What?...Jim's a type I diabetic...Who knew?

It's official Jim is a Type I diabetic.

Crazy enough we have been waiting on labs to prove that Jim is Type I instead of Type II in order to schedule his cardiac catherization. This confirmation and procedure are needed because Baylor recently changed the pancreas kidney transplant policy to include a cardiac cath (angiogram) prior to being approved for a pancreas. If Jim were to just get a kidney, this procedure would not be needed. So, today we finally received this confirmation, reporting that he had the correct amount of C-Peptide in his blood for being a Type I. So, now that the cat is out of the bag and Jim is officially Type I (this sentence is loaded with sarcasm) we have scheduled his cardiac cath for mid-late August. Hopefully, according to our case manager this will be the last procedure Jim will have before he is reviewed before the transplant committee to be approved for the list.

Prayer requests: Angiogram goes well and no further testing or procedures will be needed.

"May your unfailing love be my comfort." Psalms 119

Why are you always cold?

Well, Jim went yesterday and was able to get another Procrit shot which helps with his anemia. Since Jim has been in kidney failure he has become pretty anemic, which doesn't help him endure the temperature that I like to keep the house. He would keep it at 85 in here everyday however I think that I would go into early menopause if our house was that hot. When he was at the nephrologist they took his blood pressure and it was back down so we are just going to chalk Monday's crazy spike up to the little Russian surgeon stressing him out. :)

Just a bit of a fireside chat with a little russian man

Who knew that finding a vet to take a walk in appointment was so hard?!? After 2 different stops this morning I finally found a vet to see our sick pup. Turns out that rolling in cow poo is not good for one's digestive tract. After our little excursion of x-rays, shots, and poo screens (for the dog)- I was able to get our puppy feeling a little better in order to run downtown to meet Jim for his appointments.

By the time I met up with Jim, his labs were already drawn and we were off to meet the transplant surgeon. The surgeon turned out to be a dry humored little Russian man who made us both smile. He was able to answer a lot of our questions and after we got over the initial hump of him not knowing that we needed a pancreas as well as a kidney we ended up feeling pretty good about the appointment. (I have this fear that after all of this Jim will go into surgery for 2 organs and only come out with 1 new one- that would be a BAD day)

The cardiology appointment went well with an ECHO showing Jim's heart in good condition. Apparently his heart and its valves looked good with no abnormal thickening. After these labs are completed then we will get his cardiac catheter procedure scheduled. We are keeping an eye on Jim's blood pressure because it was running a little high today however this isn't anything new for us. I think after we are done with all of this, Jim and I will be qualified to be either cardiologists or nephrologists (: --we should be able to take our pick.

Overall, it was a good day in the Boren pre-transplant world! Thank you for all the prayers!

Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."

Kris

So I thought that I would start blogging about our adventures on Jim's transplant road. This is a road of never ending appointments, unexpected testing, and unplanned challenges. And although this road is all of these things, there is a hope that at the end Jim will come out healthy.

As many of you may know, Jim is going through the pre-transplant medical process for a pancreas and a kidney. If he qualifies this would mean that Jim could live for many years without diabetes. It also means that he will be on a lifetime of anti-rejection medications, however this is nothing new since he is insulin dependent now. We have completed approximately 75% of the testing and are hoping to get listed sometime in September. This upcoming Monday, July 26 we have a cardiology appointment, get to meet our surgeon, and have more labs drawn. This cardiology appointment will involve an ECHO as well as stress test. We pray that these both come back with positive results and we can continue walking down our road without any more complications.

I will keep you posted on our results and any stops we have to make along the way.

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalms