Monday 5PM - Good News

Karen was removed from the ventilator at about 3:30pm and so far so good! Please pray that she continues to breathe well on her own as this would be a huge step forward. We still have a long way to go but thankful for this positive step forward.

Rusty

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Monday Noon Update

Ashley just spoke with the transplant surgeon and they don’t seem to feel that they need to do anything right now with the pancreas. Her fever has come down and she is not having any abdominal pain so they want to leave it alone for now. They indicated that they have seen fluid there on past x-rays and the fluid may have grown a bit but that could be due to the blood thinners and a little bit more bleeding. They don’t want to do anything invasive with the pancreas (like a drain) unless her fever comes back. They believe the fever may have come from her central line (more permanent IV-type line) which they have now removed and fever has come down since then.

The lung doctors indicated that she has passed her breathing tests, but the transplant doctors have been hesitant to remove the breathing tube while she was having high fevers. If the fever stays down, perhaps they can consider this soon.

Rusty

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Monday AM

Karen had a pretty good night with only low grade fever which continues this morning. As far as the pancreas is concerned the transplant guys will be examining her later today and get some more lab results before deciding how to address that.

So no real news for now.

Rusty

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Sunday evening

Karen had a number of tests and procedures today. Infectious disease doctors were brought in to consult and determine the source of Karen's fever. They have determined that she has inflammation/infection of her pancreas. We have not talked yet with the transplant team who oversees her care so really don't know any details about this yet but should find out more tomorrow.

Karen slept most of the day today (effect of sedatives they gave her for some of the procedures) but her fever has come down today. She is also a bit more alert tonight but resting comfortably.

Rusty

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Sunday AM

Karen developed a higher fever overnight so they are trying to determine the source of that. We spoke with the doctors and with her continued weakness and now fever they are not comfortable removing her from the ventilator at this point. She is doing pretty well when they test her breathing without assistance but they are concerned that she would not be able to maintain that over a longer period of time right now.

She responds when asked questions but not initiating much communication on her own.

As we have said, recovery is going to be very slow but we will get there! Keep on praying for strength.

Rusty

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Saturday morning

No real news or change so far today. They did another breathing test and we are still close but not quite there. She will get dialysis this afternoon.

Rusty

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Friday night

No big changes since this morning. Karen continued to be fairly alert throughout the day but did sleep quite a bit after some procedures that wore her out a bit.

Karen has been running a fairly low fever for several days. Doctors also confirmed that she does have a bit of pneumonia but we were already aware of fluid in her lungs since the PE episode last Friday so that really isn't new news. But she is already on anti-biotics so appropriate actions are already in place to address these.

Please pray for strength. The doctors feel confident that the breathing issues and her inability to get off the ventilator relate to her weakness and will go away as she regains her strength.

Rusty

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Friday Morning

We saw the lung specialist this morning. He said Karen is very, very close to coming off the ventilator (she is on minimum assist settings) but not quite ready. Perhaps this weekend. We want her off, but also want to make sure she is ready. I also expect that she will remain in ICU for several days after she gets off the ventilator.

Karen is alert again today and looks good considering all she has been through. I feel that we are headed in the right direction but still expect this to be a long and slow recovery.

Rusty

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Thursday Evening

Karen remained alert most of the day today. She is very close to reaching a point with her breathing where they can remove her from the ventilator. We are praying that this will happen tomorrow but also want to make sure she is ready.

Most of her swelling is now gone so that is a positive sign as well.

Rusty

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Thursday Morning

A bit of encouraging news this morning. The nurse called me at 6:50 this morning (actually scared me) and said that Karen was more alert this morning and asked for me. I hustled down to the hospital to see her. She is more alert but still very weak. Right now they are sitting her up in the chair/bed thing (at her request) and hopefully she can sit up for a couple of hours. Today she will be getting dialysis (timing: whenever they show up) and they will also be testing her breathing again with hopes of taking her off the ventilator. They are pushing hard for this and that would be a major step forward in her recovery.

I spent some time this morning reading to her some of the many cards and emails you have sent and she smiled about those. There are so many I will have to spread these out over several readings! Thanks for all of these.

Today I am encouraged and very thankful that she is more alert, but also reminding myself that there will be both good and bad days ahead.

