A New Drain

The new drain was put in today...and interestingly enough it is in a new pocket of fluid We thought the "old" pocket of fluid had filled up again but that was not the case. I guess these pockets easily form after lymph glands have been cut.

Dan feels tired, he had a fever for a while, and spent most of the day waiting for the procedure. However the procedure is done and he feels good now He is drinking his Diet Root Beer, has his Bronco blanket on the bed, and is talking to his sons....so all is well.

The Latest News

We got good news here today...

As you recall they pulled the drain from his stomach area. Well unfortunately that area has filled up with as much fluid as he had previously and pushed on the kidney which made it unhappy and caused the creatinine to go up which made him sick so he didn't eat or drink so the creatinine to go up even more and it was just a vicious circle. They will put a drain in tomorrow so that will be good.

The bad infection (VRE) has improved (I think) and he has a new infection which was immune to the tough antibiotic he was taking for the VRE.

They want us to "hang out" until Thursday or Friday when the blood cultures will be back as they want to get a handle on the infection which is O.K. with me. They think we might be dismissed on Friday or Saturday.

Dan and his room-mate are getting along fine....each has a laptop and they've had lots of good conversations. I am trying not buy every cute thing in the gift shop.

Back in Omaha

Yes we are back in Omaha....and even the medical people say, "You're back already!" Quite honestly it is pretty discouraging.

Sunday was a difficult day. Dan had all the symptoms that he'd had in December and we didn't need the Monday morning blood tests to know that we were heading back to Omaha. Unfortunately I was sleep deprived because I had been up checking on Dan (and couldn't sleep anyway) so friends Dick and Harlan drove us down.

They've already done an ultrasound and numerous more blood tests so I guess we are waiting for test results.

We will post as soon as we know something. There is wireless internet in the hospital rooms so Dan can surf the net Thank you for all your kind thoughts....we truly appreciate them.

The Incredible Shrinking Man

The old body is shrinking.....23 lbs since Dec. 18. I know, it is hard to believe but due to a powerful diuretic, that is how much water I have lost. My left leg is normal size and my right is much improved. I can now go up and down a few stairs at a time, and my walking has improved 500% over the last several days.

Dr. Wakefield removed the drain that was inserted into a hydrocele near my kidney....what a relief not to contend with that anymore.
Yesterday I was able to tie my shoes, do some laundry, and cook supper.......tying the shoes was a huge accomplishment.

In case any of you are interested I found out that the initial cause of my kidney problem in Dec. was a disease called Hemoytic Uremic Syndrome complicated by a very nasty e. coli systemic infection.

Great news from yesterday's check-up

The check up in Omaha yesterday was great, I could not have wished for better news. My creatinine was down to 2.0 (normal) which indicates that the kidney has made a remarkable recovery. My doctors were amazed that the kidney could recover from the extensive damage suffered last month. I only hope that things continue to go well.

I still have a bladder infection.....the bug was resistant to the anti-biotic that I was taking, so I am now on a new one. Get this, I got 14 pills and the bill was $1023.00.....thank you Blue Cross!!!!! My strength continues to improve, in fact it is time for me to go exercise and lift weights.

Several more thank yous that I have been remiss in giving. The transplant team at UNMC is fantastic! I owe my recovery to the quick and decisive action of Dr. Stevens and Dr. Wrenshall. These two doctors are among the best transplant surgeons in the United States. They honestly care about their patients. The caring shown by the transplant team P.A.s, Residents, and Fellow was also excellent. Finally a big hug and thank you to the nurses at Clarkson and the Red Cross plasmapheresis team.

I Should be tarred and feathered.....

.....run out of town on a rail, or maybe even forced back to middle school to substitute teach math. All of these punishments would be appropriate for forgetting to thank the most important person in the world.

Three weeks of getting me blankets, helping me eat, helping me to the bathroom, giving me sponge baths, finding the remote control, bringing the morning papers, smuggling a Big Mac and fries into the room (an absolute no-no for a renal diet), helping me take my first steps with a walker, sitting for 2 days never leaving my bedside while I was on a ventilator, spending 15 hours a day sitting in my room keeping my spirits up, and many other things to numerous to mention.

THANK YOU!!!....my darling wife.

Things are getting better

Well, after being home for a week, I can report that things are looking up. The key measurement of kidney function is the amount of creatinine in the blood....normal is 1.0 to 1.8 for someone with totally normal kidneys. Mine was 9.0 when I went to the hospital. Dr. Stevens said that he had hope that it would recover to the 4.0 range. Thanks to all of your prayers my latest creatinine was 2.3 yesterday!!! From a damage ratio of 69%, it looks like the kidney is recovering far beyond my wildest dreams.

Why the turnaround? I don't believe for a minute that it was any "magical" medications.....I am better because of the prayers and support from all of you. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I would like to personally thank all of you.....I am afraid though, that if I start naming names I would leave someone off. I will take a chance and name the Class of 60, Dave, Cheryl, Yvonne and Glen, the 25th St. McDonalds Coffee Club and all our wonderful friends and colleagues at Kearney Public Schools. Finally, the biggest thank you goes out to our wonderful family. Dave and Andrea Mahalek, Jim and Bridget Mahalek, and Chris and Sara Mahalek. Sandy's sisters Joan Pursley and Kathy Pleninger have been wonderfull.....thanks to all of you.

The other good news is that I am recovering my strength through physical therapy and weight lifting, and my "elephant legs" are starting to shrink.....not much, but anything is better than it was.

Its time for an update......

Well, troops, it is going to be impossible to do this update simply or quickly, so I have picked the haphazard method. Dec. 18....I became very seriously ill and was rushed to Omaha with organ rejection. ...was put on a ventilator for 3 days....had emergency dialysis.....tons of drugs for two unknown infections that became system septic....Eventually discovered that I had e.coli....two weeks to get under control.....kidney is severely damaged.....we don't know how long it will last, maybe a year or two...got discharged Sun....missed all the bowl games, playoffs, and Christmas. I am home but am very weak with tubes sticking out of my stomach, and huge legs from the edema.