.

I learned not to peel garlic by smashing it. If you smash it, the juices stick to the peel which you throw away.

I learned to throw away my butcher block that holds my knives because bacteria grows in the slots. (Hmmm, I've had that butcher block for over 10 years.)

I learned to get my cook's knives professionally sharpened.

We're going to learn about roasting, steaming,sauteing, braising...I can't wait to learn how to properly braise.

And I can't wait to learn how to make homemade chicken stock.

The French Onion Soup was delicious (mainly because the homemade chicken stock was to die for.)

So much fun! I can't wait for Wednesday night's class!

2009-01-17T18:55:00.001-08:00

No nausea today...SWEET!

Kristie update

2009-01-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

We arrived home yesterday about 4 p.m. All is good. Kristie goes back to get her stint out Monday (another 4 hours at the doctors...yay for us.) and then more doctors on Tuesday for labs to see where her new medication levels are at.

Pray for patience for me and for courage for her...both are running thin right now. She's sick of it, I'm sick of it...yeah.

Kristie Update, Vitamin D

2009-01-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

We're still here but its okay.

Creatinine is at 2.0 yay! They've unhooked her IV for now and she's resting today. Had a shower too. Prognosis is that she'll go home tomorrow. Still a little nauseous but not as bad as before. She's eating well but the drinking is still not going well. Kristie's Dad stayed with her last night and I was able to get a good night's sleep. He's staying tonight too.

Please pray that she'll be able to drink...everytime she tries, she's nauseous.

On another note, my cooking class starts tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm looking forward to it...do I know as much as I think I know? Hmmm.

I'm on a quest to get healthy and start changing the way I eat. I know I'll have to do it slowly. More fruits and vegies (I know Cathie and Nich are laughing right now at the vegie part.) But I'm determined to find vegies I actually like without smothering them with cheese and butter.

Another goal is to exercise consistently...Nigel got the Wii Fit and its fun so that will help. They say to get a pedometer and do 10,000 steps a day. To give you an idea, 1/2 hour on the treadmill is about 3000 steps. Hmmm.

Being deficient in Vitamin D is a huge deal. Here's what Dr. Oz says: When you're deficient in Vitamin D, you may be at increased risk for heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and immune disorders, not to mention osteoporosis.
Go buy a bottle of Vitamin D 1000 IUs and take one twice a day with your regular multi-vitamins and Omega 3s.

For Omega 3s, we bought a huge bottle of flax seed oil pills at Costco...flax seed has more Omega 3s than fish oil pills which leave that fishy taste in your mouth. Or is it Omega 6...I can't remember which.

Kristie

2009-01-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

A quick update. We were admitted to the hospital yesterday about 11 a.m. and things are going fine. Kristie got fluids yesterday after a psycho woman named Rosemary tried to give her an IV which did NOT work and who continued to say that it did work. She then got another IV from a Mary who was very nice. Yeesh. (Rosemary was the charge nurse in the IV dept...I think Rosemary needs to give that job up to Mary!)

Kristie had her favorite nurse, Kristin, take care of her yesterday so we were happy about that. We hadn't seen her since the transplant six months ago.

The GI doctor scheduled her procedure this morning which occurred at 9:30 a.m. They sedated her and put a small tube with a camera down her throat into her stomach to look around.

The good news is that there is no tumor, ulcer, growth or infection. Yay.

So what's making her nauseous? Everyone is in agreement that its probably her anti-rejection drug, Cellcept. How come now after having been taking it for six months? They don't know. Go figure.

So they started switching her yesterday to a new drug to replace the Cellcept but until the medication levels get to the new magic number of 5, she'll be in the hospital. The nurse said it will probably take another couple of days.

Kristie fought the procedure this morning but is doing well now. She hates to be put to sleep...

On another good note, her creatinine was 3.3 last Monday and then 2.9 Friday and today its 2.1. The closer it gets to 1 is a very good thing!

Pray for sleep tonight. We got 4 hours last night.

Calla Videos & Kristie Update

2009-01-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

Best Dad Award!

Best Mom Award!

Yay for Shoes!

I needed some good news today so I pulled up these video clips of Calla this past summer. So cute! And Katie and Nich are such good parents and I'm not just saying that; they really are the best parents I know.

We went to the hospital "Pod A" today for Kristie to get some fluids via an IV because she's dehydrated because she's nauseous and has been vomiting for two weeks. Yesterday she vomited at 2 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. So here's the deal, if she has time to think about it, and its planned for, she's good about vomiting in a bowl. That didn't happen at 1:30 a.m. It went all over the bed, sheets, carpet, and Kristie...not good. Or as my sister Laurie would say...Nice.

The fluids took 3 hours to get and then she had a shot.

I just chatted with her kidney doctor and here's the plan.

If she throws up her pills this weekend and we can't keep anything down her, then we'll admit her to the hospital this weekend. If its manageable this weekend, then we'll admit her on Monday to run some stomach tests. Dr. N is going to talk with a GI doctor to see what they should do.

We have to rule out any stomach issues first (and get the stint out of her bladder...I hate that stupid stint). If there are no stomach issues, then its the meds that are making her sick and they'll have to change them.

