Monday, March 28

Karen felt better this morning but not quite as good tonight. She still doesn't have much of an appetite but recognizes the need to eat to regain her strength. We are excited that she is home but also recognizing that she still has a long way to go and this recovery will take time! Please pray for an improved appetite and increasing strength.

Going forward I will only plan on posting new updates here every couple of days as things change. Thanks again for your prayers and support!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Sunday, March 27

We are still celebrating having Karen home.  She is not feeling too good today and having to really push herself to eat.  Climbing the steps continues to be a challenge, but getting a bit easier each time.  Thanks to all of our friends who have offered to assist with transportation to/from appointments and dialysis when I am at work.  We already have all of next week covered and part of the following week.

 

Rusty

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Saturday, March 26

It is great having Karen home! She slept great last night (her first night in her own bed in 2 months). Those $60k ICU beds aren't all they are cracked up to be! The stairs in our house are challenging right now until she gets her strength back, but she managed them fine...just took it slow and easy.

She is now scheduled for hemo dialysis from 6:30am-9:30am on Tue/Thu/Sat so I took her there this morning. Once she heals up from all the surgeries the plan is to go back to peritoneal dialysis (at home every night) which will help her return to a more normal schedule.

Enjoy your weekend and time with your family. I know we will!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Karen is Home!

It is hard to believe it but Karen is really home! We got to the house about 3:30 this afternoon. Russ walked in the door at 4:30 from NC State and surprised Karen! This was a total surprise to both of us.

We are looking forward to a great weekend together at home.

Thanks once again for all of your prayers and support! GOD IS SO GOOD!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Going Home! March 25

One of the residents from the transplant team just came by and told Karen that they are sending her home today (sometime this afternoon)! They have been talking about this for several days, but I haven’t said a lot about it since things seem to change from day to day. They feel like she is doing well enough that she doesn’t need to go through rehab. She is also feeling much better today. This is exciting for her to be able to go home, but also a bit scary for both of us as we test her limits with stairs, walking, etc. But God has been there for us through all of this and we know that he will continue to watch over us as we take this next big step!

Please pray for continued increasing strength for Karen and peace as we take this next step. Some of you have already offered to assist us with taking Karen to dialysis three days/week, doctor visits, etc. so we will certainly be calling on some of you!

There were some days when I didn’t know if this day would ever come. Once again, praise God for all that he has done it this situation!

Rusty Rose

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Thursday, March 24

Karen is not feeling quite as good today, but she did make an entire lap walking around this floor...her longest walk yet. She is also a bit frustrated. It is 5:30pm and she has been waiting all day to go to dialysis. It takes 3 hours once they start so it will be well into the evening at best before she gets back to the room and can go to sleep.

Now that she is in a regular room, she enjoyed the opportunity to see our grandbabies! (Livy and Maya Wednesday and Kessler Thursday). This brightened her days.

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Moving on Up! Wednesday, March 23

Karen “graduated” to a regular room today!  She is feeling good and eating well and the change in scenery lifted her spirits.  Before the move she took a short walk with me down the hall and did very well.  I was also able to take her up in a wheelchair for a short visit in the sunshine on the 12 floor open air terrace before it got cloudy and windy and too cool.  She seemed to really enjoy that as well. 

 

The doctor said that they are still trying to get her into rehab but feel like the Sticht Center was reluctant to take her directly from Intermediate Care Unit (IMC).  He said that either they will decide to now take her into rehab (now that she is on a regular floor) or they may decide she doesn’t need it and send her home without rehab (but not without spending at least a few days in a regular room).  I will keep you posted on that.

 

I know that she wants to see all of you soon, but she is still not ready for visitors at this point as she needs to concentrate on continuing to regain strength and continue her recovery.

 

Praise God (again!) for all the blessings he has given us!

 

Rusty

 

 

 

 

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Tuesday, March 22

Karen had dialysis today (this time they took her to the dialysis area in the hospital instead of doing it in the room). She came back feeling pretty good this time and ate a pretty good dinner as well.

Supposedly the doctors are going to enter an order tonight to move her to a regular room on the transplant floor but right now there are no beds available. So we wait! There is still talk of moving her to rehab at some point but that seems to be moving slowly (Baptist Hospital certainly teaches you to be patient!)

