Hurry Up and WAIT...

As the title says perfectly, we are waiting, patiently.

We have officially been listed for a little over a month but haven't received any calls yet. For educational purposes I will explain the waiting/ transplant process to the best of my ability(which is limited). Being listed means you get placed on a national list, UNOS, and all of your information is placed in this file. There is no order to this list, at least from what I understand. When an organ becomes available the powers that be go to this list and whoever is the highest match in all of the qualifying categories will get the organ. This means that if an organ is available in Conneticut and Jim is the closest match they will fly the organ here for him. With every organ two people will get called to the hospital. These two people are the ones that are the closest match to the organ. When you arrive they draw blood and do one last cross match between the organ tissue and the recipients' blood. It is possible that with this last crossmatch automatic rejection can occur, disqualifying the 1st recipient and thus moving onto the 2nd recipient and their crossmatch. This is why they always call two people to the hospital, in case the final crossmatch comes out positive (meaning rejection) for the 1st. We were told that you may be called to the hospital several times for this process before you will receive your organ.

During the entire pre-transplant process were were never really quoted a specific time period other than "it is much short than the kidney transplant waiting list." Apparently the wait time for just a kidney alone is 18-24 months and the pancreas kidney list is less than half of this wait time. Jim looked up the approximate wait time through Baylor's website and he found 4-6 months. I anticipate 6-9 months, but the shorter the better!!!!

Jim continues to feel better than we think he should which is a blessing! Our next nephrology appointment is in November and is quickly approaching. We hope that his labs for the appointment will show that his kidneys are holding and we can continue to push back dialysis. From what the nephrologist told us last time, we can hopefully keep pushing it off as long as he feels half way decent. He is still working 4 days a week at the hospital and although it is not the position he longs to hold for the future it is great experience and we are grateful he feels good enough to work.

The wine tasting was a huge success and we want to thank everyone who was able to attend or those who contributed online. We are TRULY BLESSED to have such a great support system of family and friends. We especially want to thank Betsy who went above and beyond the call of being a friend and organized a heart touching, support filled evening that we will never forget! Jim was embraced in love that night!

Prayer Requests: Jim continues to feel good. Jim will receive his transplant soon.

Bible Verse: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life...but seek his kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you." Matthew 6: 25 & 33

Let the wine tasting begin!

So we are getting down to the wire with last minute details for our first fundraiser on Sunday. I think Betsy and I are managing to get all of our loose ends tied up and we should be able to put on a fun night for everyone! I want this night to be in part, a way to celebrate everyone that has helped us along the way as well as a great night for Jim. I am just getting so excited to see everyone come out and support him! Truly we have been so blessed with such amazing family and friends!!! The love Jim is going to feel in that room is going to be overwhelming, and I could not be happier about it. He is such an amazing man and he has been through so much already that being surrounded by support and love is exactly what he deserves!

Thank you to everyone who is keeping us in their prayers. Thank you to everyone who is coming on Sunday. Thank you to everyone who has donated, and thank you everyone for loving Jim and I!!

Prayer Requests: Everyone on Sunday has a wonderful night! Jim continues to feel well.

Bible Verse: "Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory." Revelation 19:7

Can't Believe It...No Shot!!

Jim went to the nephrologist today and his red blood cell count was 11.9! This in itself is great news, since it meant that Jim did not need to get a procrit shot today (normal is 12). Jim has not had a red blood cell count this high since before we started this whole process. Although this is great news in itself it doesn't help with explaining why he is soooo tired, fatigue must just be par for the course!

While Jim was at the nephrologist he spoke with her about the "crazy" muscle cramps that he keeps getting struck down with, especially in his hands. Since we have been working out Jim keeps getting inflicted with these horrible muscle cramps. The nephrologist thinks that we are adhering to his potassium restriction diet so closely that when he works out he ultimately begins cramping because of the lack of potassium. Now, I have to say that I am very proud of the fact that Jim is getting cramps because this means that we have successfully followed directions! Now, that may sound insensitive and trust me I am not happy that out of the blue Jim loses the ability to have opposable thumbs, but I am happy that we listen so well. (Having friends who are dietitians helps!)

We have had some sugar scares lately which normally wouldn't be all to abnormal however they seem to be dropping quicker than usual. This past weekend Jim's sugar crashed while we were out which normally does not happen so needless to say I was a little scared when I had to struggle with him to open his mouth to eat something. Jim is soon to schedule an appointment with his endocrinologist to talk about these crashes. I personally would love to have something sharp that I can drive into his thigh to help raise his levels back into the normal range so getting him to eat when he is that low isn't a concern anymore (yet again, sounds insensitive but meant in the most loving way possible).

Prayer Requests: Increase in energy level and decrease in muscle cramps

Bible Verse: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. " Ecclesiastes 3:1