Home at Last

All dressed and ready to go HOME! D'ya like the outfit I picked out for her? :-) 'cept the shoes and socks, which were courtesy of St Joseph Hospital. It took them awhile to process her out of the hospital. Not entirely unexpected. We stopped by Abe's Cafe in downtown Littleton on the way home, so I could pick up some of their tasty chicken lemon soup for her, in case she gets hungry later.

Bringing her home

I'm heading home now, then to hospital to get her.

New room

Kristan's definitely staying in hospital tonight. Probably most of tomorrow. And they moved her to 474. She seems pretty chipper, the foot seems to be healing and the swelling is going down. They're keeping her to try to get her glucose level down, which will help with the healing.

Out of surgery

She's out of surgery and into recovery. Doc said it went well.

Into surgery

K is heading into surgery. She's in pre-op now. Her toe is a mess, they're taking it in a few minutes. We didn't get much notice.

Extra dialysis

They took her off to an extra Dialysis. I headed home to try to get some sleep.

Not Osteomyelitis

No sign of osteomyelitis in her toe or leg. This is great news. I think.

Got the Fistulagram

She had a fistulagram appointment today, but they came to the hospital to do it instead. Nice of them.

Not a clot

Sonogram eliminated a clot as a suspect. Sounds like they'll continue IV antibiotics and schedule a consult with Ortho in the morning.

Not MRSA

Two specialists saw her, and they don't think it's one of those scary fast moving deep tissue infections. I'm guessing the toe wound she's had for awhile now, is heading south. She's on IV antibiotics now, two of em. I'm heading out to nap in the car for awhile.

Dec ER Visit

I brought Kristan to St Joseph ER after dialysis tonight, because her left leg is swollen and red, and the doc thought it might be a life threatening leg clot. The ER doc says it looks more like a foot infection. The leg is hot. They'll do an ultrasound to find out more.

Bittersweet news

Amazing. Now that K's been officially told she needs to be cancer-free for 5 years, before she can get back on the transplant list, in the past week, two kind souls have each offered up a kidney. So as wonderful as these offers are, they're just a bit too late to be of any near-term help.

Back on Chemo

K went in for a fistulagram, a small outpatient surgery, on the 4th. Her fistula had a narrow section, which they widened. She had strong bad reactions to the Gleevec during September, and her WBC dropped precipitously low. So her Oncologist took her off it for October. She seemed to have less symptoms, especially the nausea, as the Gleevec left her system. On Friday the doc reported her WBC is back up to the top of the "normal" range. He's put her back on Gleevec, but with a 25% reduced dose.

Bad Day

Thanks for checking the blog, and so sorry for not updating it lately. Lots of useless excuses. The main one is that I've been posting most of my news on Facebook this year. I keep trying and failing to remember to put some of it on this blog. Please make the effort to find me on Facebook. I'd love to stay in touch with you there.

Not such great news. Kristan was wound free for several months, but now has two foot wounds, apparently not too serious yet. She was diagnosed with CML (a form of bone cancer) on July 30, but they say they found it early and so it is very treatable. Still, this definitely takes her off the kidney/pancreas transplant list. The dentist told her today that the wound on the back of her tongue may be cancerous. I learned today that our company is dropping Kaiser Permanente from their options for health plans in 2012.

My Sister's been visiting the past Month, and keeping me busy with fun stuff after work. When Bob was here, we went biking three wonderful times, did lots of walks, and went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. Now that Bob's gone, Mikele's focusing on helping us out by going through our many storage boxes, and consolidating stuff. She's making huge progress. She also keeps me company, on my walks after work. We are so lucky to have her helping out.

Home at Last

Home at last! Now if I can only convince K to go to sleep...

Doing Better

I was walking into St Jo this afternoon, and (perfect timing) ran into them wheeling Kristan up from dialysis. She seems to be doing much better, but not really back to her usual baseline ( whatever that is :-/ ). They're planning on discharging her this afternoon, which past experience tells us probably means late evening. Mandy's waiting patiently out in the car for us.

St Jo Overnight

The CAT scan came back normal. So they decided to admit her overnight, and see how it goes. They also saw the high white blood cell count that KP has been reporting. They were thinking of doing a spinal tap, if she doesn't get better by the morning. I left around 2:30, after she was settled into room 467. By then, she was a little more lucid, but still very weak.

CAT Scan

No luck at the local KP. Nothing obvious in the lab tests. Now we're off to St Joseph hospital ER for a cat scan. Heh. Wish I were joking. Lab test. Cat scan.

Shaky and Confused

We're hanging out at KP urgent care this evening. K had a scary low blood sugar late this morning, and doesn't seem to be recovering all that well, still shaky and confused after too many hours. We asked them to check her over, and see if they can figure out what's going on.

