Another test

MrGee is going into hospital tomorrow for a gastroscopy.This is an examination of the inside of the gullet, stomach and duodenum using a fibre tube inserted via the mouth.
His Dr is concerned about the drop of haemoglobin in his blood and wants to find out what is causing this.

His blood readings are looking great!

MrGee is doing well on dialysis. He is doing 5 three hour sessions a week and the docters are shocked at how good his blood readings are. His phosphate, creatine, urea, calcium and potassium levels are those of a normal person !!!!! Unfortunately his haemoglobin levels have dropped resulting in him feeling a little out of sorts. He says he can feel his heart beating in his ears. For now he has had to stop all cardio until his haemoglobin levels increase.

Another blow

My Cousin, who came forward offering her kidney to MrGee, let us know this week that she is not able to donate.One of her family members is not happy with her giving up a kidney.

Yes, MrGee is very disappointed.

God knows what MrGee needs and we will hold onto hope and the knowledge that God makes everything perfect in His time!

Waiting is so hard though .........

MrGee's helpers

Here are the nurses who look after MrGee when he is hooked into 'The Matrix'.... ie the dailysis machines.

It was civies day. MrGee is very grateful for this dedicated bunch!

Hopeful news

The nephrologist in Jozi says we can try again in 3 months to see if Candice and MrGee are compatible! Now isn't that good news?

Why the Dr in Bloemfontein didn't mention this I have no idea........ he just said it's a no-go and that was that! It pays to get a second opinion and questions answered!

Another bit of exciting news is that Heather,my cousin, has come forward to donate her kidney. She is really keen and MrGee is feeling good about it.

Sad news.......

Today MrGee heard from the kidney facilitator that his donor was not compatible after all. Yes.... after all the many tests that returned positive as a match, they have now detected some antibody in either Mrgee's or the donors blood that will cause MrGee's body to reject this particular donor's kidney. We are all very sad indeed and would appreciate your prayers.

Learning to cope

MrGee is feeling a lot better since his haemoglobin levels have returned to normal. However, he does tend to be a little grumpy or irritated after a dialysis session. This is something we have all had to accommodate. I have learnt not to bombard MrGee with too much talk, the kids have realized they can't be so demanding and MrGee knows that when he feels this way the best place to be is .......... relaxing in a warm bath.

We heard from the Kidney Facilitator that the transplant could take place within the next two months. Good news! ............ Now MrGee has to get his head around this!!!!

Latest pics of MrGee

Foolin' around in his 'cowboy boots' !

And so we wait .......

...... all tests are done and the paper work has been lodged with the government. Mrgee's kidney facilitator told us it takes about 2 months for approval ...... but today I heard from a friend (who is donating his kidney), that it can take as long as 6 months for approval!

At the bottle?

Mrgee has always had a very fair skin tone .... apparently it's due to Norwegian blood on his father's side. This past summer we were outdoors(boating,surfing,beaching) a lot more than usual, so WizzKid, MrGee and myself hit the bottle of fake tan. Yes it's true .... brown fat looks a whole lot better than white fat!

A couple of months later cooler temperatures snapped us out of the bronzing frenzy and we quickly returned to our milky white hues. Then a couple of weeks ago I asked MrGee if he had secretly been at the bottle again??? He assured me he was 'clean' but I remained suspicious as he looked so much browner!
Then a couple of days later he returned home from the hospital with news that the level of haemoglobin(iron) in his blood had increased dramatically. This was wonderful news!! The iron injections MrGee had been getting every second day had worked .... this would mean that he would not need the blood tranfusion that doctors had warned us about! .... *light bulb moment* .... I googled and yip it was true .... the extra heamoglobin in MrGee's blood was not only saving him from having a blood transfusion, but it was also giving him a radiant tan!

Candice is a match!!

MrGee and I are overwhelmed! All that needs to happen now is for the government to okay the procedure. This should take between 4 weeks and 2 months. Once it has been okayed, MrGee can book his date for the transplant. It all seems so surreal! Thank you Lord!

The donor has a name.....

....... and it is Candace. This brave lady came forward believing she must be obedient to God and offer her kidney to Mrgee. We are so grateful for her courage.
As I write this Candace is in hospital having the set of extensive tests required to determine whether she is a match/compatible for donating her kidney. So far the results have pointed towards her being a suitable match. I can sense MrGee is trying not to get too excited till he hears the final result tomorrow arvi!

He met the donor

MrGee met with his prospective donor a couple of days ago. He flew up to Bloemfontein a little skeptical, but after meeting her and her husband he felt so much happier about the situation. He told me 'she seemed pretty normal.' ...... I mean what did MrGee expect her to be like?(that's funny). So far they are compatible but we've got a long road ahead of us. Our level of excitement has definitely moved up a small notch!

Early stages ... but we are all feeling quite excited!

My mom in law phoned MrGee this morning with news that a woman in their church feels led to donate her kidney to him !!!!
I will keep you posted ..........

Good bye......

Oh my greatness .... MrGee will be so glad to see the last of this heamodialysis neck catheter.




For almost 4 months MrGee has taken absolute care of this neck duct. He has had to make sure it remains dry and clean at all times. That has meant no swimming, showering or excessive sweating from a spinning session! Three things MrGee LOVES to do. But it looks like this catheter will be removed within the next week. Wahooo!

What the heck!

MrGee has every right not to look impressed ..................... This is the result when a nurse puts the dialysis needle into a vein and, negligently, out through the other side of that same vein! Initially this botch-up gave MrGee a huge lump on his forearm near his fistula. A few days later .... the lump reduced in size but the underneath of his arm bruised up badly. The Doc was furious with the nurse and threatened to report her!

A for Attitude!

We went away for the mid term break to Midmar Dam. What a wonderful place to relax and enjoy some water sports. On the Saturday MrGee had to book into hospital for a dialysis session. He woke up at 4:30 in the morning travelled an hour by car to Pinetown .... dialysised for 4 hours and travelled back to our resort chalet. He continues to keep positive and up beat about the whole issue. We could all take a lesson or two from this guy.

After arriving back at Midmar Dam he took us all out for a jaunt on the water. He couldn't enjoy the water and the tubing as he still has the dialysis tube in his neck. After an hour or two on the water we moored the speed boat and returned to the chalet. MrGee had to lie down as he had a headache and felt nauseous due to dehydration.

In a week the dialysis tube in his neck will be removed, and I know he will be alot happier!

Fistula is looking good!

It's been nine weeks since MrGee had his fistula procedure and today is the first time they are going to dialysise through the fistula.He is so looking forward to the removal of the dialysis pipes in his neck. He desperately wants to get back to gym!

Not a good day .................

MrGee is a very positive guy. He always has been. If he is faced with a challenge, he will take on the issue with an upbeat attitude always expecting the outcome to be a good one.
With that said, I can see that the dialysis is getting him down already. He said a couple of days ago that he feels slightly depressed after he has his 4 hour dialysis session. This morning he said he was feeling totally flat , he even cancelled going to one of our friends birthday parties this evening!! He says he just doesn't want to have to talk about his kidney. I'm feeling so sad for him. I asked what I could do to help him feel better ...... he sad that there was nothing I could really do ...... mmmmmm

Our first visit......

Only after MrGee's second week of dialysis was he comfortable with us coming into the dialysis room to have a look-see.......

MrGee is attached to the blue machine on the right. The cylindrical tube in the middle of the photo acts as his kidney, filtering out all the junk from the blood. He connects to this machine every third day for a 4 hour session.