One week left....

Hello,

Well, the countdown is on. While Ty is doing dialysis this morning, I had my final blood cross match. It feels good to use the word final for the blood work. What I am thinking is around this time next Thursday they should just about be ready to take my kidney (give or take an hour) and put it in Tyler.

Our emotions are all over the place, but I would say we are all feeling great. The roller coaster ride has been long to say the least and we will have many more twists and turns to navigate for a long time, but we are just thankful that the waiting part is coming to an end.

Tyler has Monday and Wednesday left for dialysis because they want him to be in the best shape for Thursday. I will post next week and let everyone know the agenda for February 2nd. I was thinking today about a thing someone said to my sister Michelle; When hearing I was the donor for Tyler a woman said to her "She gets to give him the gift of life twice" what an amazing way to think about it! 

Thanks for all the continued support!

Steve,Susanne, Ryan and Tyler

Two more weeks.....

Hello all,

The count down is on two weeks left and things are looking to be in order. This week was kinda long for Tyler with the dialysis. He went in on Tuesday and about an hour into it he started shaking and feeling very ill. He had a fever of 102 and they had to stop the dialysis. He had an infection in his port and of course as soon as they started all the infection went right into his blood. Thankfully, after three different doses of antibiotics that day he was able to resume dialysis on Wed and today.

He is handling it well, but as you can all imagine he is tired and losing some weight in the process. So I have spent the morning cleaning the house with every antibacterial product known to man because neither one of us can get sick. Steve has been doing all the treatment days while I continue to work and is becoming a regular at Childrens.

Otherwise I am happy to report that my nephew Logan finished his first 30 day treatment and is now home. Although he has a long way to go, thankfully they can at the very least have some comforts of home. They are also living in the world of antibacterial products and will be for a very long time!

Friends and family have been so wonderful to all of us and we know how blessed we are! Good health to all..... Susanne and Steve

Only a few weeks left.....

Good morning,

As of Friday they have confirmed our transplant date. It is set for February 2!!!  They told us our date had been changed three times and finally this is what they settled on. I do still have my appointment to see the surgeon this coming Friday the 13th, so we hope no more curve balls are sent our way.We are very happy that they were able to do it so soon and Tyler will only be on dialysis for a short amount of time. The first few days after the surgery he was feeling pain in his neck and was not feeling better from the dialysis, but with each passing day his pain has gone away and we now hope the dialysis will start to make him feel better instead of causing exhaustion.

On a different note, we want to mention how proud we are of the family we are surrounded by. They have taken it upon themselves to start a fundraising page to help support us while we have to dedicate all our time to this transplant in the upcoming months. Our support system has been incredible and we cannot begin to describe what it means to us. My sister Liz came up with a name called Murphys On The Mend, and we believe that is exactly what our future holds and that in the end we will be mended. giveforward.com is where you can find it.

Thanks for all the love and support,

Steve,Susanne Ryan and Tyler

First Day of Dialysis January 5, 2012

Hello,

Tyler had his port placed this morning and all went well. Other than a sore throat and some neck pain from it he is doing well. After that we went down to have just one hour of dialysis to make sure everything was working correctly.

He will go back Friday and Saturday for two hours each day to get the process moving. Starting next week we will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays.They are hopeful he will only have to do two days a week and will check his blood work every Thursday to make sure that is enough. He cannot take showers now so that is something he is not happy about but you have to keep all germs away.

Thanks for all the support and prayers and we will keep everyone updated!

Susanne and Steve

The Start of Dialysis

Hello,

On Thursday Tyler will be getting in his port and a line. We go in at 9:00 am for the surgery then he will be taken down to have about an hour of dialysis to make sure everything is working correctly. We will then go back on Fri and Sat for an hour or two of dialysis.

So, starting next week he will go on a regular schedule, two to three times a week. We are hopeful that this will give him some relief and make him feel better and also keep him healthy enough for upcoming surgery.

Speaking of surgery, I myself go in to see my surgeon next Friday the 13th. They have been working on a transplant date, but we may not know for sure until after that appointment. Tentative date could be as soon as Feb. 14th, which would be a wonderful day considering it is a day to show people how much you love them!!!

Otherwise, please continue to pray for not only our situation, but others in my family who are also enduring treatment for health issues. We have faith that together we will all overcome our obstacles!!!

Love to all,
Susanne and Steve