Green Light!

     

     On Monday, Karen was given the "green light" by the nephrologist  to be Sawyer's kidney donor.  Woo-Hoo!! 

     It's been a longer road than we anticipated to get to this point, but we are grateful Karen is healthy and able  to be the donor.

The surgery date is set for March 20th.

      Reality is setting in!  It's hard to wrap our minds around what is getting ready to happen.  It's truly sobering.  However, we are ready. 

     Sawyer has already started making a list of all of the things he wants to eat  that have been prohibited by his renal diet over the last few months.  Chocolate milk tops the list!

Fweaky, but...

     The other night, as I was hooking up Sawyer to his dialysis machine, he declared, "I like my g-tube." I was a bit stunned.  Then he said, "It's fweaky, but I like it.  I don’t taste the meh-i-sin no more."

     Wow.  As I continue to loathe the little foreign object rooted into my son's belly, he is adjusting to it very well.  Tough little guy!

Update:

     Sawyer has still not bounced back from his last surgery.  He is not feeling well , especially in the morning and evening.   He throws up almost every morning and his blood pressure has been consistently too high.  The high blood pressure is causing headaches and dizzy spells.

     As always, Sawyer is getting great care. Adjustments are been made daily to his dialysis.   Hopefully, he will level out soon.

     We are still waiting for the urologist to review Karen's CT Scan and clear her for the transplant.  initial reports are good and we anticipate getting the green light from this doctor. 

     After this, there will be at least one other blood test and a few more meetings.  We are on track for transplantation in mid to late March.

4 EBER!

Back on Track!

   Good news!  All three of Karen's re-tests came back with good results this time.  Therefore, Karen is back on track to complete the rest of her testing to be Sawyer's kidney donor. 

   We thank God that there are no health issues for Karen and that she can continue the donor process. Next test for Karen… CAT Scan.

Sawyer Update:

Sawyer was slow bouncing back from last week's surgery.  We debated taking him to the E.R. over the weekend, but decided to wait.  On Monday he showed a big improvement and he continues to improve today.  Thank you for praying.

Going home soon!



TV Therapy

     Sawyer will be going home within the hour.  He woke up sick, but this was attributed to his medicines.  His potassium level has reduced enough that his doctor's are comfortable with him leaving.

     Sawyer slept very well last night and his pain meds continue to keep him relieved.   Freeeeedooooom!

"Can't help but recognize…"

  

     Sawyer's new pain med helped a lot tonight.  He is very tired, but much relieved.  We are hoping that dialysis reduces his potassium level so we can go home tomorrow.

     Although today has been challenging, we can’t help but recognize so many blessings and answered prayers. 

     Last night we asked everyone to pray for peace in Sawyer's heart.  He was disappointed and concerned about the news of another surgery , but he enjoyed his bedside ice cream party and was calm on the way to the hospital this morning.  He even kept his composure in pre-op.  He never stays cool in pre-op.  Typically, they have to sedate him right away, but not today.

   When Sawyer first discovered the G-Tube on his belly, he had tears of sadness, but not frustration.   Typically, he is letting everyone in the hospital know how frustrated he is, but not today.  It broke my heart to witness his pain and disappointment, but I was grateful for the peace and strength I saw in him. Grateful for God's presence in the heart and mind of my boy.

     We were blessed again today with top notch medical staff...

The skillful surgeon.

The post-Op nurse who cared so much that she visited  Sawyer hours later.

The charge nurse who moved us into a private room.

Our renal doctor who is always amazing.  She was there to greet and care for Sawyer moments after getting into his room.   She intervened immediately after learning that the pain meds were being held up by some bureaucracy.

Kidney clinic staff who went out of there way to pay Sawyer a visit today.

Our PD nurse who is nothing short of Superwoman!  She is one of Sawyer's greatest care givers and advocates.  Today was another remarkable day of being in her care.  We are blown away by the steps she takes to care for Sawyer and comfort him too.

Our genetics doctor, who is not feeling so well herself, stayed later today to care for Sawyer and steer us in the right direction.

     We are blessed with incredibly caring friends and family.  Thank you for all of the offers to help, the texts, email, calls, FB comments and prayers!  God comforts and strengthens us through so many people.

Going up.

     Sawyer's potassium level continues to rise.  So, no rest for his belly, he must start dialysis now.  


     The PD Nurse just started his 16 hour therapy.  This dialysis session has to run longer than his typical 10 hours. They are cautiously using a lower volume of solution since his peritoneal cavity was penetrated during surgery today.


     Sawyer is very quiet and continues to have a lot of pain.  Of course, he just had a piece of plastic poked completely through his abdomen and attached through his stomach.  Tough kid! #gratefulforpainmeds

Sawyer Post-Op Update

     Sawyer has left the post-op area and is in a room.   He's in a lot of pain and waking up slowly.  The nurses are on top of his pain meds.

     Sawyer's potassium level is too high.  His doctor is monitoring  him closely.  No need  for alarm at this point, but it needs to come down. 

     Typically, dialysis will help this, but the doctor was hoping to skip dialysis for one day to give Sawyer's belly an opportunity to heal and rest.  If the potassium level does not come down soon, they will have to start dialysis (low volume) immediately.  

Out of surgery!

Sawyer is out of surgery and it was successful.  We hope to see him soon.  I will give more details later. Thank you for praying and caring!