Prayer for Chris

Chris e-mailed David last night to let him know that he's having a little recovery issue was heading in for a little surgery tomorrow. As mentioned in the last post, he has too much fluid in his body, which includes around my kidney. They are concerned about this, so they are putting a drain in to assist with the fluid loss. Chris says it should be an out patient procedure, and he'll update us once its over and done with. Be praying that this would help his recovery and protect the kidney David gave him.

Update on Chris

David talked to Chris recently, and he is doing well, making progress. He's also still in some pain and very sore. He's going in (as scheduled) 3x a week for check-ups and is taking an extraordinary amount of pills daily (anti-rejection).

Chris does have one prayer request. One of the anti-rejection meds he is taking is causing him to retain a lot of water (something like 40 pounds in a few days) and it is making him uncomfortable. They took him off that med and he dropped it, but they had to put him back on it last week when some of his tests came back somewhat concerning.

He has talked to his doc about it, who said that he would watch it even closer now since they know he was having an adverse affect to it. Although he is a big guy anyway, he said the extra weight (it's been a couple weeks that this has been going on) is making him really uncomfortable and sore, hard to sleep, etc.

So pray for the docs to figure out this water retention thing. Otherwise, the kidney has been accepted so far, which remains positive news.

David's Back to Work

David headed back to work yesterday (Monday, May 19) in order to get caught up on some stuff that's happened the past month. He has a big meeting today on a project he's helping head up for his office, and he didn't want to miss it.

He has promised me he's taking it easy, as I think he overworked himself a little this weekend while I was in Richmond for my cousin's wedding. He was pretty tired when I got back Sunday night, and I think he was also pretty sore.

He doesn't have his full level of energy back yet, but I think getting back to work will be positive for him, as long as he doesn't push too hard.

He spoke with Chris on Sunday and Chris is doing well. So far, so good with all of his test results. Keep praying the kidney continues to work strong in Chris.

Meal Thank You

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who have provided some meals for us. I cannot express how much this has helped. With me getting back in town, graduating the next day, and then jumping right back into work at NRCC at the close of the spring semester (a busy time), I haven't had time to even really go grocery shopping. Not having to worry about what to cook for dinner has allowed me to focus at work and not stress out. I just really cannot express how much of a blessing this has been.

Also, thanks to those who have stopped by to visit and "check in" on David. I know he has appreciated the company and he is officially stir crazy. He is anxiously awaiting the green light to go back to work, and anticipates that it will be sometime next week. (I think it may be a little soon but he has promised to take it easy.)

He is getting better daily, and although he still has moments of discomfort, his appetite and sleep routines are getting much closer to normal. It will be awhile before his energy level gets back to normal, but the doctors say that is expected and they estimate it really can be several months before he's feeling 100%.

Thank you everyone for all you have done for us. We feel truly blessed to have the friends and family we do.

I'll try to post an update on Chris later today.

-wendy

Those who signed up and have provided meals:
Dave & Kati Williams
Bill & Irene Sembello
Jackie & Evan Oster
Jeanette Staats
Jorie & Steve Schmidt & Lane Mattox
My coworkers at NRCC (Susy, Hilda, Glenda, and probably more I don't know about)
Ryan & Lisa Hartsook
Steve & Amy Englund
Jesse Losse & JD Newcomb (and the rest of our HG peeps)
Peter Laver (who just left to go back to South Africa)
and anyone else I may have forgotten or not even known about!

Update on Chris

David talked to Chris this afternoon to get an update. Chris has developed a urinary tract infection and is on medication for that. Pray that infection will heal quickly and not cause any serious complications. Also, the doctors told Chris he was doing too much and that he needed to not do as much walking. He had been walking several miles per day, and they have told him to slow down some to give his body time to heal. So keep praying for Chris, for him to have patience, and for his body to continue to make progress!

