It was a busy week, unpacking and cleaning and getting ready to go out of town. Valentine's Day was great. The girls made some Valentine's Day cards for Ben and I. Aren't they adorable?!?
That is Ben cooking in the background. He made me an awesome Valentines Day dinner. I had bacon wrapped fillet mignon and a loaded baked potato. Yummy!
I found this really cute, double heart,Lucky Bamboo plant for Ben's
Valentine's Day gift. (Please pardon
the desk mess.)
I also made these earring holders for the girls, in addition to the candy and stuffed animals they received for Valentine's Day.
Then we loaded up the three girls and drove to Abilene this past weekend, where I finally got to introduce Ben and the girls to my best-friend, her husband, and their two kids. The kids all hit it off quickly and spent the weekend jumping on the trampoline. We are looking forward to spending more time with them in the future.
Ben heard from his surgery coordinator on Tuesday. All he has left to do is get a TB test, which he went in for this-morning. He will go back on Friday to have that test read. After that, his package will be ready to send to Washington. According to April, the surgery coordinator, it can take about a month for Washington to decide whether or not the Approve, Defer, or Deny. That means we could possibly be looking at visiting a transplant center in about a month and a half or two months. That's is great news! The not so great news . . . Ben has been experiencing some new symptoms over the past week. His appetite has been fluctuating quite a bit, with little to no appetite on some days. He has also started having trouble sleeping at night, waking up three or four times a night, which adds to the fatigue he has been experiencing. Probably more concerning is the fact that he has started having some dizzy spells. He called and spoke with the Katherine, the PA at the dialysis clinic, and she scheduled him for more labs tomorrow, after which he is supposed to go speak with her. Her concern is that he is already so close to stage 5 and some of the symptoms he is experiencing generally indicate someone entering into stage 5 of kidney disease. We are going to pray this is something that can be addressed by adjusting medications, but there is a large possibility that Ben will need to begin dialysis soon. We were hoping to be able to avoid beginning dialysis before the kidney transplant, but we will just have to see what the labs have to say. About a month ago, Ben's GFR was at 19%, but two weeks ago his GFR was 17%. The nephrologist said he may be fluctuating between 17 and 19%, but with the new symptoms . . . We will just have to see what the labs say. My next concern is that the fistula probably has not had time to mature enough for them to use it for dialysis purposes, being that he has only had it for a month now, but I may be wrong about that. I believe his next vascular appointment is in about two weeks, but depending on what Katherine says tomorrow that may change as well.
Lots going on right now, to say the least. I am finishing the packing process and have a couple of friends that are going to help me load a U-Haul trailer this-weekend. God is truly amazing; His timing is perfect. If Ben does need to begin dialysis prior to his transplant, I will now be there to help out with the girls and other things that need to be done.
We continue to praise God for His guidance and His protection. Please continue to pray for Ben as he nears stage 5 and as we wait to get that package sent and hear back from Washington. God is great, all the time!
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