Rusty

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Wednesday night

No significant changes throughout the day. She has been very weak and groggy today. They did sit her up in a chair/bed device for about 2 hours today. The intent is that by "getting up" a little she can begin to get stronger. Tonight she was sound asleep while I was at the hospital but seemed to be very comfortable. I think the sitting up wore her out.

I expect that they will try the breathing test again tomorrow but so far she is breathing ok when she is awake but is not breathing deep enough when she is asleep. She is also scheduled for dialysis again tomorrow.

Please pray for increased strength and improved breathing.

Rusty

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Wednesday Morning

They did another test early this morning on Karen's breathing to see if she is able to be removed from the ventillator but it doesn't appear that she is quite strong enough yet. She is also very groggy and weak today (most likely exhausted from the breathing test).

I have not seen the doctors yet so no news on that front.

Rusty

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Tuesday Afternoon

Karen was alert and responsive again early this morning. She had dialysis this morning and that will now put her on a Tue/Thur/Sat schedule. This afternoon, they have dialed back the assist from the ventilator so she can practice breathing more on her own (first big step to get her out of ICU). Ashley is there with her and reports that she is sleeping soundly and does not seem to be struggling to breath. Based on yesterday’s experience, I expect that later today she will again be very sleepy and probably not as responsive, but we are better prepared for that this time and won’t let this discourage us!

Rusty

Monday Night

Today was a rough day but ended on a positive note. Karen slept almost all day and was not very alert or responsive. The doctors and nurses said it was the result of her fatigue from having to do more breathing on her own last night (they turned down the assist from the ventillator during the night) and the dialysis this morning. But we were still very discouraged.

Tonight she is much more alert and communicating with the whiteboard and in better spirits so I guess the pros were right. She was just exhausted. We joked with her that she is like a baby and has her days and nights mixed up!

Thanks for all the prayers. We can feel them!

Rusty

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Monday

Heather here. Mom is very weak today. She is still in ICU and will be kept on the ventilator through today at least. The doctors would like for her to be able to rest today while still on the ventilator. She is having dialysis this morning and they are expecting to pull off a lot of fluid, which we hope will help her breathing some. Please pray for her comfort and strength today. Also be praying for us as we fight to keep up our own emotional strength through this. We want to continue trusting God, that He is the Great Physician, and that He has a plan for Mom and her future.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Thank you so much for your offers of help at this time. Right now, if you could just continue praying for Mom and for our strength, that is all we could ask. Your prayers mean so much to us.

Sunday Morning

Karen isn't feeling quite as good today. She has a bit of fever but she is already on antibiotics to address any kind of infection.

Doctors just came by and said she is not quite strong enough to remove her breathing tube but possibly tomorrow. She will most likely have dialysis again Monday. Sounds like she will remain in ICU for several more days.

Rusty

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Saturday Afternoon

Karen is having dialysis this afternoon and that will address some additional swelling that has come back . We now have a white board for her to use so that she can communicate more easily. She has been writing us notes and asking about the family. She seems very alert and in good spirits and resting comfortably. She even told us how much more comfortable the ICU bed is than the regular hospital beds!

We are all encouraged by how she seems to be doing today but still recognize she has a long way to go.

More later.

Rusty

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Please ignore the message at the bottom of each blog post. Dad is posting from his work email account and that signature automatically appears at the bottom of each.

Saturday Morning

Karen is more alert today. The doctors just came and talked with us. The CT confirmed that she has several small PE's (blood clots) in her lungs. They will increase her heparin to dissolve the clots and to try to prevent more but they have to be careful since this is a blood thinner. With her recent surgery this could cause bleeding. They are also going to do dialysis today and start her on new antibiotics to prevent infection in her lungs where there is fluid from yesterday's events.

The good news is these were small clots that injured the lungs but did not do major damage and is reversible. They indicated that they could probably remove her breathing tube now, but to be cautious they will leave that in for another day. That is very uncomfortable but Karen nodded her head in agreement about leaving it in a little longer.

One of the concerns is the source of the clots so they are bringing in a vascular doctor to look at her and make recommendations.