Update on David

David's body continues to heal, but he also continues to struggle sleeping. Since the surgery, he has consistently suffered from night sweats when he tries to sleep. This has really caused him to not get good rest, and has left him extremely tired. We spoke to the nurses about it on Thursday, but they didn't have any good answers. We found out it was side effect of the oxycodone, so David went without the pain medication for 24 hours, but still had the night sweats afterwards. Starting to get concerned and knowing he needs sleep, I consulted our favorite nurse, Chris Roberts, who we trust with our lives. I knew Chris would give me straight and sound advice on what I should do. He reassured me that without a fever (David hasn't registered a fever) that he was probably not suffering from an infection and instead it was likely just his body adapting coupled with the pain management and medication. He spoke to me in language I understood but also with enough medical information to feel good about the situation. (Thanks Chris!)

Please keep praying for David's body to heal, and specifically, pray he can sleep and that the night sweats will subside. Part of today's mini-message in church was asking the question, "How big is your God?" I know and believe God is big enough to take away the night sweats and allow David to truly sleep solidly for the first time in weeks. Help me pray for this and believe in this as well. Thanks all!

Home Sweet Home

It's been a few days since I've had a chance to sit down and update. A lot has happened since we left Minnesota on Friday morning.

After two flights and a 3-hour layover in between in Philly, we finally landed safely in Roanoke around 3:00pm. My parents, sister and nephews were on there way into town from Richmond for my graduation, so we arranged for them to stop in Roanoke to pick us up. We made it back to Blacksburg around 4:30, in time enough to take my nephews to "the 'boose park" (Caboose Park) to run around. David and my dad stayed home and ordered Chinese food, and the ladies and nephews picked it up after the park visit.

After dinner, my mom and I went grocery shopping for Saturday's lunch and got home around 10:00pm, just in time to get everyone settled in and situated for the night. I then looked up all the info about Radford's graduation online to figure out where to go/park on Saturday to pass along the next morning.

After a short sleep, I awoke at 5:53 realizing I had overslept my alarm. I was being picked up by two friends (thanks Rachel & Jesse) who would be driving me over early to graduation. My family and a few other friends/former roommates would come later. My graduation/hooding ceremony was at 8:00am. The ceremony was good although my name was mispronounced. The man said "Rendy" instead of "Wendy." Kind of strange. Anyway, we took some pictures afterwards and then headed home to get lunch ready.

I invited some folks over for a celebration lunch, which consisted of grilled chicken salads and made to order grilled cheese sandwiches. David helped me plan the menu even though he wasn't really up for partying. We had a great time celebrating, and my family headed back to Richmond in the afternoon. Then, while David napped, I enjoyed the company of Steve, Jorie, and Lane as we watched the Kentucky Derby. We then went out to dinner (minus David but plus Peter) at Macado's. Finally, I topped the evening off with dessert at Macado's with Rachel and Jesse, which Rach and I had been planning for months. Nothing says celebration like a Madison Mud Pie!!!!

Anyway, that's the main gist of what happened Friday and Saturday. Today has been filled with the last "big" church service of the semester, which included a farewell to graduating seniors and a send-off/commissioning for the Richmond-church-plant team. Our staff team then had a going away party for our friends of 7 years Chris and Rachel Backert, who are helping lead the team in Richmond. An exciting but bittersweet celebration.

To close, here are some pics from graduation:

Last Check-up Today

So yesterday was a fairly "busy" day around the house just because everyone was here pretty much all day. Chris had gotten home the evening before, and other than a doctor's appointment in the morning, we were all around. This is in stark contrast to the days prior when it was just David and I from early morning until late at night, when Katie and her mom would come home in time for bed.

We ate Nathan's hotdogs for lunch yesterday and listened to the White Sox game on the radio. It was being played here in Minnesota but was blacked out on TV. I also went for a run, and it was great to get outside, although I was definitely feeling out of shape.

We also watched a few movies Chris had rented prior to surgery that needed to be returned today, so that took quite a bit of time. All in all, it was a full day at the house.

David continues to seem stronger each day, although he tires very fast. Just a short walk will zap his strength for some time. I know he is getting cabin fever, though, so he is looking forward to getting out of the neighborhood today for his doctor's appointment.

At 11:00 (central) this morning, we go for his check-out at the transplant office. They'll look over his incisions and do some labs and make sure we're okay to leave. Assuming all goes as planned, we'll pack up tonight and leave here early, early tomorrow morning. We have a 6:00am flight, so it will be an early day.

I'll post more after the check-up today...