Tests done

K says she's finished all the tests requested by Univ of Chicago. Last one was a Cardio stress test, which went well. So the recent high WBC count, and ongoing bouts of nausea, are the only sour notes I'm aware of.

Home the same night

The Swedish ER gave her IV fluid for dehydration with pain and nausea meds, and finally calcium to offset a deficit they found in her labs. She started feeling better very quickly, and her BP started dropping back toward normal. While we were waiting for some of her test results to come back, Freddie kept K company, and Ken walked with me and Mandy to Smashburger, to get a bite to eat. The iPhone app "Around Me" was helpful in finding a place to eat, within walking distance, in that unfamiliar area. Interestingly enough, the lab results didn't show a high white cell count, so maybe that's resolved. They decided not to admit her into the hospital, and sent us home just before midnight. K said she felt better than she has in awhile. However, she started getting nauseous again over the weekend, and is mostly back to the same old routine now.

K at ER

Just followed Littleton Paramedic truck #14 to Swedish Hospital. Kristan's been having major nausea and stomach pain, cold and clammy skin, and was feeling too miserable to even go on dialysis. They measured a super high blood pressure at dialysis, and we decided she'd be better off at an ER. I don't know where she is in the building yet.

Better maybe

K finished her round of antibiotics. No feedback yet, about whether or not it resolved the high white cell count.

Couldn't Last

K is fighting some kind of internal infection. White cell count is up, and she's having regular bouts of fever and night sweats. She's starting on a round of antibiotics today.

Tests

K is continuing to visit Kaiser one or more times a week, for the various tests ordered by Univ of Chicago, to verify that she qualifies to be back on their list for a dual kidney-pancreas transplant. Her feet have been healed for several months now, but I'm still trying to keep her off her feet, when we go out places, so they don't get injured again. She's more interested in walking carefully, using a cane, however. She's nauseaus much of the day, and often can't keep food down, probably due to gastroparesis.

Dog Dozing

Mandy joined me for a short sunning session on the deck this gorgeous Spring afternoon, after our breakfast walk w/Ken. We noticed that the Sterne Park lake is completely thawed, and shows no signs that it was frozen over for several months. Soon we'll have a few more choices for our morning walks, as the temperature begins to support comfortable outdoor seating.

Devastating News

We're feeling a little lost, after the bad news we got yesterday at Porter Hospital. Our supposed "orientation" meeting with the Doctor was really a blow-off session, during which he explained the high risks of Pancreas-Kidney transplant surgery. It's a "big" surgery, they've had two fatalities in the past five years, and she should seriously consider not doing it. He said something about Univ. of Chicago maybe shouldn't be saying they will do the surgery for her. While we were digesting all that, he explained that Porter's age policy prevents them from accepting her as a PK transplant patient, since she passed their age limit, while fighting the various foot wounds for the past few years. She's still eligible for a Kidney transplant, but Porter doesn't do those for Kaiser Permanente, so she will need to go back to Presbyterian St Luke if she still wants to do that. But thanks for coming, and have a nice day!

GOES-P Launched!

We launched D-348, a Delta IV rocket carrying the GOES-P weather satellite, after a late afternoon countdown and an unusually long 5-hour flight. See the writeup at SpaceFlightNow.

K Fighting Infection

K's been dealing with stomach pain for the past few weeks. A lab test last week indicated she's fighting an infection somewhere. They've put her on antibiotics, and she's been pretty much wiped out and sleeping through the days, giving it a chance to work. Both feet are still wound free. She's still not on the transplant list, but she's contacted her transplant coordinator, and I think they need to re-run a bunch of tests, to make sure she's still a qualified organ recipient. The likelihood is that she'll go onto Porter Hospital's list here in the Denver area this time, assuming their wait isn't way longer than Univ. Chicago's list.

Ken and I walked Mandy around Johnson Reservoir in Clement Park this morning, after enjoying a nice 2x2x2 breakfast at IHOP. It's both fun and frightening to realize I qualify for their Senior breakfast. It was nice to have the path finally be clear of snow and ice, after the past few months of slipping and sliding, and the occasional fall on the butt. I'm trying a new approach to dealing with Mandy's "Little Ms. Alpha Dog" approach to meeting other dogs on our walks. I'm picking her up just before we come face to face with another dog, which keeps her calm, but still gives her the chance to eyeball the other dog as it goes by. I want her to get used to having that moment go by quietly, instead of in a flurry of posturing. I dunno, maybe it'll help.

OK, I admit hockey gets exciting if you actually pay attention! I'm following the USA-Canada Olympic gold medal game on HD TV, as I get a few chores done. It helps to be able to see the puck!

Nice snow view

I couldn't resist snapping a panorama this morning, of the pretty view of the recent snow and the mountains.

