Cleared for another 6

Mom and Pop are in Cleveland today and tomorrow to have check-ups with each doctor - liver and kidney. Today, they met with Dr. Miller - the surgeon who performed Pop's liver transplant. He is thrilled with Pop's recovery and progress. They aren't changing a thing - which is great news. He has been cleared for 6 months!! Tomorrow they meet with the kidney doctor, though I am not sure which one they will see.


Mom said that it was weird because there are certain things from the last year+ that she remembers super vividly, then other things that are foggy. I remember a lot of it, but I think that is because I was so far away - distance wise. Some of the things I remember the most:

1. Dr. Miller coming out and saying - "His new Liver looks great! There were no problems." 
2. Pop's ICU nurse answering the question, "Pop wants us to take his picture....can we even do that in here?" with, "I think this is a perfect Kodak moment."
3. Pop telling us about "everyone" trying to sit in one armchair in the hospital room. HaHa. You will have to ask him who it was lol.
4. The week of February 7th and 11th - when Pop and I got to celebrate our Birthdays together for the first time in 10 years.
5. Jacob asking Pop...."Hey Pop! You got boogers?" (precious, really....)
6. Pop telling us he was hot. Believe me... this was an awesome moment!

There are so many others, those are just a few of the ones I keep in my back pocket.

I will post an update once I hear from Mom tomorrow about the Kidney doctor.

Love to all!

~Susan

An Update....

Well Pop now takes Vacations, mows the lawn, dances in the basement, and makes horrible jokes about Shrubbery that basically has mom laughing herself into a coma. The man is doing REMARKABLY well!! We are all so grateful for everyone's prayers and support throughout the past year (It all started last April!). We just can't thank everyone enough.

Of course special thank yous and prayers go to some people who cannot be mentioned specifically, but I hope they know who they are and what they have done for our family and specifically Ray.

The Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic are thrilled with Pop's progress. He doesn't need to go back until June (I think). His last visit with both the Liver Team and Kidney Team was concluded with "See you in 3 months Ray!" That is always a good sign ;)

Mom has started back to work a few times a week, which is wonderful :) I know she is really glad to have a routine again and I think Pop likes the time alone without a "Honey Do" list haha.

This blog won't go away yet, but thankfully it will not be as active :O)

Love to all!!

~Susan, Jennifer, Karen, and of course..... Ray.

Home is Such an Amazing Place

It's been a few days since I've updated (*cough cough* sorry about that!)

Pop is doing GREAT! He has been home since last Friday and is doing wonderfully! Yesterday he and Mom had a checkup day at Cleveland and the Docs sent him home with smiles on their faces again.

He has a nurse come to the house 2 days a week to draw blood (gross!) and Physical Therapy will start today (in home) for a few weeks until the whole team of docs agree that he is strong enough to go to the lab and everywhere else.

I am heading home on Saturday for 8 days so that we can start celebrating... and we have a LOT to Celebrate! Over the course of 8 days we will celebrate:

• 2 birthdays
• 1 Christmas Eve
• 1 Christmas Day
• New Years
• And.... being healthy!

What great news to be able to share! I am thrilled to be able to tell you all such great news :) Pictures will be posted during or after this series of celebrations.... so stay tuned!

Love to all....

~Susan

Meds are a little too high....

Well Pop is doing great, with one little exception. The man is hallucinating. He is actually back at Cleveland right now for observations and adjustments to medications. One of his anti-rejection medications seems to be the culprit. This started a few days after he was discharged from the hospital, but all hoped that they would die down once his body and new organs adjusted. They hallucinations have become more frequent so he was admitted to the local Circleville hospital Tuesday for observations. Last night they transferred him up to Cleveland.

Mom wants me to stress that Pop is OK. She said in fact he is SO OK that the hallucinations are almost comical. He feels great, except for the sights and sounds. He is well aware that he is hallucinating and that they are not real, but they are causing him to not sleep and be pretty damn disoriented.

I will post more as I hear more. Again, no real reason for concern here. His organs are doing wonderfully.

Love to all...

Susan

The Eagle has Landed!

Mom and Pop are home sweet home! Pop says he hopes Mom can get some rest because she "has been going like a duck break-dancing on a hot plate" for weeks. hahaha.

Homeward Bound!!

Mom and Pop are GOING HOME!!! I just spoke with Mom. The kidney doctors are thrilled with Pop's progress! His Creatinine this morning is 1.76!! WOOHOO! They even removed his perma-cath from dialysis!

We are all so excited! YAY!

Waiting waiting waiting....

Waiting to hear from Mom and Pop this morning. Pop had routine bloodwork early then a 2nd follow-up appointment with the Kidney doctor at 8am (east coast time). Yesterday the Liver doctors said that they did not want to see Pop for 2-3 weeks and removed his staples. That means that the Liver team has cleared Pop to go home! Now we just need similar news from the Kidney folks :O)

Everything is going great for Pop. His new Kidney and Liver are behaving and functioning... what more could we ask for, right? His creatinine levels are dropping each day - as of Monday he was at 2.0. This is GREAT news. It means his Kidney is doing a great job! We are hopeful that it will drop further and further still.

I will post after I talk with my parental units ;)

Love to all!
~Susan

Discharged...

Pop was discharged yesterday!! As mentioned earlier, Mom and Pop are required to stay at the Guest House for 10-14 days yet so that Pop can get blood work done and go to various appointments. Also, it is much easier to be closer to the hospital just in case Pop needs anything.

So far so good... Mom says Pop is doing well and she is making him walk and move around more and more.

Hopefully the updates on here will be fewer and less frequent from now on :) I will post when anything changes.

Thanks again to all for the love and support :) Next step... getting Pop Home!!!