Please pray for courage for Kristie and for strength for me.

Dr. Oz Top Ten

2009-01-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Dr. Oz's Top 10 Things to do for your Health in 2009

See oprah.com for more details

1. Schedule a checkup with your doctor

2. 5 ingredients to avoid: high fructose corn syrup, sugar, anything "enriched", hydrogenated or trans fat and saturated fat. If any of these are listed in the first 5 ingredients of a product, don't buy it.

3. Add these healthy foods: Antioxidant foods 5-7 a day. A serving is a fistful. Blueberries, squash, see the site for more.

Omega 3s/3 grams a day; Fiber 25 grams a day; olive oil 1 Tablespoon a day.

4. Take a multivitamin

5. Know your medical #s: Resting Heart Rate should NOT be over 83. Take it by putting your finger on your neck and counting for a minute. Should be near the 60 mark.

Blood pressure should be 115/75; if its above 140 or the lower number is above 90 - see the doctor now.

Waist size for a woman should be less than 37" - measure it around your belly button.

Cholesterol: LDL should be less than a 100 and HDL should be hmmm forget so go on oprah.com and see.

Know your Vitamin D #, your C Reative Protein # and your Thyroid #.

During the checkup, get these numbers.

6. Find a health care advocate...gotta friend? Have them help when it gets complicated.

7. Organize your health record.

8. Know what medical tests to get - women get a bone density scan and men get the you know what in the rear exam.

9. Exercise and strength train. Work up to 10,000 steps a day.

10. Sleep 7 to 8 hours a night.

Here's to good health in 2009!

P.S. Please pray for Kristie's nausea to go away. We go in for labs tomorrow morning. If they did not improve from Tuesday, then she has to have fluid and possibly some blood via an IV on Friday which is about a 6 hour process. Sigh.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009-01-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wish you all mucho happiness and good health in this new year.

We were watching the travel channel yesterday morning featuring doughnut shops. Portland made the list with "Voodoo Doughnuts". The magic is in the hole is their slogan. Katie reminded me that this doughnut shop was part of the last leg on the Amazing Race. Very cool.

Seattle made the list with Top Pot Doughnuts. They featured their venue in downtown Seattle on 5th Ave. so we ventured out today to try the doughnuts. I must say they were good doughnuts but I think the real reason they were featured was because of the architecture of the building. Its two stories with floor to ceiling book cases that line 3 of its walls. Would I go there again? No. But I'll try their venue in Bellevue.

I actually prefer my homemade cake doughnuts...yum.

Rant. Okay. So, I don't like this. I've been in many doughnut shops and cupcakes shops where the display cases are dark and dreary. The signs are not big enough and you have to bend down to see what's in the case!!! This is ridiculous. Good Grief. Put them in an old fashioned tiered cake case that stands 8 feet tall. Get a couple of them that go round and round. We'd probably buy more if we could actually see them!

If the name "doughnut" or "cupcake" is in the name of your establishment, get a clue and display your products properly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRR.

Right Katie??

Katie and I have long talked about opening our own coffee/cupcake/deli/lunch shop. One side would be the coffee/food part and one side would be a small community book store where we'd have author signings and readings and a place where book clubs could meet. I can envision it in my mind...cute and colorful. We really need to do it. Its our dream...well, one of them anyway.

Nigel got a Wii for Christmas. Its fun. I'm not a video game person (except for Super Mario Brothers which I love but am not good at) but since its so interactive and innovative, I actually like it. The tennis and bowling are awesome.

He also bought Guitar Hero but returned it because its so darn complicated. No good.

He downloaded Super Mario Brothers today and I played it for about 45 minutes...still not good at it. Sigh.

Update on Kristie. We really need prayer for her because she's very nauseas. I think its because she's still on all this heavy medication. We're almost at the 6 month mark...yay! January 17th will be 6 months since the transplant. Hopefully, she can get off 2 of the heavy meds that may be causing her nausea. They gave her a new med to relieve the nausea but it makes her sooo tired.

Also we need prayer because she's supposed to be getting her stint out...again. Her stint is curled up in her bladder at the moment, just hanging out. In order to get it out, they'll need to sedate her which means an IV and more doctor time.

She's getting really tired of going to the doctor. So am I. Hopefully by the end of this month, we can be on a reduced seeing the doctor schedule. I know I keep saying that but am determined to make it happen. Can we just have a normal life?

Its snowing...again...supposed to turn to rain overnight...hmmm...yeah...right.

Good grief.

I know it sounds like I'm depressed. I'm not, just tired of the same if you catch my drift.

I did sign myself up for a series of cooking classes starting next Wednesday. Yay for me. (I'll need it to open that restaurant!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-27T22:04:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T17:29:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Feeding the ducks...enjoy!

News

2008-11-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-31T11:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

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

Happy Monday

2008-10-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-26T10:25:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-17T10:58:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

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.

The Transplant itself
The breathing tube
The neck IV
The catheter
The needles twice a week
The biopsy
The stint
The medicine - 13 prescriptions
The nausea
The diarreah

Good grief. Thank God the kidney is working GREAT!