Karen is growing stronger each day and more able to move around on her own. If they wait long enough for rehab we may not need it!

Please pray for increased strength and encouragement. The long hospital stay is wearing on her a bit but she is hanging in there knowing we are getting closer to bringing her home!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Monday, March 21

Believe it or not, today marks two months that Karen has been in the hospital (with the exception of one week at home). She has been through a lot but we are very thankful for how far she has come!

Today is another good day and Karen is feeling good. We are still waiting on whether she will move and where!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Sunday, March 20

Karen is about the same today as yesterday. She ate a decent breakfast and lunch and is feeling pretty good. Unfortunately we spent most of Saturday waiting for the dialysis folks to show up and were not able to get her outside. Maybe we can get her back out when the weather warms up again.
Doctors are still considering moving her to a regular room or to Sticht Center early in the week. Sticht Center will be evaluating her next week to make sure she is ready for rehab.

To our P/B Sunday School class: Karen L will be out of town next week and not able to notify you when I update the blog, but I think you all are used to it now and can just check the site from time to time on your own:

www.karenskidneys.blogspot.com

The latest post is always at the top with previous posts shown on the right side. Thanks so much to Karen L for her dedication in doing this up to now!

Great to see many of you in church this morning and so much appreciate all the prayers and support!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Saturday, March 19

Friday we got to take Karen out on a patio in the sunshine for about 30 minutes and she loved it (first time she has been outside in about 6 weeks). Her comment: "This is better than any drug!" She even got a little bit of pinks in her cheeks from the sun.

Yesterday was a really good day (best day yet) and today seems equally good. Karen ate a big breakfast and is feeling good. Then mid-morning she sent me to get her a bag of Cheetos and then ate a baked potato from Wendy's for lunch. We are extremely thankful for the appetite (a definite answer to prayers!). We had hoped to get her back outside today, but have to work around her dialysis which is scheduled for the afternoon. She also sat up and read the newspaper today and I plan to bring her some books from home (from her personal librarian, Teresa's!)

The doctors are still considering moving her to the Sticht Center (rehab) early next week, but believe they will keep her in IMC through the weekend just to be safe. We are good with this and this will also avoid two moves.

Hope you enjoy the nice weather today. We hope to as well!

Rusty

Saturday, March 19

Friday we got to take Karen out on a patio in the sunshine for about 30 minutes and she loved it (first time outside in 6 weeks). She even got a little bit of pink in her cheeks from the sun.

Yesterday was a really good day (best day yet) and today has started off great as well. Karen ate a really big breakfast and is feeling good. We hope to get her back outside today but have to work around dialysis this afternoon.

The doctors are still considering moving her to Sticht Center rehab early next week, but believe they are going to keep her in IMC through the weekend just to be safe. We are good with this and this also avoids two moves.

Hope you all enjoy the nice weather today. We hope to as well!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Friday, March 18

Karen is feeling much better today. She ate really well at breakfast. They have also removed her feeding tube and she has not had oxygen support for several days!

The doctors just came around and they are considering moving her to the Sticht Center (rehab) early next week. Sticht center will evaluate her again to make sure she is ready. They are keeping her in IMC for at least another day but may move her to a regular room over the weekend as an intermediate step.

The nurses got permission for her to go outside today. I am taking a day of vacation today to spend the day with her so we plan to take her to the rooftop terrace sometime this afternoon to enjoy our 80 degree day.

God is so good!

Alert: I may not be able to post an update Saturday due to unavailability of work email!

Rusty

Thursday, March 17

Karen is not feeling quite as good today, but probably because it is time for dialysis again (treatment started after lunch). She did eat some breakfast this morning and walked down the hall a little further than yesterday. She has also been without her oxygen (nose cannula) since last night and has maintained her oxygen levels in her blood! Another step forward.

The doctors are beginning to discuss the next step and trying to decide if she should go to rehab before going home. We will be ok either way, as long as things continue to improve as they have this week.

We have so much to be thankful for!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Wednesday, March 16 - Another Good Update

Ashley went by at lunch time to see Karen and reports that she was sitting up in the chair again (2^nd time already today) and eating some lunch (still not a lot, but much better than previously).  In addition, PT had her walking down the hall using a walker!  This is a HUGE improvement since she could not even stand up by herself last week.  Just wanted to share the good news with all.

