Medication Woes

Katie is having a terrible time with her medications. It has been a challenge for the docs to find a combination and dosage that keeps her protected from rejection without lowering her white blood count too much or torturing her with side effects. If you remember, she was hospitalized last summer for a couple days because her white count was dangerously low. Her transplant was 9 months ago and she is still having blood drawn once or twice (and sometimes even three times) a week to monitor medication and WBC levels.

A couple months ago, Katie began transitioning from one immunosuppressant drug (Prograf) to another (Rapamune) because she was having some unbearable side effects from the Prograf. A couple weeks ago, the docs inadvertently overdosed her on the new medication and she has been a physical and emotional wreck ever since. Not fun!! If things don’t level out soon, we are thinking about sending Katie to live with Dr. D. That should motivate him to adjust her meds to a level that she (and those around her) can live with! (Smile!) Seriously, Katie is really struggling and would be grateful for your prayers. After a 4.0 GPA last semester, she is having a hard time keeping up with her studies.

Because each person metabolizes drugs differently, finding the perfect combination and dosage of drugs is an art, not a science. Katie clearly metabolizes things differently than the norm. Lab work shows that she is momentarily at the “right” drug level, yet her white blood count is too low and she is overwhelmed with emotional and physical side effects. The risk of backing off on meds enough that Katie is not experiencing side effects is that she may then be susceptible to rejection.

So while you are praying for Katie, please also pray for the docs that they might have wisdom to manage Katie’s meds in a way that keeps the whole person of Katie well, not just her kidney.

Surgery Went Well!

Today Samuel did a great job of NOT living up to his title of "prince of complications" (as he has been dubbed by a friend). Everything went well!

His fistula is on the inside of his right elbow (he is left-handed) instead of down on his wrist like Esther's. Instead of one incision (as Esther has), Samuel has two. The vein and artery are much farther apart higher up on the arm, so to make the connection requires two openings of the skin.

Samuel has had so many IV's in the past that he has sections of his veins that are damaged from scarring. They needed to place the fistula higher up his arm in order to find a good spot. The vascular surgeon still had to do some work to expand a scarred area in the vein. We'll just have to wait and see how the fistula develops. It is not uncommon that a fistula needs a second procedure at some point to make things work just the way they should.

My Mister-been-there-done-that was as calm as a cucumber (and full of it!) in pre-op. Here he is doing Algebra while waiting to go to the OR.


Samuel, are you actually smiling AND doing Algebra at the same time? How is that possible?? -VBG!-

Thanks to everyone who was praying for Samuel today!

Fistula Surgery for Samuel

Kindly keep Samuel in your prayers tomorrow as he has his fistula surgery. He is scheduled in the OR at 2:30. It is a relatively minor procedure, but Samuel has a history of making things more complicated!