Life is Good

2008-08-24T11:09:00.001-07:00

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?!

Star Wars

2008-08-22T18:03:00.001-07:00

Kristie wanted to go see the new Star Wars - The Clone Wars movie but we're not supposed to go to crowded places so she asked the doctor last week if she could go and the doctor said she could go as long she went to a daytime matinee, in the middle of the week (less people), sat in the last row, preferably didn't sit next to anyone, and if someone was coughing near her, we had to move.

So, today after driving Katie and Calla to the airport (they're going to Garrett's wedding in Ashland, Oregon) I took Kristie to the movie. She was so excited to eat a big bag of M&Ms and drink a big Coke too - something she couldn't do before the transplant.

She loved the movie! I promptly fell asleep for about 45 minutes. Now, I am a Star Wars fan, but this movie is NOT good...don't tell Kristie though.

We cleaned out my closet last week and after trying twice to take my clothes with designer labels on them to 2 consignment stores; one turned me down flat and the other is closed for two weeks. Katie said let's sell them on EBay; so, since I have to stay home with Kristie this weekend, I'm going to learn how to sell on EBay. If you have any tips, let me know. Cathie and Dad sell on EBay...can't be that hard but I'm not a techie, so I may be calling you soon.

Dad gave me some good advice on having friends...thanks Dad. You made me cry but it helped.

We broke a rule today and went to Target after the movie. We're breaking another rules tonight and going out for Sushi and Teriyaki when Nigel gets home from the golf tournament - he's a volunteer at the Boeing Classic and gets to be one of the scorekeepers. A dream come true, evidently.

P.S. Kristie has to drink 7 - 20 ounce bottles of fluid a day...you try it and tell me how it goes. Her new kidney, evidently, likes lots of fluid...hmmm, it must not have liked my body because there is no way I was even drinking the recommended 64 ounces of water each day!

GOOD NEWS!

2008-08-21T18:25:00.001-07:00

Just got the results from the biopsy...THE KIDNEY IS HEALTHY! YAY!

GRRRRRRRR

2008-08-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, so much for our trip to Garrett's wedding...Grrrrr. That was NOT Plan B, that wasn't even Plan Z! I guess someone forgot to tell someone or something.

So last night I get a call from the Transplant Team and they want Kristie to go have a biopsy of her new kidney today at 8 a.m. Why? Did something happen? No, just that her creatinine went up to 1.8 AGAIN and they are dumbfounded as to why this keeps happening. It should be going down, not up.

So, a biopsy will tell them what is going on with the kidney.

I was a cry baby all night and knew I couldn't watch them stick a long needle into my little Kristie so Katie (once again) said she would go. She's an angel.

So this morning we all get up at 6 a.m.; they leave at 7 a.m. to get checked in by 7:45 a.m. and then they do an ultrasound and then the biopsy. Katie said "It was not a pleasant experience" but Kristie was brave, again. Afterwards Kristie laid flat for 5 hours with a sandbag on her kidney to keep everything still...weird I know.

Nigel and I stayed with Calla and then after her morning nap, we drove to the hospital and stayed with Kristie while Katie took Calla to the park.

Now we are waiting for the results...we should know about 5 p.m.

Please pray for a healthy kidney. Sigh. Double Sigh.

Updates

2008-08-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

This last year has been a doozy. I think I'm just now realizing how exhausting taking care of Kristie has been on an emotional level. My friend Treena said it best when she reminded me that it isn't just about recovering from a kidney transplant. Its about recovering from this past year of kidney disease worry and stress, including business changes where you thought you had friends but then realized that they weren't really friends at all. That's sad. I still wonder why they thought leaving a business meant leaving friendship. I guess I'll never know the answer to that question.

I've learned some valuable lessons these past months.

YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE. PERIOD.
Friends are the family you get to choose.
Real friends stick by you no matter what.
Taking care of yourself is really important - you only get one chance.
If you need a nap, take one.
Only eat if you're hungry and then only eat until you're full or satisfied.
Be generous with compliments and say please and thank you.
Try not to complain (unless, of course, you've reached your breaking point).

Okay, enough heavy stuff.

I had the pleasure of putting Calla to bed tonight. She's a little sweetheart. She was so tired she didn't even cry when I put her in the crib. Speaking of the crib. I don't know what I was thinking but the little fold up crib I bought for her trips up to see Grandpa and Grandma is almost too small now...should have just bought the full size one. Lesson learned.

I'm so grateful for Katie and Nich's help this past month. Thanks Nicholas for your patience and kindness and love you showed with Kristie this past month, (especially all those days and nights in the hospital.) And for the love you show Katie and Calla every day. (Nich went home yesterday to prepare for school.) We miss you already!

We're traveling to Ashland, Oregon this weekend for Garrett's wedding. Kristie was cleared by her doctors to attend the wedding (with minimum mingling). We're leaving Friday and coming home Sunday. I can't wait for the weekend outing where we can pretend to not be recovering from a kidney transplant. It's an 8 hour drive so Katie and I will take turns.

