Kevin's Blog

Let me try to catch you up on Kevin’s medical news. His kidney tests once again showed slight improvement on Monday so the decision was made to repeat them again today (Thursday) and decide whether to treat him for rejection. This afternoon, UCLA had the results and again showed improvement with his creatinine down to 1.3.  It has been a busy month for Kevin and he feels like a pin cushion, but we are moving in the right direction and hope to get back to a normal routine soon.

As Kevin improves, the focus around here seems to be returning to me. I had my third spinal injection this afternoon to relieve back pain. Carrie brought me home, and as much as I don’t like a lot of attention and pampering, I thought that in light of my caring for them after the transplant, it might feel good to be on the receiving end for a short time. Well, I guess that seeing me in this condition was just too much for them. Kevin just left for a Dodger game and Carrie went to eat sushi with a friend. I guess we all handle worry differently. Carrie did leave me a schedule of when to put an ice pack on my back. I guess she didn’t think I could figure out “once every hour” on my own.

Please don’t worry about bringing me a meal on such short notice. I’m sure someone will come home eventually.   Thanks again for sharing this journey with us.

My Ice Schedule From Carrie

Well, Kevin’s labs had not improved yesterday morning and by 11am he was preparing for a biopsy of his kidney. As they explained the procedure and showed Kevin the device they use, I said a silent prayer. “Lord, please make sure they don’t allow me to stay in the room.”  Kevin”s main concern seemed to be taking photos of the biopsy “gun” with his Iphone to send to his friends.

The procedure went well and he had to stay in bed in the recovery room all afternoon to make sure there was no bleeding. The doctor came by at 5:30 to let us know that they saw some damage to the kidney but they felt that it was not rejection. We hope that will be confirmed when we get the final results today. We will be at UCLA tomorrow to discuss the cause and possible treatment but we are hoping that this is something caused by his recent infection and will resolve in time. I will try to post tomorrow when we have more information. Thanks for all the prayers and support.

Hope you all had a fun filled and safe weekend. We spent ours in the UCLA emergency room and the observation unit. Bottom line, I think Kevin was feeling a little neglected with all the attention I was getting because of my spinal epidural procedures, broken bone in my foot, and physical therapy for my shoulder. I think Carrie’s colonoscopy was the last straw and Kevin knew he had to come up with something dramatic to get the attention back on him. I’m not sure yet how he did it, but he found a way to get an infection in his bladder and his brand new kidney.

We were off to UCLA Saturday afternoon and by evening we were settled in the ER with a temperature of 102+ and not feeling too well. My biggest concern at that point was what I was going to do with 8 pounds ground sirloin and hot dogs that I had just purchased for the 4th and would I miss being honored at church for my military service.

Anyway, he got started with fluids and IV antibiotics while we waited for results of blood cultures. He was transferred to the observation unit about 2am and not feeling much better. A different antibiotic was started Sunday morning and Kevin seemed to turn the corner within a few hours. This morning (Monday) his fever is gone and his kidney function is returning to normal. He will be coming home today and return for more tests and evaluation later this week. Thank all of you who had heard of his situation and prayed for him and to those of you so willing to step in and take over his responsibilities over the busy weekend at church.

Today is our day to celebrate. For those of you who have been so generous with meals in the past, don’t worry. We will being eating hot dogs and burgers the rest of the week.

Kevin and Dan

OK, I admit that I have done a poor job of keeping my remaining reader(s) up to date. I have become a little lazy and also thought that most of you have moved on to other interests (sorry Martha). I vow to do better, but I said the same thing about yard work and failed.
As I commented in my previous post, I thought Kevin had gone missing, but now realize he was living downstairs the entire time and we just missed each other due to different schedules. I have dinner about 4:30pm and go to bed at 8 so I would miss Kevin leaving and returning. I should have checked but don’t want to go to lower level until I get my stair chair installed for the return trip. Anyway, he is here and doing well as evidenced by his Dodger game photo and Benihana’s dinner.
We had not been to UCLA for a month but yesterday’s visit confirmed that his kidney is doing great. His creatinine was 1.1, one of the best yet and he is actually having to monitor his blood pressure because it is “too low.” What a wonderful problem after fighting high blood pressure all these years.
If I can use another excuse for not keeping up, our son Jason has been visiting from Italy for several weeks and we have been busier than usual and having a great time. We would keep him longer but Nathalie is anxious for his return.
This is rather long, I know, so I will refrain from going into detail about what I have been doing lately, but be assured that it is interesting and exciting. I just don’t want to make this about me. Thanks for your loyalty.

Visitor from Italia

With the Charlins at Benihana's

Go Dodgers

Carrie and Kevin just called from UCLA, and his measure of kidney function (creatinine of 1.2) is great, the lowest it has been since the transplant. Needless to say, the doctors are very pleased and he will now follow up with his local nephrologist and only every three months at UCLA. I know to focus elsewhere and not at the numbers, but I cannot seem to avoid a degree of anxiety when we wait for his lab results. I will get better.

My fear now is that Carrie and Kevin will attribute this great news to our vacation in Hawaii and use these results to try to manipulate me into repeat visits. I refuse to believe that coconut shrimp, mai tais, and parasailing can improve one’s kidney function. Anyway, we are doing well and wish the same for our family and friends who have been so thoughtful to check in here from time to time.