Neat story: One of the residents named Chris was thankfully outside her room with another resident yesterday when all this happened. The two of them were the ones who took care of her including getting her breathing tube in quickly and getting her oxygen. This morning the head of the transplant team (Dr. Stratta) had his entourage with him including Chris. During the visit Karen motioned that she wanted to write something (she can't talk with all the tubes down her throat). She scribbled out "Chris saved me". We gave the note to Chris and Dr. Stratta said, "Chris, you need to put that in your scrapbook! I guess I can't fire you today". I know this made Chris's day.

I don't expect much to change today but will update if anything changes. Thanks to all for your prayers from Winston-Salem, Atlanta, Athens, South Carolina, Dobson, Texas and even Uganda!

Rusty

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Thanks to Blake for getting the blog back up to date. This will certainly lighten my load trying to keep everybody updated.

Here is what has happened today:

Karen had some kind of event this afternoon around 4pm and is in ICU. She had difficulty breathing, high BP and high heartrate. They had to intubate her (breathing tube) and rushed her to ICU. They believe it is a pulmonary embolus (PE or bloodclot in her lungs). They are running a bunch of tests to rule out heart, etc and to confirm it is a PE. If it is a PE they will increase her heparin (blood thinner) which should dissolve the clot and she should improve in 24-48 hours. She is heavily sedated but nodding her head when asked questions and the doctors said when this happened she was reponding appropriately to instructions so that is encouraging.

It is now 10:15pm and she is waiting for a CT scan that should show whether this was a PE. It could be tomorrow before we hear results. PE is still the current thinking on what is going on.

Thanks for all the prayers!

Rusty

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The Ups and Downs of Kidney Disease

This is one of the son-in-laws checking in to bring everyone up to speed by quickly summarizing the past few years of Mama Rose's adventures in Kidneyland.

February 5, 2008 - Mama Rose got the phone call she had been waiting on for many years. The next day she was cut open and some dude's kidney was hooked up to her body. It was quite a turn of events. Her first grandchild was born January 25, then 11 days later she gets a new kidney that would give her new, dialysis-free life.

February through March 2010 - Mama Rose recovered from the invasive surgery within a few months. Her body accepted the kidney fairly well and the creatinine levels got close to normal range, but it was never perfect.

March 2010 - Her creatinine levels rose and she went back on the list for another kidney transplant.

August 2010 - She went back on dialysis. It wasn't a great scenario, but the dialysis helped her body regulate a bit and gave it more energy than it had with just the partially functioning kidney.

January 20-21, 2011 - After an up and down health week, she got another exciting call on a Thursday evening: "Mrs. Rose, we think we have a kidney for you that is a great match. Don't eat or drink anything after midnight. We'll call you in the morning." Around 7:30 the next morning they called and told her to never mind, "go ahead and eat breakfast." Then at 10:30am they called and said essentially, "Never mind about never minding. Come on in. We think we'll be able to do your transplant at 4:00 this afternoon." It was a roller coaster of events. The smart people who paid a lot of money to go to school for a long time (aka doctors) began her surgery around 6pm that night; nearly three years after her first transplant.

January 22 through February 17, 2011 - The surgery went well. The doctors described her getting that specific kidney as "hitting the jackpot." She had some other complications in the days following surgery, but her body accepted the new kidney well. Her creatinine levels returned to optimal levels and she was able to go home. She ended up not feeling well and had to go back to the hospital. Some stuff that only those smart people who paid a lot of money to go to school for a long time could explain happened. Mama Rose had to have more surgery. It was quite exhausting and hard on a body. Other complications came and then the sad news came that the "jackpot" kidney had to be removed. More surgery. Her body had been through it.

Today - Mama Rose has had even more complications and is flat worn out. She is, understandably, ready to feel better. She has been very tough throughout the process. She must have the pain tolerance of a (insert something that has a high pain tolerance).

Prayers to The Great Physician are appreciated. Mama Rose's body needs to be healed. The doctors need to be directed to make good decisions as they try to care for her.

We are so grateful that our families are here in Winston-Salem together. And that Russ has his own ruts carved in I-40 between here and Raleigh.

So that's the quick recap of the last 3 years with Mama Rose's kidneys. Papa Rose will begin to provide updates via this blog as new developments come about.

Thank you for your prayers and concern.

- Blake