We arrived in San Antonio late Friday night. It was a difficult trip for Samuel who had an "8" headache despite being loaded up with pain medication in dialysis. As instructed by the transplant team, Samuel wore a mask to minimize his chances of catching something on the plane. The mask, the wheelchair, his closed eyes and body posture drew some concern from airport and flight personnel. Everyone was very kind. On our flight from Detroit to San Antonio, Samuel was offered a seat in first class at no extra charge. It was great that he had a more comfortable place to rest, but I'm sorry to say he wasn't feeling well enough to eat the fancy meal that was served nor to appreciate the whole experience. Had there been a second first class seat available, we would have put Hannah there as well. She certainly deserves some royal treatment!
You can be sure I took every opportunity to let people know that Samuel was on his way to get a transplant through a paired exchange and that Hannah was donating on his behalf. Too many people are unaware that this option exists. I am doing my part to change that! Too many other people are still in need of a kidney.
Speaking of getting the word out...I believe that CBS Evening News with Katie Couric will be airing a story on paired exchanges tonight. Check your local listings. They will be highlighting the work of the National Kidney Registry. Samuel was listed with the NKR along with potential donors Linda Paroline and Hannah. While Samuel ultimately will not be participating in a paired exchange with the NKR, it is through the personal involvement of the NKR's founder and president, Garet Hil, that a match for Samuel was discovered at the Texas Transplant Institute. I have had suspicions of Mr. Hil's involvement, but yesterday it was confirmed by one of the transplant surgeons. We are eternally grateful to Garet Hil for his heroic efforts to find a kidney for Samuel. We are praising God for the provision of a kidney for Samuel through Mr. Hil's connections!
Back to Texas...we spent a good chunk of time on Saturday finding and then changing hotels after spending one night with bugs and too much dirt (I'll spare you the details!). We were sorry to leave. The folks there were very nice; it just wasn't a good place for us to be. Samuel was bothered by the disruption, but was finally convinced that we had made the right decision when he discovered that, unlikely the first hotel, this one has the History Channel! :)
Later on Saturday, we headed over to Sea World and spent the first of two lovely, 70+ degree afternoons strolling around the park. We enjoyed some shows and were mesmerized by the amazing sea animals. Hannah was coerced into riding not just one, but two roller coasters. It was her first roller coaster experience and while she seems to have survived it, I'm not sure I can say she enjoyed it! She's a good sport!
For dinner we had the full Texas Bar-B-Q experience at Rudy's. It was great!
Sunday morning we finally unpacked and got settled into our new hotel. It is very lovely with a nice 2-bedroom set up. Oh, and it is even clean! In the afternoon, we went back to Sea World for a few more hours to see some things we had missed the day before. The weather was just incredible!
Monday morning we reported to the Texas Transplant Institute for labs and a couple appointments. They decided to hold off on Samuel's dialysis in hopes that he might be able to have only one more dialysis treatment between now and the transplant. As of today, it doesn't look like it will work out that way.
On Tuesday morning, we were back in clinic for more labs and a series of pre-op appointments for both Samuel and Hannah. We met more of the team and got some more details about the exchange. Samuel was not feeling well and the decision was made to dialyze him. Dr. Kapturczak, the nephrologist, had kindly arranged for Samuel to have dialysis as an inpatient in the hospital rather than in an outpatient clinic with their limitations and restrictions. Dialysis went amazingly well! Samuel only had a minor headache by the end. What a blessing! It was a long 9 1/2 hours at the hospital, but it was a good day.
The exchange has been finalized with 16 pairs of donors and recipients. It is all being started by an altruistic donor. The last person in this chain to receive a kidney has a donor who will act as a "bridge donor" to start another chain later in December. That chain is looking like it will include 8-10 pairs. This concept of paired exchange has such potential to get people transplanted and off dialysis. It is very exciting! As I've mentioned before, this will be the largest paired exchange ever to take place under one roof. The whole hospital has been gearing up and preparing for "the big exchange." Thirty-two surgeries will be performed over three days beginning tomorrow. Participants will go into the OR in groups of four. There will be two surgeons removing kidneys (Dr. Shen and Dr. Vick) and two surgeons putting kidneys in (Dr. Wright and Dr. Bingaman). A fifth surgeon (Dr. Palma-Vargas) will be a floater, assisting wherever needed. Hannah and Samuel are scheduled to be the second group on the second day, which translates into Friday around 11 a.m. Texas time.
Samuel will likely have dialysis again on Thursday (tomorrow). They will admit him into the hospital again to do it as an inpatient. After dialysis, he will be moved down to the transplant floor where he will stay overnight so they can be sure he is feeling well and ready for the transplant on Friday morning.
Hannah will need to arrive at the hospital on Friday morning at 5 a.m. Her surgery is expected to take two hours and Samuel's will last about three hours. Samuel will go to the ICU for 24 hours following surgery, then to the transplant floor where he'll be for 5-7 days. Hannah will go briefly to recovery when she comes out of surgery and will then be transferred up to a general surgical floor where she'll stay for 2 or 3 days.
Normally, exchange participants aren't given the opportunity to meet each other until six or more weeks after the transplants. Since this is such an historic exchange and is likely to get some national media coverage, it is possible that the hospital will allow us to meet each other before everyone gets discharged and dispersed to the four winds. We'll see! We will at least bring a note for Hannah's recipient and Samuel's donor and ask the team to pass it along to them. The excitement is mounting!
Our local support team begins arriving today. Tom's mom, Mary Ellen Copeland, and her husband, Ed, are flying in this afternoon. They will be in town with us for the next week. They have been such a help to us with so many of the trip details. Two of Tom's cousins, Nancy Copeland Kelley and Katherine Copeland Blume (Esther's donor), will arrive on Friday and stay for the weekend. It will be great to have some extra hands and feet and people to hug!
I also want to mention our support team back home. Katie and Grace are tending the home fires (literally) and caring for the animals at home. Wendy Ordway is caring for our larger animals who winter in her barn (thanks again, Wendy!). Sweet friends from church have been supplying the girls with some meals. Joanne Conchieri is covering my Latin class for me and keeping my students busy (miss you guys!). My sister, Laura Systo, is looking after Esther and Lydia for the next couple weeks. It will be a great opportunity for them to connect with other family members and build relationships with family that we don't see often enough.
And then there are those of you, both near and far, who are thinking of us, wishing us well and, most importantly, praying for us! I can't tell you how grateful I am! It is a great comfort. May the Lord be glorified by your prayers and our lives.
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