Dana Daily

This year is off to an interesting start. Sarah claimed to not be feeling well on New Year's Eve and by 8am she was in bed. For the next few days she ran a fever and had no energy. She didn't get out of bed for three days, and for several more was definitely not herself.  Then, as she was improving, I came down with the same symptoms. On Friday, January 5 I ran a low-grade fever, but on Saturday I felt a little better. I was excited to have kicked whatever it was quickly, but on Sunday I woke up feeling awful and also took Monday as a sick day. On day five (Tuesday), I felt well enough to work. Sarah still has a cough, and I'm still congested, mostly in my ears, but so far everyone else seems to be feeling fine. My parents were supposed to leave for Florida today, but my mom has COVID (her first time), and my dad is fighting ear/sinus infections. It's only up from here, I hope!

Maybe at some point I'll get back to blogging on a more regular basis. I used to love blogging but now it feels like one more thing I "have" to do. If there's one thing I've learned this year it's how to focus on what brings value to your life and joy to your heart, and if something feels like a chore, let it go, unless it's something you absolutely must do. So, here we are. Let's recap the last couple of months.  Sarah is driving. She passed her test with flying colors. I took my first business trip in 19 years to San Diego, and it was awesome. My first time traveling solo, and I loved it. Emily was scouted to play soccer in college, and attended her first coach's showcase in Columbus at Ohio Dominican University. Over Thanksgiving we all had COVID. Fortunately, it was mild. Unfortunately, we passed it along to Sal's Aunt Doreen who was here for the week. On December 2, Sarah, Emily, and I took a bus trip to New York City. For 12 hours we expl...

Here we are 8 weeks post transplant.  Sal's kidney is working well and he feels a lot better in general. That said, he was dealing with some issues, and "Surprise" those didn't didn't go away. I put "surprise" in quotes because it's really not a surprise. Fortunately he's able to drive now so he's been able to get himself to various doctor appointments and blood draws.  It's been extremely busy lately with soccer season underway for both Emily and Seth. Seth is also taking swim lessons on Tuesday evenings and learning how to dive. Sarah was nominated for National Honor Society, although some of the requirements are going to be a bit hard for her to attain by October 5. At least she'll know what she needs for next year, should she be nominated again. We are going to give it the ol' college try for this year. I am looking forward to a business trip to San Diego next month. I'm attending a conference for 2.5 days, but I decided t...

Sal was discharged on August 2. After being home for 24 hours, he woke up with a temperature and it continued to climb gradually all day. The general consensus was a possible UTI. So, back to the hospital he went - for three more days. They are treating him for a C. diff infection without being 100% sure that's actually what he has. Here we are 13 days later, and he's still having some of the same symptoms, despite being on an antibiotic.  Additionally, he still has swelling in his legs, although the bruising from the hematoma has resolved. My mindset is that every day we are one more day removed from the transplant and one more day closer to a full recovery and a more normal lifestyle. I think he's just frustrated by the whole thing. He wants to feel better, and from a kidney and surgery recovery standpoint he does, but these other issues are really getting him down. Tomorrow will be three weeks post transplant. The first two weeks were supposed to be the hardest, and afte...

Sal is anemic. They've been giving him hemoglobin during his stay to bring up his iron numbers, but today they officially classified him as such. It seems like this is a common issue, but it is concerning. His meds arrived at this house this morning so that piece of the "When Will Sal Come Home" puzzle is in place. The pharmacy at AGH also contacted me for payment for the meds that he will bring home with him from the hospital, so we're all set there as well. Now we wait. Will he be discharged today? Only time will tell.

Sal’s creatinine is a 2 today, not even 5 days post surgery. I don’t think anyone expected that. Still keeping an eye on the hematoma (it’s a bruise on his abdomen, side, and upper thigh). It could take a couple weeks to absorb/disappear. Walking and moving should help (which he’s doing a lot more of). Labs indicate kidney function is great and the bruising it isn’t painful so we watch and wait. BP has been great without meds (that he’s been on since his 20s). People don’t realize how important kidneys are to overall heath. Hoping to have the IV in his neck removed today, and at that point he’ll be able to shower and shave. That’s a big milestone to being able to come home. Shout out to to Sarah and Emily (and Seth too!) this week for being total rockstars. I’ve been in and out of the house all day long for 4 days now. If I ask them to do something, they do it. If plans / schedule change on a moments notice, they adapt. Sarah baked a pasta casserole that they heated up for dinner a cou...