Nigel's home from England tonight - just waiting for the call to go pick him up. He's funny...he called the other night and said to give Calla a hug and kiss for him...nothing for me, just Calla! His Mom's 80th Birthday Party was a big hit. She knew about the party, but didn't know that Nigel was coming...so he pulled off the surprise perfectly!

Have you been watching the Olympics? The U.S. Gymnastics Women's team, specifically, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Lukin, are getting the shaft from the judges in the individual event competitions...frustrating. At least they got the gold and silver in the all around competition.

Labs tomorrow for Kristie...we had a GREAT week last week but this week her creatinine is up from 1.5 to 1.8. Sigh. Can it just go down please? (Normal is .5 to 1 and immediately after the transplant it was .8) Please pray all her levels will normalize.

Thanks.

Photos

2008-08-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Kristie's Kidney Shower 2 days before surgery. A talking Kermit the Frog, bears, books, fuzzy blankie, braille books. Fun.

Me and Kristie 5 days after surgery. Kristie was still in the hospital and I had just been discharged the day before.

Grandpa and Calla in the hot tub!

Cathie aka YaYa and Scott aka Serpa - thank you for your help! We couldn't have done it without you!

Nicholas, Kristie and Calla at Gene Coulon Park last week.

Katie and Calla at the park. Calla was so excited to go swimming!

2008-08-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Clinic appt. This is where we go to the Transplant Team's "office" so to speak and get Kristie's blood drawn. Then we wait to get blood pressure and temperature done and update meds and talk with transplant coordinator about how she's feeling. Then we wait again to talk with a nephrologist aka kidney doctor. We do this twice a week. It takes about 2 to 3 hours.

It is an unorganized mess.

If I were in charge, I would set this up differently. I would NOT have all the kidney patients show up at 9 a.m. and then shuffle them around, in and out, in and out, until the last of them leaves at noon.

Ridiculous.

Nuff complaining.

Its been 3 weeks since we had the transplant and all in all the recovery has been good. Not fantastic, not fast, not amazingly well...just good. But that's okay. Can you tell I'm trying to talk myself into knowing that its okay? It actually sucks but I'm trying to take my own advice that I give to Kristie. Let's be positive okay? um hum, okay.

Nuff complaining.

Kristie has to drink about 24 ounces of liquid every morning, afternoon and evening or she will get dehydrated and end up back in the "you know where". So we made a list of "fun" drinks yesterday that will help her accomplish that.

Coffee Frappacinos from Starbucks - her favorite
Lemonade
Hot Chocolate
Milkshakes
Sleepy Time Tea
Other teas

Just got some good news right now...they're dropping the dose of the two medicines that make her nauseous so that's good.

Think positive. Okay.

She's Home

2008-08-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Kristie's home! Yay! She came home yesterday about 5 p.m. When I tucked her in bed she said "Oh this bed feels soooo good. I love it."

She has to drink ALOT!

Her diaareah and nausea are much better. But they upped her medicine again...the stuff that makes her sick...sigh. Its like walking a tightrope. What's good for her kidney is not necessarily good for her stomach.

Please keep those prayers coming.

Thank goodness for Katie, Nich, Calla, and Nigel. Without them, this would be a friggin nightmare.

Detour

2008-08-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well, the short two day stay I referenced before has now turned into a short 5 to 7 day stay...sigh.

Kristie has been in the hospital since last Wednesday and its now Sunday. Probably won't be going home for another couple of days. Still too much diarrhea and nausea. You'd think they could get this fixed but with all the meds she's taking its tricky...evidently.

We're trying to be patient and have a good attitude. We are realizing that its a process.

Please send prayers our way that the doctors will find the right meds that Kristie's body can tolerate and that the nausea and diarrhea will go away.

In the meantime, we are taking turns with her day and night so she's not alone.

I'm doing much better...even drove for the first time yesterday.

Katie and Nich and Calla are back from CA this afternoon...we miss them! My sister Sue is leaving tomorrow - she's been a big help!

Will post photos later.

Thank you God!

2008-07-26T17:10:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-10T08:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

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!

Mom and Dad, Shots

2008-06-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is my Dad, Keith. He actually looks alot like Danny DeVito!

This is my Mom, Karon, baking cherry pie with the cherries they picked off the tree!

They are both at my brothers' farm near Chicago, Illinois right now. They are escaping the heat in Bullhead City, Arizona where they normally live. Bullhead City was 122 degrees today...now you know why they're in IL where its about 88.

We're back from Sacramento and enjoying the 85 plus weather in Seattle right now. Thank goodness for that.

Kristie has to have two shots tomorrow to prepare for the transplant on July 17th. Say a little prayer...she hates these shots...so I bribe her with eating at her favorite lunch place, Taco Del Mar.

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

We're headed to Sacramento Sunday for some Callamazoo time and some fun in the sun...believe me the sun in Seattle has been hiding for almost a year now. We've had one day of 80 degree weather in about a year...not good news kids. Nigel and I are going stir crazy. We'll be back on Friday. He's looking forward to golf every day and I'm looking forward to playing with Calla and getting warm.

