Monday - Update from Kala

Hey everybody! It is the middle of Monday afternoon, and I just finished reading an e-mail from Kala. Val, my pre-transplant coordinator, called her and said that the committee has "conditionally approved" her to donate a kidney. The only thing that they need are two more tests, which she has scheduled in January. She submitted results for them, but they were too old, so they wanted her to get something more recent. Other than those two things, they approved all the other test results and consultations.

This is sounding like a fairly clear answer to prayer. So, unless God presents a different option, it sounds like we will be setting up some surgery for late January or early February (depending on everyone's calendar). For me, it will be a week or two in the hospital, followed by daily lab work and doctor's visits for two weeks, then that slows down as time goes forward. They want to be VERY careful with the new kidney, so they check your vitals a lot at the beginning. That also helps them get you on the right amount of anti-rejection medication. Apparently, the medication dosages get adjusted a lot in the first month or two, until your body balances in its new condition.

Please continue to pray for Kala. Pray that her tests will go well in January and that there will not be any surprises. Also pray for me that I will stay healthy and will be ready to accept the kidney when the time for the surgery arrives. Pray for Jenny, that she will be able to put up with me and will be a good help-mate when it comes time to drive me to the doctor every day. And, pray for my job, where I will be gone for a while. Pray that they will be able to hold my position and that the kidney transplant will not interfere, too much.

Thank you for your continued prayers. I will let you know more as I know more!