Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow! It has been 10 weeks since Esther's transplant! Life has been a bit hectic with Samuel and Esther both still needing to be at the hospital so much. It has been even more complicated with them each needing to be in a different place at the same time. Up until two weeks ago, Esther was still going to the hospital once a week for clinic visits and three times a week for lab work. She has actually gone a whole week between labs visits two times so far!

Tom has stepped up and is now often the one leaving the house at 6:15 a.m. to take Samuel to dialysis. The wear and tear of doing this 3-day a week routine for 2 1/2 years has taken its toll on me. The new arrangement allows Tom and Samuel to enjoy some time together in dialysis while I am able to focus on Esther and get her to her appointments and frequent lab visits.

Samuel has not been doing well the last few months. The frequent headache/sometimes migraine problem is back. He usually feels awful after dialysis and often sleeps away most of the day. Eating is also sometimes a chore for Samuel. He just feels lousey more often than not. The wear and tear of dialysis for 2 1/2 years has taken its toll on him!

Prayer request for Samuel - He needs a kidney! Please pray that the Lord would provide a kidney is His perfect timing. Things have gotten a bit complicated with Samuel having a high level of antibodies.

Praise report for Samuel - We recently learned that after months of being incompatible with 95% of the population, Samuel's level of antibodies has decreased a bit. No one has given us a specific number, but every step lower increases the possibility of finding a match for him.

Prayer request for Katie - After a textbook transplant in April 2008, Katie has had a very difficult time with her medications. There have been many issues and many attempts at finding the right cocktail of drugs. The latest medication problem started back in May when Katie began to experience terrible bone pain. Please pray for wisdom as the doctor tries to balance keeping Katie's kidney protected from rejection and perserving Katie's quality of life. There are a limited number of options for immunesuppression. The current cocktail is a bit out of the doctor's comfort zone.

Praise report for Katie - The current cocktail seems to be making a difference! Katie has been successfully (and comfortably) getting around without her cane for about a week. There are still medication adjustments to be made, but this is definitely progress!

Prayer request for Esther - It seems that Esther is having a rejection episode. After having lab work done this morning, we unexpectedly had to spend the rest of the day up at the hospital while they blasted her with a large IV dose of prednisone. Please pray that this treatment and the other medication changes that they are making will suppress her immune system sufficiently so that her body will tolerate the transplanted kidney. The docs will continue to monitor her closely and adjust their plans as needed.

Praise report - Esther had lab work done this past Friday and, because of the holiday, was next scheduled to have labs drawn again this coming Saturday. We are leaving town tomorrow and will be traveling back home late on Friday night. I knew that Esther would be exhausted and not want to go to the hospital early on Saturday morning and told the docs so. They kindly rearranged the schedule and, instead of making her come on Saturday for labs, they had Esther come in this morning. That is when they discovered that her creatinine was quite high. Often the success of reversing rejection is dependent on how quickly treatment is started. Praise God that we changed plans and went in today! Waiting another 3 days could have been disastrous!

I'm sorry that I haven't posted for almost two months, but I must confess that I have been a bit overwhelmed with life. I feel like I'm starting to refocus my sights on the Lord and that is making a big difference.

God is in control of all things and we know that we can trust in His purposes. “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not adversity?” (Job 2:10) The Lord is clearly using our kidney adventure to sanctify us and glorify Himself!