Friday, November 6, 2009 7:24 PM, CST
Before we give an update on
Doogie, we want to thank
everyone from deep in our
hearts for all of your
thoughts and prayers, not
only during our time since
transplant, but for the past
year since we have been
listed and prior. God has
blessed us not only with
wonderful family members,
but also with special
friends and an awesome
community that supports
not only Doog, Darin and I,
but also Gabe, Luke, and the
rest of our family. I know
that it is hard for them not
to be here with us, but they
are...in our thoughts and in
our hearts.
So to everyone that reads this message that we are sending....THANK YOU
for taking the time to
think about Doogie, and
please keep sending the
prayers our way!!
Doogie update--As you know, we were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday (11/3/09)....less than
a week after receiving
Doog's gift of life. The
past few days have been very
hard. Doog has not been
able to eat much, and all of
the medications that he is
taking has been making him
sick to his stomach. He has
lost almost 15 pounds.
Doog's birth liver was
almost 9 pounds and a normal
liver is between 3-4 pounds,
so that would account for
some of the weight. He had
an appointment yesterday at
the transplant center, and
we discussed these issues
with our team. They changed
a couple of meds and gave
some food recommendations.
They also told us that
Doog's post transplant
biopsy does show that his
body is trying to reject his
new liver. This is not
uncommon, especially for a
young person that is pretty
overall healthy, so they did
tell us to expect this even
before we left the
hospital. Livers are very
resilient organs when it
comes to rejection. We are
working through this with
strong doses of steroids /
anti-rejection
medications. He had
his first dose last night.
He did ok, but he was not
feeling well afterwards.
He did eat some jelly toast
before his night time meds,
and this must have helped.
I have been sleeping on the
couch in case he needed
something and I got up this
morning I was making coffee
and I heard someone coming
down the stairs...I thought
it was Darin, but it wasn't,
it was Doog....and he looked
GREAT!! He walked down the
stairs himself!! When I
told him that he looked
good, he told me that he
felt good, and he didn't
know what made the change
for him...(I know it was all
of the prayers!!)
He had to have blood
drawn this morning, but had
a break from testing for the
rest of the day. He has
been eating better today,
and his stomach has not been
upset, and he has not had to
take any pain medication!!
Today is a good day!!
He is sitting here with Darin and I, and I find myself looking at him, trying not to worry about every little sniffle, what he is eating, and if he is eating and drinking enough, if he is going to the bathroom, and if the face he just made means that he is in pain, but just doesn't want us to know. But I have to watch myself
and remember that he is a
young man now, and have
faith that he will let me
know if he needs us to do
something for him. He truly
has a strength deep inside
of him.
We will keep updating the Caring Bridge website with Doog's progress, along with his setbacks, and we know we will hit more bumps on this path in life.
We would ask everyone that is saying a prayer for Doogie and our family, to please take a minute and say a prayer for his donor family. We have been given a wonderful gift, but another family has lost someone very special to them and they need all of the prayers that they can get to help them through this difficult time. Thank you and may God bless you all and keep you safe!
So to everyone that reads this message that we are sending....
Doogie update--As you know, we were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday (11/3/09)....
H
He is sitting here with Darin and I, and I find myself looking at him, trying not to worry about every little sniffle, what he is eating, and if he is eating and drinking enough, if he is going to the bathroom, and if the face he just made means that he is in pain, but just doesn't want us to know. But I have to watch mysel
We will keep updating the Caring Bridge website with Doog's progress, along with his setbacks, and we know we will hit more bumps on this path in life.
We would ask everyone that is saying a prayer for Doogie and our family, to please take a minute and say a prayer for his donor family. We have been given a wonderful gift, but another family has lost someone very special to them and they need all of the prayers that they can get to help them through this difficult time. Thank you and may God bless you all and keep you safe!
With Love,
Darin & Julie
