5 days to go and we are there!

We had our appointment with Mikes surgeon today. It was rescheduled from Friday and so I am glad we are done with yet another appointment. It was a good meeting. Mike, Lloyd (his dad), Alex and I all attended. They asked that Mike's family be there to support him and also so we can be aware of all that will be happening and prepared for things that could happen. 

The doctor told us about how Mike and Amy will be admitted. Alex and I will go with Mike and stay with him until he is ready for surgery on Monday. Kevin will be with Amy. We will be given updates on Amy as things progress and they will inform us when they are done and she is in recovery. Once she goes into recover Mike will go into surgery to be prepped. The doctor said after he has Amy's kidney he will take some time with it to prepare it for Mike. When Mike goes in it will be about five hours until he is out. Amy will also take about four hours. He said we will start at 5:00 am check in and we won't be done until about 5:00 pm. They will both be in recovery and ICU for the night. 

The doctor said both Mike and Amy could be home in three to four days if all goes really well. But Mike may stay in longer as he has more things to deal with such as anti rejection medication etc. The doctor said that the drugs they put Mike on may cause him to act strange. He told us that he could ask for us to help him escape from the hospital and have episodes of anger, anxiety and great frustration. The doctor said we have to be strong and not allow him to leave the hospital no matter what. He can only leave once the doctors have decided to let him leave. They said there had been cases where people just walked out for no good reason and lost the kidney soon after. He said he may have to sedate Mike if he gets crazy like this. I told Mike if he gets crazy I will be the first to make sure the doctors keep him safe and in recovery. Mike is so easy going I can't imagine this will happen but the doctor said just to be prepared. 

There are many things that can go wrong for Mike during this procedure and after it. But, the doctor feels that Mike has a great chance of coming through this just fine. He said they have an excellent success rate.  

The doctor said for the donors (Amy) they really baby them and take good care of them while they are in the hospital. I hope they really treat her good. She is an amazing friend to do this for Mike. Love you Amy! Judith and Marya said they would both visit Amy once she is awake. Also, Brando will be there to help reassure Amy as she is a nurse in training and a great friend. I will be there for A,y also as Mike will be in-surgery and I will go see Amy once they allow us in. 

Alex was great at the appointment. He got a bit nervous but did really well and even asked questions. He also said Mike was going to be kind of like Darth Vader for awhile with all the tubes and stuff. 

So we are five days away now and I really can't believe it is almost here. We just have to keep Amy and Mike healthy until Monday. No parties for us until after. Once this is over we will have a big party to celebrate all of it. 

posted by Andrea