Samuel to Have Surgery Tomorrow

Okay, since we had our fun on the blog yesterday, we can now get back to the unpleasant stuff.....

Samuel is having hernia repair surgery tomorrow. He has an orange-sized hernia just above his belly button were things didn’t heal properly along his midline incision. The problem is attributed to having had that midline incision cut open two times last winter, having been malnourished in the months following the second surgery, and having been on a certain immune-suppressant drug which inhibits healing.

We are expecting (and praying) that it will be an uneventful surgery with a short one-night stay in the hospital. If everything goes as it should, Samuel will have the surgery on Friday morning, spend the night on the pediatric floor, dialyze on Saturday as usual, and then come home. Tom will be spending the night with Samuel for some quality male bonding time.

Please pray for Dr. DiCarlo, the transplant surgeon, who will be doing the repair work. The poor man has had too many bad experiences while operating on Samuel. For both their sakes, we’d like things to go well this time around. We are not afraid to place Samuel in Dr. DiCarlo’s capable hands.

The next item for prayer is Esther. At her appointment with the pediatric nephrologist in November, Esther’s creatinine was 3.50. That translates into a kidney function of 24%. That is down from 28% the month before.

Esther is having her fistula surgery this coming Monday, the 15th. It is a 1 ½ to 2 hour procedure performed by a vascular surgeon. She’ll be in and out the same day. It usually takes about 3 months before a fistula is ready to be used for dialysis. We are still hopeful that a transplant can be arranged before Esther needs to begin dialysis. We will all be very thankful if she never has to use her new fistula!

Well, we’re off to a museum this morning with some homeschooling friends. It is right next door to the hospital, so Samuel and I will walk over when it is time for his dialysis. Esther and Lydia will stay to make Egyptian jewelry with the group. A friend or two (boys who aren’t into Egyptian jewelry) may join Samuel in dialysis for some fun and games. It sure does help the time pass quickly when we have visitors!