I’m pretty sure if we hit the Mega Millions today, Sal would not be more ecstatic than he was when the catheter was removed this morning. His creatinine is down to 4 (another big drop)! Sal slept a lot today. His body has been through a lot and he hasn’t slept well in 3+ years so he has some catching up to do. We had plans this weekend to go to a couple Pirates games with Kurt and Kim. Obviously that isn’t happening, but they came into town anyway, and it’s been great having them here. We went to Middle Road Inn and Sarah waited on us. Then, we picked Emily and Seth up from Paige's pool party and came back to our house for a bit. Because they're car is in the shop, I ran them to their hotel (The Joinery) down by Point State Park.

Sal's creatinine is down from 18 (at check-in), 13 (yesterday), and 7 (this morning). Kidney is functioning really well. A hematoma developed near the kidney, but it’s not unexpected and they’ll watch it. Hopefully his body will absorb it, otherwise it’ll have to be surgically drained. Doesn’t seem to be huge concern for anyone. We should have a home health nurse coming in daily for blood draws and whatever, but agencies are understaffed so it sounds like we’re going to have to drive back and forth to the hospital for a few days/weeks. We met with the pharmacist and social worker today. Went over post transplant life at home. It’s daunting, but once we adapt to the new routine, I think it’ll be okay. Because kidney function is so good already, he gets to start off on a lower dose of anti-rejection meds (12 pills a day. We were trying to remember but he thinks the first time he went through this they had him taking 18). While he was on dialysis, he fought high phosphorus all the tim...

Everything is looking great with Sal’s new kidney. It’s working, he feels good, and they’re switching him from a clear liquid diet to solid foods. PT and OT were here to get him out of bed and walking (which went well). His creatinine levels have already dropped from 18 to 13. That’s significant and a good indicator of kidney function. I was able to bring Seth to the hospital today to visit Sal as well. I think it was good for both of them. Sal misses all of us, and it was good for Seth to see that Sal is doing well.

4:00pm - arrive at the hospital 5:38 - wheeled back for surgery 8:42 - surgeon called - Sal out of surgery 10:14 - hospital called with room number (834)

This evening was practice for First Communion. It was a little rough at first, but after a couple of tries, the kids got it down. The seven of them will process into the church and place flowers in a vase by the statue of Mary. Then they will enter the pews and sit in their designated location.  Three of the children will present the gifts, and to make it fair, names were drawn out of a hat for this. Seth was not one of them, and while he would have loved to take up the gifts, he didn't seem overly disappointed (even though I was). He will be the second child to receive Communion. After Mass they will process out of the church and return for pictures with Father Orr and others. This is such a milestone and we are all so excited for him. 

In a moment of brilliance, it occurred to me that we could rent Seth's suit for First Communion, and that's exactly what we did. We had stopped in at Men's Warehouse in April, we made our selections, and they took his measurements. Today they called and said his suit had arrived in-store and that we could stop in for his final fitting. He looks so adorably handsome.

This was not my holiday, but Sarah and her dad were working. Due to her soccer injury, Emily could not so she spent the day with us instead. A change of plans she was quite happy about. We had a great meal at my sister's and then I dropped Emily off for a meal at her dad's. It was a good compromise.

Sarah turned 16 today at 2:56pm and also passed her permit test. I remember looking at her as a baby thinking she was going to be the death of me before she went to kindergarten, and well, here we are. A sophomore in high school and driving. Amazing.

Seth turned 8 years old today. We had a party for him over the weekend.

Sal asked me where we're going to go with it. The answer? We're not going anywhere. It's staying in the bank.

For the first time ever, I filed local, state, and federal taxes on the same day, and on the day all of our tax documents were ready. Our mortgage 1098 arrived last week, Sal received his W2s yesterday, and my Ws were posted today. Hello refund!

Life is humming along. All of us were off for Martin Luther King Day on Monday, and the kids were still off yesterday for the end of the 9 week grading period. The school year is officially half over. In the winter I prefer to hibernate and not leave the house if I don't have to, so we just hung out for four days. It was kind of nice; lots of down time, which the girls seem to appreciate since they run constantly when they're with their dad. Seth is a homebody and would be happy to never leave the house. We did some vacation planning and narrowed down this summer's trips. It's not exactly summer, but to kick off the summer season, Sal and I will be meeting his cousin Kurt and his wife Kim in New York City for a Mets game. My mom will stay with the kids overnight while we fly up and back in one weekend. Quick trip, but I am so looking forward to it. Sarah and Emily begged to go to Hershey. They haven't been there in a few years and are truly dying to go back. I'm...

The official end of the Christmas season. We spent the morning de-Christmasing. The house seems to bare and sad. Now the reality of winter sets in. However, I have noticed that the days are slightly longer which is promising. My plan is to hibernate as much as possible.

New year, new class.  Seth wasa the first one in the water, and the first one with wet hair. He had a great time last session, and has a couple skills to master before moving on to Level 3. I'm confident he'll get it this time. He picked up right where he left off in November. It's so nice to watch an indoor sport :-)