 

Rusty

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Wednesday, March 16

When I got to the hospital this morning, Karen was sitting up in the chair and eating a little bit of breakfast.  She didn’t eat a lot, but was taking the initiative on her own.  The fact that she ate anything and did it on her own without being pushed, is a big step forward.  She continues to be very alert and breathing well (still with the nose cannula) and her wonderful sense of humor is back.  She keeps the nurses laughing!  They started PT yesterday and she seemed to do well with that.   

 

I really feel like we are heading in the right direction.  She is still not quite ready for visitors (plus visitors are limited to immediate family in the IMC unit) but don’t think she is too far off from being ready to see some of you.  We will let you know, but this will probably have to wait until she gets moved to a regular room or rehab.  Praise God for all of the healing and improvement we have seen!

 

Today is Russ’s 19^th birthday, so we are excited about that even though he is back in Raleigh.  Happy Birthday, Russ!

 

Rusty

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Tuesday, March 15

Karen is having another good day today, alert and breathing well with just the nose cannula for oxygen!  That makes three good days in a row now, so feeling good about that.  She even spent several hours yesterday without any supplemental oxygen and did ok.   They did a “mini” dialysis treatment on Monday to pull off extra fluid then her regular dialysis treatment today.  The purpose is to manage down her fluid retention which seems to be working and helping.  They plan to start doing some physical therapy with her today or tomorrow to build back strength.  At this point she is very weak and unable to stand on her own but physical therapy should help address that.  Still no appetite!  The plan is to keep her in IMC (Intermediate Care) for the time being.  With all she has been through, they want to be cautious before moving her to a regular room where she is not monitored as closely.  We certainly agree with that plan.

 

We are thankful for these steps forward!

 

Rusty

 

 

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Monday 3/14

Karen is having another good day today. When I arrived she was sitting up in bed watching Jeopardy and answering questions! Very alert and breathing well. We are hopeful that she has taken another step forward from the slump last week.

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Sunday

Last night and this morning Karen has been more alert and conversational. Her breathing also seems to be easier than it was earlier in the week. We pray that this is a permanent improvement and not just another "up" in the up/down recovery cycle. Regardless we are thankful for the improvement and celebrating today and not worrying about tomorrow (Matthew 6: 34).

She is still in IMC (Intermediate Care) and fluid management is the primary focus right now as well as nutrition. She still has no appetite but continues to receive tube feedings.

The outpouring of prayers, cards, well-wishes and support is amazing! Thank you all.

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Saturday Morning

Karen seems to be breathing better this morning.  She is having her dialysis treatment this morning, so very sleepy but seems to be feeling a bit better than the last few mornings.  My understanding is that in an attempt to reduce fluid retention, they may be doing some “mini” dialysis treatments between normal Tue/Thur/Sat treatments.  These will be shorter than the normal 3 hour treatments and the goal will be fluid reduction. 

 

Rusty

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Friday Noon

No real changes today.  Doctors are continuing to see what can be done to accelerate her recovery.

 

Rusty

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Thursday Early Afternoon

Karen’s breathing has been much better today than yesterday, but she had dialysis early this morning which usually helps this by removing excess fluid.  They pulled off a bunch of fluid through her dialysis so this has left her very tired.  She is mostly sleeping today, but will wake up and answer questions.  The transplant doctors came by this morning and did say they are concerned that she isn’t progressing this week and will be doing some additional tests to see if they can get things moving.  She still has some level of pneumonia (has actually increased some) so they are considering changing meds for that.  She is also retaining a lot of fluid in her abdomen which contributes to the breathing issues.  They will be running some tests on that as well to see if they can address that.  Still no appetite.

 

Rusty

 

 

---

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Wednesday PM

Karen's breathing has improved as the day progressed but the hard breathing has really worn her out.

The last few days seem to be a step or two backwards but I think we have to expect some of that on this long journey to recovery. We just remind ourselves that God is still in charge and working in this situation!

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.

Wednesday Noon

Not as good a day as we had hoped for. Karen has had some difficulty breathing again this morning. Some tests are being run to determine cause and treatment.

Rusty

This transmission is intended only for use by the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient you should not read, disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way use the information contained in this transmission. The information contained in this transmission may be confidential and/or privileged. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this transmission including any attachments.