April 16, 2010

August 17, 2010

I got a call today from the transplant coordinator letting me know that Max's transplant date has been set. She told me August 17th. I have to admit though that I was far from excited to hear this. I as nicely as I could ask what happened to July. She told me that they are having a hard time getting all of the surgeons lined up for July but that there are two days that are still in question. She told me that she would continue to see if we can get one of those two days.

I know I am being a pain in the ass, but we were told at the beginning of this whole process that one of the benefits of having a live donor is that we can schedule the surgery for when it works best for us and Max. So why do we want July? Our primary reason is so that Max has time to heal and adjust to his new medications before flu season hits in October. Max's immune system is going to be extremely low post op and we are wanting to give him that extra time to recoup. We also have the chance to go to Florida with my family in October. Obviously we can't commit to anything until we see how Max is doing, but we know for sure that we won't be taking him that far away so soon after transplant if it's to take place in August. This is on the bottom of our list for importance, but it would be so nice to get away and celebrate the new life that Max has been given.

Please don't get me wrong. I am so happy to finally have a date on the calendar, but it's so frustrating that we were told June but got pushed back to July and now we have yet again been pushed back to August. That's another few weeks of dialysis. I know that doesn't sound like a good enough reason to be upset about it, but it is. We are so ready for this to be over and for Max to have one less tube coming out of his belly. We are so ready to be able to just lay Max down for bed and be done with our bedtime routine. I am so ready to not have to weigh him, get a blood pressure, unhook and hook him up to that machine twice a day. The ability to not have to worry about getting home at a very reasonable hour so that Max isn't hooked up until noon the next day. Our list of babysitters will grow by a lot since we won't have to get someone who knows how to hook him up or if Tim and I go out we don't have to cut our date short because we need to get home to hook him up. Oh how we long for the freedom from dialysis. It's a day we have been waiting for for two long years and it just keeps getting pushed back further and further away.

So for now, August 17, 2010 is the big day. I will let you know if anything changes and we luck out with a day in July. Keep your fingers crossed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sure that while Max's wellbeing is certainly at the top of your (and their) priority list, all of these doctors/surgeons have their lives to live, vacations to be taken, and families to tend to.

Perhaps the July dates will work out, but if not, you now have a set timeframe to prepare for the "big day."

I think the hidden blessing in all this is that it will be completed prior to Obama's health care plan kicking in, which would have probably set your date back to August of 2011.

As you say, hopefully by the fall this daily dialysis burden will be a thing of the past and Max will be enjoying the benefits of his mommy's healthy kidney!

DS/BBHS

carebear said...

Hi Max's mommy. I saw you blog link on Jenny/Brayden's blog and started reading your journey.
My son Matthew just had his transplant in January. it was really weird but I actually got misty-eyed leaving the hemo unit for the last time. You get attached to people there when you see them so often!
I'll be keeping your family in my prayers and checking in to see how things are going for you both.
Good luck and here's to some quality pee in the future! :)
Karen

Brayden's Mom said...

Oh honey, I just want to tell you that post transplant is AWESOME! Brayden got off the vent today and I can already tell he feels soooooo much better! I know August seems so far away but its worth the wait. I cant wait for you to get to chase Max around like a mad man!!!!!