Couple of Quick Updates

Hey everyone!

It's been over a week, and it seems I have had nothing to say.

Our church had Vacation Bible School this week, and Jenny and I participated by being "park security." We had the event at a local water park. The only problem was the torrential downpour that occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday, which reduced us to two days of VBS instead of four. But, I think the program was a success overall.

In kidney news, I think all is going well. I am trying to keep myself well-hydrated. I stopped taking Nexium this week, and I do not think there have been any negative side effects. That will save me several dollars a month, so I am glad to be off another medication. I think the next medication I get to cut out is the Bactrim, but I won't know until after my next clinic visit in the middle of July.

Speaking of clinic visits, I still need to schedule another Glofil test. This will be my "six months post-transplant" workup, so it should be a good one. I am going to try and set that for the same day as my clinic, so I don't have to go down to the office twice.

I also need to remember to call my cardiologist next month and see if they have any other options for lowering my triglycerides other than the "tricor" that they wanted to put me on. The nephrologist said no because it could raise creatinine. I guess I'll have to make that call next week, too.

That's about it for today. Nothing much, but I am still doing well, so that's always good news! Enjoy your weekend.

Clinic and Cardiology Updates

Welcome to Wednesday! It's been a little over a week since I have sent out an update, so I figured I had let enough time elapse. I have a couple things to cover, so the post won't just be fluff.

I had a cardiologist check-up last week. The doctor said that I seemed fine and that she wanted some blood work (to check my cholesterol) and to get an echo of my heart to check on my mitral valve prolapse.

I had the echo cardiogram done on Monday afternoon. The technician was not able to tell me anything (of course). The doctor called on Tuesday to let me know that my prolapse looked about the same as it had six months ago, and I will need to get another echo in six more months. That was what I had hoped for, since it had gotten worse between the last two echoes I had had done. But there was not change on the latest echo (Monday) so I am in good shape for another six months. That means no valve replacement surgery for me (yet).

I also had my post-transplant follow-up clinic appointment on Tuesday (yesterday). My creatinine is still at 1.0, which is great!! The other numbers in my lab report all looked about normal, so that's good news, too. In fact, the doctor said that I was doing so well that I do not have to come back for a whole month! That's wonderful, since it means less time out of work to go to the doctor to hear that I am doing well. I'm also glad that the new kidney is working well enough to keep me out of the hospital or out of the doctor's office.

Coming up next will be another Glofil and another bone density scan. Those are both scheduled at the six-month after transplant mark. So, come July 11, I will need to get that on the books. I guess I should go ahead and schedule the Glofil soon, since I already have a doctor's visit set up for July. That will keep me from having to go down there twice.

That's it for today! Stay tuned next time for more fun kidney information (or not fun, I guess it depends on what you enjoy).

Sermon Notes - Perseverance

Good morning blog readers! I come to you today with some notes from the message that I heard in church yesterday morning. Normally, I attempt to regale you with stories mainly concerning my kidneys (or adventures surrounding said kidneys). Today, I thought I'd provide you with a little insight that I gained at church yesterday and how it relates to my kidney journey.

We have been studying 2 Peter 1:5-8 in church for the past several weeks. Here are the verses, as taken from http://www.biblegateway.com/:

5) For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6) and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7) and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8) For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As you may have guessed from today's blog title, Sunday's sermon was on the phrase "and to self-control, perseverance." The pastor spoke about how perseverance, in this passage, is not referring to just "hanging in there" but more "to remain under," like a pack mule under a load. He spoke about how persevering is not just staying under a burden, but looking forward to the results that will come about because of the burden being borne. His focus was on the Christian life, and how the trials and tribulations that we face are all worth it because, as Christians, we have the prize of an eternity in Heaven with Jesus waiting for us.

In my mind, I thought about my kidney disease. I have always looked at it as being a part of my life. It is not something that was caused by something I did, and it was not something that I necessarily deserved. I was born with a genetic condition that would cause my kidneys to fail, and they did indeed fail. But, life was not over. I knew that I could look forward to a life with a transplant. All during dialysis, I knew there were lots of people all over the world praying that God would provide a way for me to no longer be on dialysis. Back in January, God provided a kidney for me. All that I had gone through led me to this transplant.

What is my application for this? Do I just go back to life as normal? No! I keep in mind the way that life was on dialysis. I also am reminded of the family that lost a loved one and chose to donate his organs. This gives me a couple of great reasons to care for my kidney like never before. I try to drink water all day long, to keep myself hydrated and to keep the kidney happy. I take all of my medications on time every time (except that once) in order to help prevent rejection. I am trying to stay healthy with my diet and a little exercise to keep my body in good shape so I don't lose the kidney through another problem.

So, all in all, I am thankful that God allows us to learn perseverance. It lets you learn to direct your focus on the good things that are to come. And, if you achieve the positive results at the end, then you are able to look back and thank God for all He has done. At least, in this case, that's how it worked out for me.

Praise the Lord!