I Didn't Think it Would be This Hard

Surgery took place today and the surgeon was pleased with the results. He removed the fluid which didn't look like much, but as he said....there isn't much space in there.

They did a biopsy in surgery and it doesn't appear that the kidney is being rejected. I hadn't realized this was a worry, but some of Dan's symptoms could be caused by rejection and it was nice to rule that out. A more complete biopsy will come back tomorrow.

Stevens said that Dan is a unique and complicated case (we all knew that) and that they need to take things one step at a time. We talked about all the different treatments he is undergoing and all the different side effects that drag him down. He talked about slowing this down and giving him time to recover. He was going to look into it and see if it was possible.

Dan is hanging in there pretty good....he's mentally strong and optimistic and always inquisitive....but he's just so tired and worried. This morning he told me, "I didn't think it was going to be this hard...." I feel so badly for him.

This non-compatible kidney transplant is a very complicated undertaking. We knew there would be detours on the way and we haven't had too many so far. Hopefully we are back on track.