One of my coworkers and good friends told me today, "I checked your blog and I can't tell you how happy it makes me that there isn't anything new to blog!"
It got me to think... and motivated me to post something new because you need to know how well things are going on the whole "Kidney Transplant Experience".
As many of you know... my mom was a travel agent before her retirement. Being from another country and having many experiences in other countries (including being
tri-lingual...) travel means a lot to my mom, and my dad has had many awesome experiences traveling with my mom.
One of their dreams for retirement was to be able to travel and experience different places. When my dad fell sick almost 3 years ago - the hopes of my mom and dad traveling were all but dashed. Dialysis kept them tied to a - 3 times a week at 4 hours each time - schedule.
Last week my folks ventured out for the first time on a real vacation... for 5 days! No hospital visit was required - this is HUGE guys! Here my dad talks about it in his own words...
Hey Guys:
So, Heidi, Shadow and I are in Glenwood Springs at the Ramada Inn this weekend. We came Wednesday and will go home late Monday. This is the vacation we wanted to take for years, but could never get out of town long enough because of medical appointments, dialysis etc. We are gradually freeing ourselves from them. We are at the Ramada because they will take our dog and they give us a free full breakfast every day. It is about 2 blocks from the Hotel Colorado. We plan to spend a lot of time in the soothing hot mineral waters, take a little trip to Grand Junction and Palisade, check out a couple of new wineries, attend an all Mozart concert and just crash. It is so good!
Rod
When I called them during their trip - my dad was so happy and told me they wanted to move in... right there into the hotel room... they were having such a good time!
It was FREEING for me. I have no other way to express it. FREEING - it was awesome!
As for me - I had an appointment for a 4 month (anniversary of the surgery) blood draw last week and my doctor told me that the blood work shows that my kidney is growing and taking on the role of both kidneys, even though there is only one of them. This is GOOD news as I was pretty worried about how much water I could possibly consume AND maintain control and peace in my classroom (bathroom breaks can wreck a sense of peace!) ... as my dad said - "It is so good!"
So there you have the very latest update. God has blessed us in so many ways!
In the last blog I wrote I asked you to keep my dear friend Kari in your prayers. She had been battling stage 4 breast cancer for the past 9 years. She fought the good fight and showed courage like none other. Two weeks ago - she passed away and now is throwing awesome parties in heaven (I know this because I went to some of her college parties... ;-) Kari was an awesome mother, wife and friend. She knew God and just before she entered heaven she said, "I'm in heaven now." This was such a profound piece of information for me to hear!
Please keep Kari's husband Eric and 9-year-old son Tanner (we call him "Little Tanner" since we also have a "Big Tanner" living here in our house) in your prayers as they figure out how to live with this loss in their lives. When I look at the people who are following my blog - Kari is one of them. It makes me very emotional.
Thank you for your faithfulness and your prayers. They mean a lot to all of us. I will keep you posted as I can. Thanks also for your patience!
Prayer Requests:
- Continued health and healing and strength gain for my dad.
- Thanks and praise that the surgeries were a success!
- Prayers of peace and healing for Kari's family (this includes her mom and dad and brother!)
Thanks you guys...
Blessings,
Monica
