Dana Daily

We had a busy day. Seth had CCD, and his teacher planned a little Halloween party. Sal and I went to the Pear and the Pickle and then drove around Troy Hill for a bit while we were waiting for CCD to finish. Then, while the Steelers/Browns came was starting, I took Seth to Talley Cavey to the Depreciation Lands Museum for Beggar's Night. He received a few treats, learned how to card wool, and had an all around good time. We stopped at Simply Subs and picked up dinner. For trick-or-treat, Seth was a bat again this year, wearing the costume my mom made my brother many moons ago. I sat in the driveway in an electric blanket with hot tea and passed out candy. Sal took Seth around for over an hour. I think Seth would say that he had a great day!

Sal had his follow-up appointment with the surgical team this morning. He had his staples removed, but it's still recommended that he not lift anything heavy for another month. However, he is able to drive and return to work (on Monday).  I think he's glad to have some normalcy restored because as soon as we got home, he got in his car and ran some errands. The coordinator told him he's at the top of the list so he could be called anytime for another transplant. He decided to take his nephrologist's advice and wait at least 6 months, and in reality, prefers not to be contacted until after our vacation out west next summer. He will need to go through the testing process in December to remain eligible, but at least they won't call. This chapter is closed. Now we go back to living our best lives and revisit this at some point in the future.

Today we met with Sal's nephrologist, Dr. Naik, and I came away feeling a lot better about Sal's situation that I had been. Based on what I've seen at home, Sal wasn't yet back to where he was pre-transplant. I can tell his numbers are still "off." However, according to Dr. Naik, Sal will get back to where he was in about another month. That was a positive. He's still confident we can get that old Sal back. He recommends holding off for at least six months before attempting another transplant. Sal mentioned that if possible he'd like to wait even longer so as to be able to vacation next summer. We are currently planning a trip to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons. Dr. Naik was enthusiastic and said we should continue to lead our lives, and postponing a transplant for a year, or even two, is reasonable. Sal has a follow-up appointment on October 26 with the surgical team at which point he hopes to be able to drive, and return to work....

I was back on Troy Hill today to once again drop Seth off for CCD.  This firehouse caught my attention the first time I saw it, and I needed to know more. Not only is it the oldest firehouse in the City of Pittsburgh, it was the last to still use horse-drawn fire carriages. It's a historic landmark, and it's "very" haunted as well (by 8 firefighters and 3 chaplains, to be exact). This firehouse was built in 2001, and was decommissioned in 2005. More information about the resident ghosts can be found here .

Seth had CCD today at Most Holy Name on Troy Hill. Emmy wanted to come with me to drop him off so I suggested we find a coffee shop to kill time. One quick google search later and we found ourselves at The Pear and The Pickle . The building looks old, and walking in seems like a step back in time to the days of the neighborhood general store.  There are three seating areas on the first floor, and a rooftop deck as well. Some of the tables are converted antique sewing machines. This place has a great vibe and feel to it. We both had homemade blueberry buckle, and I had a black drip coffee. It was delicious. After enjoying our treat, we decided to walk around Troy Hill for a little bit, and we came upon this building with a Troy Hill Incline painting. While I knew Pittsburgh had dozens of inclines, I did not know that there was one right here next to Pittsburgh-famous Rialto Street . Rialto Street is one of the steepest roads in Pittsburgh, and at one time was used as a path to bring...

Days have run together lately, but after being admitted to the hospital on September 29, Sal stayed in the emergency room being cared for by his nephrologists and transplant team. On October 1 following an ultrasound, they performed surgery to remove the new kidney which had stopped functioning. Initially they weren't sure why, but eventually they were able to determine the kidney had a blood clot which caused it to fail. It was not rejection. They took him into surgery around 2pm on Friday afternoon, and on Sunday he was discharged. Two surgeries in two weeks in the exact same location. Two surgeries in two weeks and he's back where he started, or perhaps even worse off since his numbers went a little wonky in the hospital. Sal has a post-op follow-up on October 26. At that point, they'll remove staples, see how he's healing, and possibly re-list him for another transplant. I cannot think about this anymore. We know he has to do this again, but I cannot wrap my head ar...