Finally I have a minute to share the news. Tony finally received
a kidney --
on August 18 (the day after his birthday) -- and he's doing great.
He was on
the list at Dallas Baylor Hospital for almost 3 years. Two months
ago, they
gave him the opportunity to also be listed on Grapevine Baylor's new
program.
That's where the call came from. Tony and his "kidney brother"
(the man who
received the other kidney from the same donor) were transplants #9
and 10 at
that hospital. Both kidneys began to work immediately.
Three years ago, we
were told the average hospital stay was 10 days and the surgery would
take
5-6 hours. Well, 3 years later, the surgery lasted 2 1/2 hours
and he was
released from the hospital on day 5! His Creatinine (I should
know how to
spell this one) level when he entered the hospital was 7.3 --
Friday it was
1.5. He now is seen at the Dallas Transplant Insitute 3 times
a week -- I
think they will begin decreasing this in the next couple of weeks.
That's
about 60-miles round trip, so I hope they cut that back soon.
Thank
goodness for FMLA! And thank goodness for prescription drug programs!
One
of his meds (Cytovene for some potential virus) is $1,500 for a 30-day
supply! Cost us $15. The cheapest med he takes (Prednisone)
causes the most
problems!
Oh well, such is life with a new kidney.
Visited the website yesterday. Looks good. Maybe soon I'll
be able to get
back to looking for photos.
Later,
mm
The website looks great. It's so nice to have all of this information in one place. Thanks to everyone whose efforts made this website possible.
As an update, Jeff has completed his MBA degree at the Amos Tuck School of Business (at Dartmouth). He has accepted a position as an Associate at Goldman, Sachs & Co in New York, which he starts in August. We'll be moving to New York City at the end of the month. I will start the job search once we get settled in our new home.
In the meantime we're doing a bit of traveling this summer, to Spain and Paris. Mom, Dad and Dorian are all doing well. They've been taking dance lessons and have started to do some competitions, as well. That's all of the news that I have for now. I'll try to keep you posted on what we're up to.
Meanwhile, have a great summer!
Neely