This has been a crazy week...Kristie is in a play and I've been driving her back and forth to Kent every day. This is in addition to her regular activities every day too. We see the play tonight so while she will be sad its over (until next year) I'll be happy to not be driving so much.

Kristie's new thing now is to use the word "cancel". She heard me talking on the phone the other day and when I hung up she asked who it was. I told her and she said "Oh, I thought it was Dr. Marks calling to cancel the surgery for July 17th." Uh...no.

She's joking about it sometimes but crying about it other times. But she is looking forward to chocolate! As as possible after the surgery, I think we'll take her to the store and let her buy as much as she wants. Oh, and a trip to Baskins & Robbins where chocolate peanut butter ice cream is her favorite.

No dairy, potatoes or tomatoes for the past year has been hard on her...well, all except the tomatoes - she doesn't care for those anyway. She's lost 13 pounds from being on her kidney diet. But that's okay, her doctor wanted her to lose 12 so we're good.

Lunchtime...gotta go.

Medical Update

2008-06-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

We met with Dr. Precht today at Swedish Medical Center. He is from Poland and has been doing transplants (kidney and liver) for 8 years now. He sounds the guy on the Ikea commercials...a little bit anyway.

He explained how they are going to take my left kidney out of my body. They actually cut an incision on the left side of my belly button and slide it right out...amazing! He then puts it on ice and makes sure everything is working okay. Then Kristie's surgeon, Dr. Marks, comes over to my surgery room and takes it from him. Sometimes he helps Dr. Marks do the actual transplant and sometimes not.

I'll be in surgery from about 8:30 a.m. for 2 to 3 hours. Kristie's surgery starts an hour after mine starts. They get my kidney ready and then they start her procedure.

Not to change the subject but here's a good tip:

Call 1.800.call411 to get numbers for FREE. I tried it the other day and they'll even text the info immediately to your phone and then repeat the information too and they give you an address. Its cool.

I'm still reading Jack Canfield's new book: The Success Principles and its soooo great! I love it. I made a list today of the things I would do if I weren't afraid. If I weren't afraid, I'd post it for you...ha! Maybe some other time.

I watched Dr. Wayne Dyer on oprah.com the other day. He's so cool. I have his book the Power of Intention and tried to read it once a few years ago...I couldn't because it just went over my head but I felt so great just trying to read it that I got about half way thru it. I think I'm actually ready to read it now and understand it. If you get a chance, watch the podcast of Oprah's interview with him. He rocks.

Well, its movie night and I get to go watch Mr. Magorium's Emporium - Dustin Hoffman - with Kristie and Nigel. Chow.

Medical Update

2008-06-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

I told Kristie last Friday while we were driving home from her play practice. She took it well. What did I tell her? That the transplant was scheduled for July 17th. She wasn't surprised because we had been talking about it probably being in July sometime...

Wednesday Nigel and I meet with my surgeon, Dr. Precht. I'm feeling good. In fact, I listened to a Pat Pearson tape today titled "Happier" and even though it wasn't her best production, it still made me take stock of my life. She had you rate your overall happiness on a scale of 1 to 10. At first, I rated my life a 7 (which I found out later on the tape was average.) Then, after I really thought about it, I would have to say my life is a definite 9 right now. Overall, I am very happy.

I just have a few glitches to take care of...#1 is a kidney transplant.

The kidney transplant is my total focus right now and the rest of the glitches in my life are but a mere nuisance. I mean, really, a FREAKIN KIDNEY TRANSPLANT! Are you kidding me?

My brother, who is a brilliant attorney, told me to get my affairs in order. After all, it is surgery. Thanks bro...but, alas, he's right. Its the perfect time to do it...I suppose. I hate it when he's right. He's my little brother Ken; he used to beat me up when we were younger. He never made his bed or matched his socks. He also used to...oh, I can't tell you that.

Free legal advice...priceless!

I tell you a secret though...if I hadn't gone thru this, I would not have realized how precious life is and how precious family time should be.

Please slow down and appreciate your immediate family. Life slides by us so quickly. Pretty soon you're 47 and having a transplant in your family.

So, today we had Kristie's June doctor appt...2 shots today. Her creatinine was 3.1; her GFR was 18%; her potassium was 4. All about the same as before.

I was thinking today that having one's kidneys only function at an 18% level is probably not too good for the overall body...whatcha think? I'm thinkin not.

P.S. Did I tell you Kristie was in a play? She is...its in Kent...20 miles away...practice is too far to drop off and come home so I've been reading alot or taking a nap in my car or shopping at TJ Maxx or having dinner out. The play is this weekend...she's excited and so am I. I love plays.

Encouragement

2008-06-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

Got a new do...was so inspired by Katie's new do that I decided I needed one.

At the salon, my stylist was mixing my color and there was a little old lady who came in for her weekly style appt. and she overhead me say that I needed to make an appt. before the kidney transplant. She asked me if I was having a transplant and I said no, I was donating my kidney to my daughter. She then told me that one of the stylists at the salon (its a mid-size salon) donated her kidney to her sister a few years ago. Then off she went to have her hair done.

