Things Are Moving Quickly!!

Yesterday's lab work revealed a big decline in kidney function over the past week, so Dr. Wahba has scheduled Brian to have a catheter placed on Monday morning. Depending on how things look at that time, they will either go ahead and dialyze him on Monday at the hospital or wait until Tuesday and do it in the dialysis unit. We are so thankful for Dr. Wahba's diligence and dedication to seeing that Brian gets all the care he needs in a timely manner.

Thanks to all who have been keeping us in your prayers...we appreciate every moment of your time :)

A Bit of Good News

Today Brian drove to Portland (where it was snowing!!) for an appointment with the Infectious Disease doctors who are monitoring the treatment of the histoplasmosis. He had another CT scan of his lungs which showed no further progression of the fungus there. That is very good news. The most recent urine culture also showed no increase in the histoplasmosis. Again...good news. We are so thankful for every bit of good news we receive these days :)

Soon the Infectious Disease doctors will confer with the Transplant team and discuss whether this kidney will need to be removed after dialysis treatment begins, and what implication the fungal infection may have on Brian's eligibility for a new transplant.

We will see Dr. Miller on Thursday to have the fistula checked. To our untrained eyes it is looking pretty good.

Oh Boy!!!

Look what the "angels next door" did to cheer Brian up this morning. If you know ANYTHING about Brian, you know this made him very happy :) :) :)

Fistula Done :)

Yesterday Dr. Miller connected a vein and artery in Brian's left arm to create the fistula access for dialysis. It was a long day, but everything went well. Brian is blessed with very good veins, so the doctor is hopeful that the fistula will mature quickly and will be usable soon. He will check it in a week and make sure it's healing appropriately. For now, Brian is just resting and popping Tylenol to stay comfortable. Thanks to everyone who's been praying for him....we all appreciate you!

Meet Our Angels Next Door

Part of the blessing of our new home has been our wonderful neighbors. Today we'd like you to meet two of them: Susan and Janine. They have taken us under their wings and taught us all we needed to know about living in a totally different climate than we were familiar with. During Brian's illness they have helped tremendously by watching out for Ashley after school, mowing the lawn, and giving us rides to the doctor's office when our "California" cars couldn't make it on the icy roads! We are truly blessed to have them living next door!!

Another Doctor

Today we met Dr. Miller, the surgeon who will create the fistula (access for dialysis). Dr. Miller is "the best around" according to Dr. Wahba. The outpatient procedure will take place here at Samaritan Albany General Hospital next Tuesday afternoon. As Dr. Miller explains it, it will be a fairly simple procedure - not even any stitches...just glue! Weird, huh? This is much different than the artificial graft Brian had in 1993 when he first did hemodialysis.

If you're interested in learning more about fistulas or anything else related to dialysis, this is a very informative website: www.davita.com

Welcome!

Welcome to our newest adventure. We hope you will share our journey with us, as we know it will be full of miracles...big and small! As we embark on this journey we hope to be intentional in acknowledging each and every gift from above, no matter how small or ordinary it seems to be.

In case you aren't up to date on what's happening in our lives these days, here's the condensed version...

After many months of testing, doctors determined that Brian had a fungal infection called histoplasmosis which had made itself at home in his transplanted kidney. Efforts to treat the infection with drugs seemed to be successful at first, but the infection reared its head again and began to damage the kidney further. As our wonderful nephrologist, Dr. Wahba puts it, "This kidney is fatigued." (By the way, Dr. Wahba is one of those BIG miracles we have already experienced on this journey...he is a highly respected nephrologist from OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University) who moved here to Corvallis just when we needed him!) We are so thankful for his dedication and expertise.

Because of all this, we are now getting ready for dialysis again. Our hope is to eventually be able to do daily hemodialysis at home.