Amy in her new Perfect Dress for her Opening

Seeing Kidneys

I ate out the other day and saw this metal work that looked like hundreds of kidneys. I seem to be seeing kidneys everywhere I go these days. 

Posted by Andrea

Meeting with Dr. Segala

Alex has been a trooper and during his summer break he has had to attend many doctors appointments with Mike and I. He brings his legos and works on projects while all this business unfolds. He is so supportive. He has also been on a few plays dates, gone to the beach several times and will be hitting Lego Land and more beach in the next few weeks. 

Mike is doing real well. He has been better on his Creatnine at 1.9 and he has more energy. We are at the doctors about twice a week now and they are all very pleased with his progress. Mike is stilled at home most of the time but has been getting visitors. Joe and Catherine came by yesterday and our neighbors have some by to visit also. Mike is able to talk longer on the phone and has been chatting it up with friends over the last week. He went to a movie with me yesterday and did real well. We saw Wanted and it was fast paced and bloody. He loved it. 

I'm doing great. less stressed and feeling like I have my energy back. I am working on books and Amy's exhibitions with my amazing staff at GCAC. That show is going to rock and all of you must attend it. We open Saturday the 5th of July 7-10 p.m. It will be a great party. 

posted by Andrea

Having a Pain in the Chest

Tuesday night, early Wednesday morning I woke up with a terrible pain in my chest.  I was semi-asleep and trying to wake up, and my chest was was tight, burning, heavy.  I have asthma and a myriad of stomach issues, so I finally went back to sleep attributing it to one of those calamities.  But the pain stuck around until after noon on Wednesday, and I called the Renal Transplant Center to talk to a nurse.  My symptoms could have meant a blood clot in the lung; chances were low but they are so cautious and thorough at St. Josephs that they asked to come into ER and have a chest X-Ray to eliminate that scenario.  Alyssa, my co-worker at the Art Center jetted me to the hospital and a few minutes later we were settled into a room watching America's Toughest Prisons / Lockdown on National Geographic channel.  I would not have turned the station even if had been more than one remote control for the floor.  I love that stuff; and I learned how to make and conceal a shiv from an everyday plastic bag!  After some bloodwork I was cleared.  Kevin met Alyssa at the ER, and took me home for an evening of pork chops and Bladerunner on BluRay.  The doctors said the chest pain was most likely muscular in nature.  Since my abs are sort of useless, my back and chest have had to over compensate for them.  I cant stand for to long, or my back aches terribly.  I am home resting and playing alittle World of Warcraft.

posted by AMY

Mikes sees Dr. Ruziks

We had our weekly appointment with the Dr. and all went real well. Mike is tired, and his mood is up and down do to bouts of pain he is still experiencing. The doctor told Mike to take it easy and just let the recovery process happen. It will take some time to feel better. Mike's Creatnine is up to 2.0 which is still good but they are keeping a close eye on him to make sure it is not creeping up.  They said they will biopsy the kidney if the number moves again to make sure Mike is not experiencing a slow rejection of the kidney. We are taking good care of him and keeping our fingers crossed that he continues on this recovery path. 

Mike has lost 20 pounds over the past two and a half weeks. He cannot fit his pants and is very lean. So lean that the other night he was washing his hands and his wedding ring must have fallen into the drain and got flushed away by the water. I checked the pipe trap and it was no where to be found.  He was sad because he missed his ring and really liked it. 

I decided to go out the the jewelry store tonight and buy him a new gold band. One that would fit him at his new size.  He is a new man with a wonderful future ahead of him and so it along seems right that he should have a new wedding ring to replace the lost one. 

I came home and got down on one knee and asked him to be my husband. He said he yes with a smile. He loves his new ring. I love him and all is well.

By the way I wanted to thank so many more of our friends for the great cards that have been sent to Mike. Thanks to Theron, Carlota, Marilyn, and Robin for coming by and helping to take care of us.  We appreciate all our friends. 

First time out shopping for food!

Amy and I made the big trip out to go grocery shopping after meeting with Judith her dietician. 

Trader Joe's staff gave Amy this very helpful ride to get around in which really helped her make her shopping experience a pleasant one. 

Thanks to Trader Joes!

Ended up in the hospital tonight

Mike called my at about 3:00 today and said that I needed to take him to the hospital now. I was a bit freaked out and headed out the door to drive home and get him and Alex.  I called him from the car and he said that his Creatnine levels had gone up and the doctor was concerned. To be safe they wanted him to get a sonogram of the Mrs. Kevin Hill Kidney to see if all was OK with her. They said the kidney looks OK but something is causing the numbers to raise so they told us they would talk to us again soon and see us Wednesday at our scheduled doctors appointment. 

Mike may be having problems with his bladder which is causing urine to back up into the kidney. This is a serious thing as it can cause damage to the new kidney if untreated. Our doctors are so on top of all this and when they see anything that looks at all suspect they act promptly to have Mike checked out. I love having such good people looking out for Mike. It sets my mind at ease knowing they are on our team. 

I can honestly say that Saint Joseph's staff and facility is great. We have been treated very well there. I did however take Alex to the cafeteria for a quick bite while we waited for Mike.  The food is not very healthy but it is comfort food. Glad we did not have to stay there for long. Man is that hospital cold! We are home now and Mike is resting. Everyday is a challenge.