Sterne Lake Frozen

Walking Mandy home from lunch at Blueberry's, I see that Sterne Lake is still completely frozen over, and has a nice fresh layer of snow. Only one new set of goose prints is visible.

Mandy at Blueberry's

Mandy and I walked down to Blueberry's for lunch, on this chilly day. Here she's wondering what else she can mooch from me, after polishing off half my sandwich. The Cheerio doesn't seem to be making the grade...

Walk

Ken and I enjoyed another cool snowy walk with Mandy around Johnson Reservoir at Clement Park, on this beautiful sunny day. Here's Mandy, just after checking out the shoreline. I still can't get over how cold it's been around here this Winter. Around here the lakes don't usually stay frozen for long, but it's been weeks, if not months, this time.

SDO Launched!

We launched AV-021, an Atlas V rocket carrying the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) payload, after an early morning countdown that started not long after midnight. See the writeup at Space Flight Now.

Johnson Reservoir

Ken and I took Mandy for a cold and snowy walk around Johnson Reservoir. The lake and the path are both frozen over, which made for a slippery adventure in walking. Mandy had a great time sniffing the snow, though. Can't stop her from having a good time, wherever she goes!

Sterne Park Lake

We passed through Sterne Park, on our way to Blueberry’s for lunch today. The lake is still frozen over, since we’ve had quite a cold spell this winter. Notice all the geese who took refuge on the ice in background, shortly after a rogue Italian Greyhound Chihuahua flushed them off the grass, a few minutes ago.

No visible progress yet, on getting K back on the kidney-pancreas transplant list. One assumes the wheels are turning in the invisible background. We’re still wrestling with the question of where to have it done. That might be a no-brainer, if once they get going on this, they assume we want it done at Porter Hospital here in Denver, instead of at University of Chicago.

The "H" Word!

I just finished watching the Apple Keynote video where Steve Jobs introduces the iPad tablet computer. Seeing a picture in the newspaper this week, and reading some of the hype written by journalists, I had no sense of just how cool it really is!

Mandy and I had a nice walk down to Blueberry's Cafe for lunch with Ken and Freddie this morning. Mandy got to flush some geese. Here's a picture of Goose (and other) footprints on Sterne Lake, which has been frozen over for some time. We watched Equilibrium, with Christian Bale, this evening. What a dark film.

Oh. And did I mention... K's doc finally got up the courage to use the "H" word. She's pronounced K's foot "Healed" from the surgery months ago. She'll be wearing some huge protective boots to protect her feet for the foreseeable future. But here's the really exciting part: The wheels are being put into motion, to get her back on the PK transplant list!

Recap

I apologize to those who've been following this blog, for the lack of timely updates. I've been on Facebook quite a lot this year, since I found out everyone in my Family is there, and I'm afraid the blog has suffered a bit. Here's a quick summary of what's been going on...

We're doing pretty well overall, although life continues to be somewhat complicated.

You may recall that K's left foot got infected a few months back, and they had to amputate her big toe. The surgery wound didn't heal for a long time, and it was looking pretty dicey for a while, but it's finally getting around to healing now. She's had foot wounds continually since late 2007, just about the time her kidneys failed, and they've prevented her from getting a transplant. After going so long, always with one wound or another on one foot or the other, we're starting to think that she may actually be back on the transplant list soon. An exciting but scary thought. The current plan is for the University of Chicago to do a dual Kidney/Pancreas transplant, but she may opt to change that and have the local Porter hospital do it here in Denver, to avoid having to travel to Chicago for three months, and all the associated logistical complications.

I bought K an iPhone for her birthday last October, and I think that's partly why her foot's finally healing. With the help of all the distractions available on the phone, she's been able to successfully stay off her feet most of the time for the past few months. Of course I had to get one too, since I figured she'd be looking to me for help on figuring out how to use it. ;-) These phones are very fun and useful too.

My Sister and her husband came to visit for two weeks after Christmas, and I took off some extra vacation time to be with them. We had loads of fun, roaming as far as Rocky Mountain National Park for a short day hike around Bear and Nymph lakes, in light blowing snow. After three weeks off for the holiday, it was a little difficult going back to work on the 11th! Bob returned home on schedule on the 10th, but Mikele offered to stay two extra weeks, to help us with the overwhelming task of organizing everything that was thrown into boxes, in preparation for finishing our basement in 2008. She's been a godsend, and with her help, some amazing progress has been made. I can finally use my new workshop, which has been piled high with "stuff" for the past year and a half. We'll really miss her after she leaves on Saturday. I bought her an iPhone too, a couple of days ago. It feels like the least I can do, after all the progress she's helped us make, over the past few weeks. She's very excited about it, since she's been lusting after ours while she's been here.

I just heard that Kiyoshi Hamai will be in the Denver area on Tuesday! We're talking about trying to get together for lunch.