MrGee's Kidnees

Good news .....

2011-06-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

Another donor!
A lady, who's husband gave a kidney to his best friend, has offered her kidney to MrGee.The first couple of tests have gone well, but we still have a long way to go.So many issues are surfacing at the moment..... please keep us in your prayers ... we desperately need God's intervention in many areas of our lives.

Hope revived.

2011-05-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

After a few dissapointments MrGee and I are feeling hopeful again! A lady from our community has come forward and is very excited about giving him a kidney. The first tests confirm that she is a match and this following week she will have an interview with the doctors. So the process starts again.

Another test

2010-11-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

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.......

2010-07-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

Foolin' around in his 'cowboy boots' !

And so we wait .......

2010-05-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

...... 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?

2010-05-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-04-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

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.....

2010-04-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

....... 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

2010-03-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-03-12T09:13:00.000-08:00

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......

2010-03-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-03-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-12T08:28:00.000-08:00

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 .................

2010-01-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

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......

2010-01-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

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.

After his fistula procedure.

2009-12-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

Miss Tanzi was scared of the goodies attached to her Daddy, and for the first few minutes she wouldn't touch him. Eventually she hopped on the bed and was back to her normal bubbly self!
The procedure went well and the fistula is looking good. For the first four days after surgery he was in alot of pain(mainly from the lumen dialysis port that was put in his neck) but now he is feeling alot better .... although he still can't lift his right arm above his head(it's too painful).

Say no to toxins!

2009-12-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

As I write this, Boyd is having his second haemodialisis. After his first one he sms'd me " I feel great, it feels like I have rocket fuel in my blood!" He also commented "I am even thinking clearer."

Picture of good health..............

2009-12-17T10:10:00.000-08:00

This pic was taken 3 weeks ago.......................................

Today Boyd's vascular surgeon told him that he looked too healthy to have kidney failure! I agree.... this 41 year old (who is starting dialysis tomorrow morn) looks in blooming good shape!!!! hehe ........ I believe it's his good mental state, people's ardent prayers and God's grace that are sustaining him. Thank you Jesus.

Boyd had the fistula procedure done in his wrist today.Because his creatinine levels have sky rocketed and the fistula will only be ready for use in 6-8 weeks, they had to do an emergency neck catheter so that he can start dialysis tomorrow. Once the fistula is mature(6-8 weeks), they will dialysise through the veins/artuaries in his arm twice a week.

keep ya posted ......

Prep. for dialysis......

2009-12-17T04:55:00.000-08:00

As I write this, Boyd will be coming out of theater. He went in to have a fistula created in his wrist so that he can start dialysis as soon as possible.

Gout ....?

2009-11-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

Ten days ago Boyd started getting a pain in his left foot.
(Backtracking........)
This foot has had two operations on it. Apparently when he was a young teenager he dropped a brick on it and broke one of his foot bones. Then in his late teens, he had to have an operation on this foot because he had developed osteomylitis in the broken bone. I also remember him getting the streptococcus virus in this same foot 6 years ago.
(Back to the future..........)
The pain got so bad that he drove himself to the hospital at midnight! He came back with a diagnosis of GOUT and a couple of pills. Still the pain persisted, and Boyd was not convinced that it was gout.... he was sure it was a reoccurance of osteomylitis.The next morning our local GP administered a strong anti-inflammatory jab and diagnosed gout. Even though Boyd is meant to stay away from anything anti-inflammatory, he was in such agony that they gave it to him anyway.
Two days later he was at the emergency room for another jab! They did blood tests, and discovered his uric acid levels in his blood were sky high. Yip, another symptom of bad kidney function.
He has had to incorporate more alkaline foods into his diet so that his system becomes less acidic.
Since he has started doing this the pain has started to lessen.

Good News times two !

2009-11-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our boys had blood taken to check the state of their kidneys. Because this strain of Nephrotic Syndrome seems to be quite prevalent in Boyd's side of the family, we decided to have the two boys tested. Their kidneys are just fine ..... hallelujah! We were worried because Cooldude's urine was very foamy ..... this can be a sign that too much protein is present in his blood. Another bit of good news, is that Boyd's latest test results show that his kidney function has slightly improved ...... another hallelujah !!

Pre-Transplant Evaluation

2009-10-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

Boyd goes for a series of tests tomorrow. When he explained the procedures to me I understood why he had been putting them off! I won't go into any detail but let me just say I would feel pretty embarrassed and vulnerable if I had to be so exposed! Before a transplant the patient has to have an intense check-up.

Our belief ......

2009-10-03T11:10:00.001-07:00

We are Christians and believe in God's healing power, but we also realize that we live in a fallen world and bad stuff happens to God fearing Christians. We can choose to spend our energy on trying to "move the mountain" or we can acknowledge what is happening and take on the wave, knowing that Jesus will NEVER leave us no matter how hectic the ride may become. That's where we are at ......

Bringing you up to speed ......

2009-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Since March 2007 Boyd has been watching his diet, monitoring his blood pressure & cholesterol, and exercising regularly. Even though he has been making the right choices we recently received news that he is now in End Stage Kidney Disease (Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease).

How we found out .....

2009-10-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

In March 2007 I joined the Sure Slim Wellness Clinic to lose weight. Boyd signed up too, not so much to lose weight, but more as an encouragement for me. Due to the fact that the eating plan includes more protein than an average diet, they took blood to check our kidney function. A week later Boyd got a call from Sure Slim. The results showed that he was in severe renal failure and he was to get to his Doctor immediately! * SHOCK*

The Doctor was quite confused with the report as Boyd did not display and visible signs of kidney failure .... eg. swollen ankles/legs and nausea. He was sent for a re-run of the exact same tests ..... the results came back the same.
Cholesterol .... 9
Blood Pressure ..... extremely high
Creatinine .... 260 umol/L
eGFR .... 23 mL/min

Boyd was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome and told he was in Stage 4 Kidney Failure.

* TOTAL SHOCK *

" ...... we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3

I'm keeping it real!

2009-10-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

I will endeavour to be honest in every post. My writing will report about the 'ups' and the 'downs' of Boyd's kidney failure. Some weeks there may be less good news and a whole lot of bad news. But that is what comes with being real!
I have been blogging elsewhere for 4 years and I have always kept it upbeat and light, but here I want to tell it as it is!
I hope this blog will be a source of information as well as an encouragement to others that are going through similar situations.

A new chapter unfolds ........

2009-10-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yes .... and so it has ! This blog is about Boyd and his failing kidneys. Boyd is my husband of 15 years and my best friend. We have had many different hurdles to overcome in our marriage. Some we have taken in our stride yet others we are still attempting to negotiate successfully! Are we going to throw in the towel .... no ways ..... we are both fighters(in the good sense) and stubborn! This new chapter in our lives will bring tears, heartache, laughter and joy but we will embrace it with full assurance that the Lord is with us every step of the way.

" ...... we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3