My dad has been doing dialysis for over a month now, and I got to see him this past Thursday. It was great to see his smile! He has lost weight, and it looks good on him. He has had a tough time with his catheter and is on the third one. The first one developed a kink, and the second had issues with the artery collapsing. The third one seems to be holding up well, but it is sad to see the irritation on his skin from the dressings he has to replace regularly. Please pray that this catheter holds up as long as it is supposed to, and pray that my Mom and Dad have the strength of the Lord to continue the in home hemodialysis. It is a blessing that they can do the procedure in home, but there is a level of stress that is put on both of them. Praise God that they have both retired, because this is a full time job for both of them. Pray that God will bless them both with endurance.
Prayer Request Update 08-29
I know it has been a while, but I haven’t really gotten any significant news in a while. The transplant team is concerned about my liver function and they want to make sure that I am healthy enough to still be considered as a candidate for kidney donation. Their original concern was a size difference in my kidneys. My left kidney (the one they normally take) is slightly larger than my right kidney and the size difference is right on the edge of the cutoff to be eligible to donate. The first reading put the percentage difference too far out of range and disqualified me, but they re-read the CT scan and the results were within the required range for donation. The current concern is that one of my liver enzymes is elevated, and I believe it is due to my gastric acid inhibitor medication that I take for acid reflux. I am expecting a call from the hepatologist to schedule an appointment for more blood work and a consult.
Prayer Request Update 08-24
Sorry that I have neglected to update you on what has been going on. Dad was admitted to the hospital on the 7th of August. They decided to start him on dialysis and he is feeling much better than he was. With dialysis, the best he can expect is approximately 15% kidney function, which is way better than less than the 5% he was at near the beginning of the month. Please continue to pray that the dialysis continues to work. It is very draining, but the next day he feels much better. Right now he is having dialysis done three times a week at the local hospital, and it takes about 4 hours after he waits 30-90 minutes to be seen. He is able to drive himself to have the treatment, so that helps Mom a lot. They start training next week for in-home dialysis and the training lasts two weeks.
Prayer Request Update 08-07
Thank you for your continued prayers! So my dad was admitted to the hospital today because of excess fluid buildup in his chest. The major concern is that the fluid can cause heart failure if not kept under control. They have him on an IV medication to try to help his body purge the excess fluid. Please pray that his doctors have God given guidance on all of their decisions.
Prayer Request Update 08-03
On Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 8:10 AM, Dian Tully wrote:
Wanted to give a quick update on Phil. I had things out and bags partially packed to take Phil to the hospital last night. At one point I told him that we were going to the hospital and he said let me see how I do. His breathing was so labored I was concerned that he could not make it to the car. He had been in his recliner kind of sitting up so that he could breathe and suddenly decided he wanted to go to bed and sit up in the bed.
I turned on our Bible CD as we do every night. He listened to the Bible for about 5 minutes and I watched him begin to relax. In just a couple of minutes he decided to lay down and within another 5 minutes he fell asleep and his breathing was not labored any longer. Needless to say I kept the Bible CD on for a long time. He woke up feeling better this morning, breathing still a bit labored but certainly better than last night.
We will hear from his nephrologist this morning, the one in Atlanta and she will decide what she wants him to do. We will let you know what she decides.
Thank you for your prayers.
We give God the glory for getting him through the night.
Prayer Request Update 08-02
So I just got a call from my Dad. His creatinine level is 9, which means his kidney function has declined even more. He had some chest x-rays done and they showed fluid around his lungs. Please be in prayer for him, and wisdom for his doctor to make the best decision for him.
Home again
So we made it back safely from Atlanta. The tests went well, to the best of my knowledge. I won’t have the results until sometime late next week, after the review board meets, so I will post once I know what is next. Thanks for your prayers.
CT Scan
So I had my first CT scan with the dye for contrast today. Well, the dye gives you a “hot flash”. I have to say, the sensation is very odd and I am glad that I don’t get those normally. Oh, and just in case you didn’t know, I really don’t like needles. The EKG wasn’t difficult until the sticky pads were removed. According to the nurse, I am “a fuzzy bear” and you can imagine what happens during the removal of sticky pads on a fuzzy bear. Well, I would rather have those pads removed ten times before getting pricked with a needle, much less having an IV. At least I am done being poked for the day.
Prayer Request Update 07-31
Please pray for Caanan to have a God given peace and comfort with me going through the kidney donor process. It is almost lunchtime now and the tests are going really well. My creatinine level is good which means my kidney function is normal. I still need to meet with the surgeon, the nephrologist, have a CT scan, and a chest x-ray. If all the tests go well, I should know if we can move forward on the 8th of August. From what I understand, the transplant could take place anywhere between a couple of weeks and a year after my evaluation. Our prayer is that my dad won’t have to start dialysis before he can have a transplant, and there is a higher rate of successful living donor transplants than any other option.
Prayer Request Update 07-30
We made it safely to Atlanta and are staying at the Mason Guest House while we are here for the evaluation. The house is very nice and much better than I anticipated. The drive was a little stressful today due to traffic, but we did get a chance to stop at HRO to get a replacement antenna mount for the car (to replace the one that I bent while parking near Pearlz Oyster Bar). We also stopped at the indoor Farmer’s Market and it was interesting to see so much food that is so different than what I am used to seeing. My evaluation is tomorrow, starting at 07:00 and the last test is scheduled to start at 15:30. Results are supposed to take 5-10 days.