About 20 minutes later, we overheard her say to her stylist that I was donating my kidney to my daughter. A few minutes after that, "Debbie" came over and asked if I was the one donating my kidney. She said that she was the one who donated her kidney to her sister.

I started asking questions right away! Thank goodness for little old ladies and their big mouths! Here's a recap of the info I gleaned.

Debbie gave a kidney to her sister 7 years ago and everyone is doing GREAT to this day. Debbie has 4 brothers and sisters and she was the only one to match. The surgery was done at Virginia Mason and they took her kidney laproscopically. She was only in pain for about 3 days and then it was a "piece of cake" after that. She said she was ready to go back to work the next week! She said she had a small 2 - 3 inch scar and a couple of other tiny scars. She said if she had two kidneys again, she would donate to a total stranger because it was so easy.

I asked her if the kidney started working right away in her sister and she said the minute they hooked it up, it started working!

She said her sister had to stay in the hospital longer than usual because they ended up taking out one of her bad kidneys - it weighed 7 pounds! And last year they took out the other one - it weighed 8 pounds! With her particular disease, it was a necessity to take them out.

In Kristie's situation, they told us they would leave her old kidneys in.

The talk with Debbie was VERY ENCOURAGING. This was a total God run-in kind of thing. I mean, there are not that many people who donate a kidney that you would just run into like that! I think he knew I needed a word. Not just for my piece of mind but for Kristie too.

Today was a good day.

2008-06-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a cryyy day.

Ramblings

2008-06-05T20:58:00.001-07:00

So, Kristie said today "When I get my new kidney, I can have a big bag of M&Ms at the theatre"! Absolutely, Kristie, absolutely!

I was sick of not eating fast food...I know, I'm weird...so we went to Arby's for lunch. Since we're watching protein, sodium, and potassium (which almost eliminates potatoes, tomatoes and dairy) this was probably not a good idea but sometimes you gotta do it anyway to get it out of your system.

We ate lunch and THEN I asked for the nutrition information. Did you know in a regular Roast Beef there is 870 mgs of sodium. Potato cakes? 340 mgs of sodium. Large Roast Beef is 1870 mgs of sodium. Kristie is not supposed to have more than 2000 mgs of sodium a day. She had the regular roast beef and one potato cake which amounted to about 1000 mgs of sodium. A little high but not too bad. We won't talk about MY sodium intake.

Then, we went to Costco and stocked up on a few things for the big event. That took about 2 hours. I'm always amazed at how much time it takes at Costco. Then, my card had expired and I had to pay an extra $100 for the yearly dues...I shouldn't complain because I did receive an $85 rebate check from Costco that I used the last time I shopped there.

Kristie and I are now watching Evan Almighty...a good family movie...funny and a good story...think Noah's Ark.

Last Summer we started "movie night" on Tuesdays nights. This year we decided Wednesdays would be better so we started yesterday. Movie night means we watch a movie we've never watched before.

I'm rambling so I'll quit.

We're diligently working on the schedule for the big event. By the way, we're not telling Kristie until June 16th - we're going to tell her when we're at her doctor's appt with Dr. O'Neill. I always make him the bad guy anyway so he's used to it by now.

The Big Decision

2008-06-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, we've decided. The transplant has been scheduled for July 17th.

I have peace about the decision.

But I'm not looking forward to the recovery process for both of us.

Here's what I know so far.

The family will meet with Kristie's surgeon on July 14th where he will explain the procedure. Kristie and I will have our blood drawn to make sure the antigens are still compatible. Kristie will have another EKG and chest x-ray. (Haven't told her that part yet.) All of this will take about 4 hours.

I meet with my surgeon previous to this appt., probably in June sometime. The whole family doesn't have to attend that meeting but I'll have Nigel come with me.

The 17th is on a Thursday, so on Wednesday, I can only have clear liquids. Kristie can have anything she wants to eat, well, that's on her kidney diet anyway.

We're both admitted at 6 a.m. on the 17th. Kristie has to take a shower with a special soap beforehand. Me? I'll just be starving, but I figure its a good way to lose a few pounds. My goal is to lose 10! Yay!

I'll be in the hospital until Sunday or Monday. I'll be in recovery for 2 to 3 weeks.

Kristie will be in the hospital about a week. She'll be in recovery for about 4 to 6 weeks.

Kristie asked me at lunch the other day, "What do you think caused my kidneys to not function properly?" Now, this stunned me. First of all this is a very complex question for Kristie to ask. And for her to even have thought of this to ask me is astonishing! I told her that Dr. O'Neill thought it was part of her genetic disease Leber's Congenital Amaurosis deal. She was okay with that answer.

Then, (same lunch) she pipes up and says: "Well, a part of me wants to have the new kidney, but a part of me doesn't want to have the surgery because it will hurt." Okay, another astonishing moment!!! Kristie just doesn't normally talk like that. I told her I understood that and felt the same way too.

She is just an angel. We are truly blessed to have Kristie on earth. Anyone she comes in contact with becomes a better person.

