Hero Mom

     Shortly after Karen and Sawyer came out of transplant surgery, I wrote the following letter to Karen while sitting bedside of Sawyer in the intensive care unit.  It was a difficult moment for me because I wanted to be with Karen too.  However, we made the decision in advance that I would be there for Sawyer when he woke up. 

    Since I could not be with Karen, I wrote down what I wanted to say to her if I were there when she woke up and sent it to her later.  I debated whether or not to post the letter because it is personal.  However,  I wanted to recognize my hero wife on  Mother's Day.  Besides, every husband should have a "Say Anything" moment for his wife every now and then.

3/20/2012

Hero wife,

Wow!  What a day this has been.  While you were sleeping we were holding on to the edges of our seats waiting for the next phone call or visit from the medical staff.  It was remarkable how God orchestrated this day.

One of the toughest parts for me was when they told us they removed your kidney. It sounded so offensive I wanted to intervene.  I became overwhelmed by the thought of your sacrifice.

When your kidney was in transit, we all welled up with great anticipation.  We were told that your kidney was “big and healthy”.  I assure you that you are only healthy.

Then the greatest of all the moments…we were told your kidney was just attached to Sawyer and urine immediately began to flow.  We all praised God for pee!

Oh my hero wife!  You amaze me!  The gift you’ve given.  The sacrifices you’ve made.

Sawyer is doing remarkably well.   The turnaround is miraculous.  Praise God for His great provision, mercy and healing.  Lord, thank you for my hero wife.

I am so proud of you and honored to be the husband of Karen.

Oh my hero wife!  I love, love, love you!!

T.

Flying High!

     Sawyer's labs and check up at CHKD went very well today. His new (44 year old) kidney is functioning very well!  As Karen's mom would say, "Karen is strong like bull!"  So,  no wimpy kidney for our boy.  He is blessed with a great high-performing kidney!

 

     Sawyer's other stats are looking good too.  His blood pressure has come down to normal levels since increasing his BP med dosage.   His liver stats (GGT level) continue to improve (Big Relief!) and  his anti-rejection drugs are starting to level out.

     The not so good news … Sawyer is in the 10th percentile for height and the 90th for weight, which means he is too short and obese.  The kidney failure is a big factor in his height.  Hopefully, he will begin to catch up now that he has kidney function.  Doritos and steroids have contributed to his weight gain.  It is a crazy cycle as the steroids make him incessantly "hungry" and crave the worst foods.  I'm hoping our insurance will cover the costs of the P-90X prescription.

    The great struggle continues to be the steroids.  We are grateful that this issue is not life threatening.  At least not for him.  He threatens ours occasionally, but we can hold him down and out run him because he's little and over weight (please, no emails.  I'm just joking … sort'a.)

     We have to laugh a little because  the steroids do make us all miserable.  Not only do they contribute to Sawyer's weight gain, they also continue to make him volatile and violent.  He is starting to limp again and there are a bunch of other side effects.  His doctor reduced his steroid dosage again today and she intends to continue reducing the dosage as aggressively as possible.  

     We are told that the first 6 months after transplant are critical and to expect a lot of "ups and downs".  We just passed week 7 since transplant surgery and we are experiencing a lot of "ups" . God's mercy and provision have been showered on us in abundance.  We are grateful!