Here we go...

It's the day before the transplant and I'm understandablity a little nervous, but excited about regaining my good health. Today, I plan to relax and get things in order for my next few days in the hospital.

Pre Op

Just got call from hospital to come in 11/11 @ noon for pre-op and consult with surgeons. The operation has been confirmed for 11/19.

Transplant Date nearing

Looks like I've got two possible dates for surgery. The dates are 11/17 and 11/19, which will be confirmed sometime early this week. It feels somewhat surreal now that the time is drawing near. Apryl has told me a few horror stories, but I'm still feeling good about the operation. I'm fortunate since I'm otherwise healthy and should not expect any complications.

Let's see, I'm being presented with a couple options regarding the surgery. First is the traditional transplant and the other is research based. The traditional relieves on 5-7 meds per day which can be harsh on the body and new organ, which could lead to shorter organ lifespan. The other is research based which uses new medications that are less harsh, which might man longer organ lifespan. Problem is research has only been done for a short number of years, whereas traditional has been monitored for the last 30+ years.

I hope to gain additional information on the positive and negatives of each within the next few days.

And, I believe that's it for now...

Best News Yet!

Just got word from my donor, all his renal evaluation test have been completed and it goes to the surgical board on September 2nd at 1PM. One step closer to good health!

I'm not the most sensative guy, but this news brought a tear to my eye. The fact this ordeal is nearly over, and that someone out there is generious enough to share the gift of life.

Donor Update

Brian, my donor continues to keep my updated on the evaluation process. He just got contacted yesterday indicating all test are good and things are proceeding. We can only hope this process is coming to an end soon and we can got on with the show!

Anyway, had yet another doctor appointment today. Sounds like this form of dialysis is failing. MD wants to perform more test next month and recommend changes. Pretty upsetting news for me since I'm only focused on transplant, not hemo as option. So, it's a race to see which happens first. Although, I've vowed not go the hemo route...no matter what!

Ohhh, wanted to say thanks to Charlene and Tracy for supporting my on here! I really appreciate the words of encouragement!

Transplant bound

Not sure if anyone still reads this stuff, but I wanted to give an update on the transplant process. my donor has moved to next phase of testing, which is a test of his kidney function. I'm told the next phase is clinical consult, then the clinical board meet to determine final transplant eligibility. Once this last step is complete, the surgery is scheduled.

Things are looking good....

Let's see...this past weekend we had my donor over to the house for Sunday diner. It was great having him join my family for diner and spend time talking.

So far so good, Brian has done everything required by Emory to complete donor evaluation to this point. At this point we're waiting for Emory to contact him for phase 2 testing. Once he passes the pre-eval testing then he will be brought back in for a two day evaluation. Barring any medical issues the next step is setting a date for transplant. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I will keep posting as the process continues...right up to the day of the transplant!