In fact, I think that will be the title of our book "How to be a Better Person". Did I tell you I'm writing a book about the life lessons that Kristie has taught me? It will be a best seller...trust me. She's taught me a lot!

You can be part of the book too! Write me and let me know how Kristie has touched your life and we'll put it in the book!

By the way, Joyce Meyer WAS FANTASTIC! More than fantastic, she was soooo much better in person that on TV or a CD!! Kristie and I attended her conference at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday evening, Friday morning, and Saturday morning. Saturday was THE BEST! I loaded up on books for the summer and am a happy girl!

What would you do?

2008-05-29T12:56:00.001-07:00

Its been a tough week. After getting the news that I'm a match, the reality has sunk in that we're actually going to have a kidney transplant.

It's unreal.

I feel like I'm living someone else's life and any moment I'll go back to my real life. I never expected anything like this to happen.

Its friggin hard. You can substitute that other word if you catch my drift.

So the reality is that I will be wheeled into a room where surgeons will take my left kidney out of my body. Then, they'll carry it over to Kristie's room and place it in her body....carefully. My kidney will have a new home in her body. They'll place it in her lower abdomen area and hook it up to her bladder with the artery they also took.

Her other kidneys will remain in her body, just hanging out.

Here's the hard part right now. There are pros and cons to doing this transplant this summer. Because we've learned to manage her medication and diet, she's relatively healthy and strong right now, except for her kidneys. So, if she has the surgery now, she'll recover more quickly, theoretically.

Do we wait until her disease gets worse and she gets sick? If we wait, then her recovery from the surgery could be harder on her. And more lengthy. And I don't want her to get sick.

If we wait, I could get sick and we lose my healthy kidney.

If we wait, Katie could get pregnant which would make it more difficult to coordinate Kristie's post op care. However, I would LOVE TO HAVE ANOTHER GRANDBABY!

If we wait, Kristie could just stay at her creatinine level of 3 and when it gets to 4 we do it then. How long will it take to get to a 4? That's the million dollar question - if we knew the answer to that, believe me, this decision would be a snap. (She was at 4.1 last November, but then it went back down.)

Here's the other hard part. We're making a decision to put Kristie under the knife and then take drugs the rest of her life so her body doesn't reject the kidney. Who does that??!

What would you do?

Now you know why I've been crying for a week.

On a better note, Kristie and I are going to see Joyce Meyer in person tonight at the Tacoma Dome. We LOVE Joyce Meyer and have wanted to see her in person for a long time. We listen to her CDs and watch her on tv. She's fantastic. Cannot wait to see her tonight!

Kidney match

2008-05-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'M A MATCH!!! I received the news yesterday afternoon.

I'm so relieved!

Katie and Calla are up from Sacramento visiting and we had just dropped Kristie off at her volunteer job (at Swedish Hospital) and we were in a little gift shop when I got the phone call. We both started crying with tears of relief.

It's been a long couple of months.

Thank you for your prayers.

The next step is to talk with Kristie's kidney doctor to plan a timeline for the transplant. I have a call into him and will let you know what he recommends.

Whew!

Cat Scan

2008-05-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

I had my cat scan last Friday.

But let's back up.

Last Wednesday I received a call from the Transplant Team Coordinator, Diane. She indicated that all my test results looked great and that the transplant team met Wednesday morning to review the results of all the tests and to discuss my donor case. They approved me...yay! That's the good news. The bad news is that the next step which is the cat scan of my kidneys can rule people out.

Dr. Ngo told me one in 5 is ruled out. Diane told me one in 10 so, I figure, my odds just got better!

Anyway I had the cat scan done last Friday. I forgot to tell you that they also put a HUGE IV in my arm and injected me with some dye so they can see all the vessels in the kidneys. As you can tell, I'm a big baby when it comes to large needles. Its a good thing the nice techie didn't tell me it was a big needle until after he poked me. At least he got it on the first try.

So I sat there with the lovely medical gown on (open in the front please) waiting my turn. They did put a warm blankie on me while I was waiting, so that was nice. I gotta tell you though, having an IV hanging out in your arm kind of hurt. Then I thought of the time when Kristie had to get 5 shots in a row and I quit complaining to myself.

I waited about 15 minutes and then it was my turn. I laid on the table (with my arms above head and hands clasped together) the machine moved forward and backward - they told me to hold my breath a few times.

Then came the injection of the dye into the IV. I don't think I have EVER had anything feel so strange in all my life! Very freaky. Very weird. Very hard to describe. I could feel the dye as it spread quickly throughout my body down to the tips of my toes. Then I got REALLY HOT, got a strong bad taste in my mouth, and felt like I had to pee.

All of these things he told me to expect, but I don't think I believed him. Next time I will. These feelings all lasted about a minute or so, then slowly dissipated. Oh, and did I tell you the IV hurt my arm while being injected? I hated that part too.

All in all though, it was an okay experience. I arrived at 3:50 p.m. and left at 5 p.m. So not too bad.

Today (Monday) I called to see when the cat scan would be read and was informed that a Dr. Chapman would read it Wednesday morning. So I guess we'll know Wednesday morning. Okay then. Its a good thing I rearranged my schedule Friday afternoon to go in - never mind it was the first sunny day in Seattle in six months!!!!

