Along for the Ride

It's hard to believe that one week ago tonight, I was sitting in a waiting room with my mother, brother, and husband, eating BBQ sandwiches and carrying on conversation while my dad was receiving a double lung transplant. These last 7 days have been a crazy whirling blur. Last Sunday, my brother and I were talking on the phone when my dad called in to tell me that they had just gotten a call from the hospital, saying that they thought they had a set of lungs for him. Immediately, I felt numb. We had been told to be cautious about this, because it could be a "dry run" and there were a million reasons why the transplant might not proceed. My dad told us that they would call us when they knew more, so Mike and I went ahead to get our hair cut as we had planned. I don't really remember much of that afternoon because I know I spent a lot of time wandering aimlessly around the house, feeling like I should be doing something, but not having anything to do. Finally, ar...

It's been a while since I've posted a straight "medical update" on my situation, so I figured one was due. Last week I was able to meet with my rheumatologist. He reviewed my most recent blood results and some more detailed results from my kidney biopsy. Then, this last Monday, I saw my nephrologist for a check-up, and while the majority of that visit is a blur, there were some highlights worth sharing. The last few lab results have shown some more stability in my kidney function. On March 16, my creatinine level was at 3.8. On March 28, it was at 3.76 (essentially the same). My doctors decided to increase my cytoxan (chemotherapy) meds on 3/30. Then, on April 8, my creatinine was at 3.84. We started "official" treatment on Jan. 18, so April 18 (tomorrow) is my official 3 month mark. They say it takes a full 3 months before these meds really start to take effect, which is why my kidney function continued to deterioriate, even after I started trea...