Thank you for all your prayers.

I'll do another post as soon as I know...hopefully Wednesday afternoon

Medical updates

2008-05-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

aarrgghhh....doctors are everywhere!

Monday, Kristie and I both had our doctor appts.

First Kristie...left the house at 9:30 a.m. Arrived at the parking garage - you have to pay to park! - and drove around in circles for 10 minutes to actually find a spot. Checked in, got the lab slip, went to the lab only to find out that our favorite lab technician, Benny, was out sick. Kristie really likes Benny. We had to opt for Art. Art is good too and did a great job. 3 vials of blood.

Back to the doctor's waiting area. Kristie brings her braille book now because sometimes it can be an hour wait because they have to wait for the lab results to come back.

Her creatinine is 3.0, up from 2.7 - not good. Normal creatinine levels are usually below 1.0. (Mine is 0.8)

Kristie's kidneys are functioning at 19% now (down from 21% last month). Recap: She went from 17% to 18% to 21% and now 19%. Irritating.

She had to have two shots. An EPO shot for anemia and her last Hepatitis B shot. She cried and it broke my heart. Shots hurt and noboby likes them. Its hard to watch your daughter be in pain.

Luckily we did not have to wait that long for her exam and we were home by 11:30. We ate lunch and left the house at 1. I dropped Kristie off at her Connections program and drove to my doctor's appt - In Seattle again.

Had to pay to park again. Sigh. So I get there and the front desk asks for my insurance card. I tell them I am here as a possible kidney donor and that the Transplant Unit at Swedish Hospital is paying for this appointment. She looks at me with her bored tired eyes (she hates her job) and I know she doesn't want to deal with me. (I wonder how she gets thru the rest of the afternoon.)

The nurse calls me to the back and takes my weight which is 6 pounds more than what my scale says...why is that? Why is my personal scale ALWAYS less than a doctor's scale???!!!

I ask her if the Transplant Unit sent over my records and she looks at me with her bored tired eyes (she hates her job too) and says she doesn't know, she'll have to check the doctor's desk. She takes my blood pressure and tells me the doctor will be with me soon. I never see her again.

I wait.

Flip thru a magazine.

And wait.

Irritating.

The doctor arrives. Dr. Ngo. He does have my stack of records. He meets with me for about an hour. The first half hour we talk about my health history IN DETAIL. He explains to me that in this process he is only concerned about my health. He is MY doctor. If he doesn't think that I'm healthy enough to donate this kidney then he won't approve it. So he asks me every question that I've already answered on paper 3 times. (Once on the initial transplant donor application - 5 pages worth and once at the 5 hour appointment and once just before I walked into his office.)

About half way thru he looks at me and says: So do you have ANY health concerns? I tell him that I'm pretty healthy. I've only had two surgeries in my life - I had my appendix out when I was 5 months pregnant with Kristie and I had breast reduction surgery in 2005. I can tell he's impressed...he asks what I take for vitamins and supplements. He's starting to have a sense of humor now.

Then we cover my family's health history. Again, he's impressed that I have 4 brothers and 2 sisters who have no health problems. And a Dad who's never been to a doctor up until a few months ago and they gave him a clean bill of health.

But, then we get to Mom. She's a disaster. 2 open heart surgeries and Lupus. I forgot about the Lupus - he rolls his eyes and writes it down. All with a sense of humor though.

Did I mention, he looks like he's about 28? I'm not sure how I feel about that. I could be his mother...hmmm.

Anyway, the next half hour he does a quick physical exam but thankfully doesn't make me get into a gown and we talk about the actual transplant procedure and what I can expect as the donor.

He tells me that I will have more physical discomfort than Kristie will during recovery. She will probably be up and walking around before me. I'm surprised by this because noone has mentioned this and none of the literature has mentioned this. But that's okay. I'll take her pain any day. Although my sister Laurie just informed me that I'm a big baby with pain - she's wrong - I think, on average, I'm okay with pain - just give me good drugs!

Then we talk about the next steps. He presents my case to the medical review board on Wednesday morning and they will either approve me or disapprove me to move forward. If they approve me, they will schedule me for a cat scan of my kidneys.

Here's where I need your prayers.

Dr. Ngo informs me that 1 out of 5 people will NOT be eligible because their kidneys are the wrong shape, or their kidneys have too many vessels and will be too hard to re-attach, or their kidneys will be too hard to remove. So let's all pray that one of my kidneys will be JUST RIGHT for my sweetie pie.

My prayer for the last couple of months has been "Lord, thank you for healing Kristie's kidneys." If that means he performs a miracle and heals her without the kidney transplant then thats awesome. If that means he performs a miracle by making this transplant process go smoothly, then that's awesome too. So far, so good.

Here's my favorite thing about Kristie. We'll be driving or sitting watching American Idol or having lunch or having dinner and she'll say, out of the blue, "I love you Mom". She does this almost day. To which I respond, I love you to Kristie.

I'm crying again, but this time, its tears of happiness.

Thank you for all your prayers and good thoughts!!!