Happy Transplantiversary!!!!

What a difference a year makes. Happy transplantiversary to Joe. It seems just like yesterday we were waiting to hear the good news. Waiting for Joe to "wake up".

Well Joe woke up and has been going strong ever since. We still thank God (and Al) everyday.
Jim's feeling great. With the 1 year anniversary, Jim will only have to do blood work just once a month. No more titer checks. Fewer doctor appointments.

We continue to be so greatful to the wonderful transplant team at Barnes.
We continue to believe....miracles really do happen.

10th Months & July 4th

July 4^th marked the 10 month anniversary of Jim’s transplant.

He continues to feel great.

We were lucky enough to spend this anniversary with Al at his cabin in Missouri at his wonderful July 4^th party for family & friends.

We have always wanted to attend the party, but Jim has never felt up to it. It always seemed like something happened right around this time of year.

This year we made a mini-vacation of it and went trout fishing at Meramec Springs too. Had a great time.  Jim is doing everything he loves to do once again!!

Here are just a few photo’s that capture our fun time.

It’s hard to believe the 1 year mark is fast approaching.

Wow....time really does go fast when you’re having fun.

Another Walk in the Books

On Saturday, April 25^th we were joined once again with family and friends for the annual Kidney Walk on SLU campus. The weather cooperated and Jim was able to WALK this year, unlike last year when he was wheelchair bound.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support Jim. It was a great day and celebration at the park afterwards to show our appreciation.

Boy....what a difference a year makes.

The Things We Missed....

It’s been 7 months since Jim’s transplant. At his last checkup on April 15^th, his kidney function is great and everything is working just fine. The typical post-transplant signs Jim is experiencing are weight gain (30 lbs. since transplant) and high blood sugar.  30% of kidney transplant patients develop diabetes.  Right now Jim is borderline diabetic. His triglycerides were also high. She advised him taking fish oil to help lower. We left the visit with instructions to watch his sugar, start fish oil and keep exercising to lose some weight. I’m also to take his blood sugar a couple times a week just to monitor.

He needs to get back on track and watch what he’s eating. His excuse is always, “I missed out eating for so long, it feels good to eat whatever I want again”.  Point taken, but now it’s time to get back on track.

With more activity, Jim is experiencing the very, very large cysts on his kidneys rupturing. With that comes pain. Nothing pain meds won’t take care of but the PA at his visit said they really don’t like having to take the kidneys out. A huge operation.  So in the meantime, he will tolerate.

So many things we have enjoyed this spring that we haven’t been able to do for so long. Fishing is one of them. Jim is at his happiest when fishing. We have been out to our lake and we started trout fishing at Frank Holten State Park. That seems to be our new weekend past time, and we enjoy it. My joy comes from seeing the happiness on Jim’s face, doing what he loves to do.

The other enjoyment this time of year is morel mushroom hunting. It takes a lot of energy to traipse in the woods, but the rewards are soooo worth it. While our luck hasn’t been great yet, we won’t give up. After all....this time last year Jim was recouping in the hospital, in a wheelchair and feeling like crap. He definitely is in a much better plus and for that we are thankful.

The Perfect Day

Perfect days are hard to come by. They are few and far between. They do not seem to come very often. It seems like it’s been forever since we had one. Saturday for us was a perfect day. We spent it our most favorite place in the world...our lake. While it wasn’t all fun and games, it was just delightful. Who would think raking leaves would make for a perfect day. We did.

We started out Saturday morning stopping at White Castle’s for breakfast. Yes, breakfast. And again... who would think that was perfect. We did. Jim remembered that his mom and dad would always stop there for breakfast on THEIR way to the lake. So it was perfect.

The weather was 70 degrees and perfect. Even though our trailer is a mess and needs a ton of cleaning, we chose to spend the day outside raking and burning leaves. Yes perfect. Lucy enjoyed running in the lake, but we didn’t care. It was perfect for her. We grilled hot dogs for lunch and just enjoyed the day.

We had dinner that night at one of Jim’s favorite restaurants... Tucker’s in Soulard. Yes perfect. Now that Jim can eat steak again, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and drinks. And Soulard is always a fun and interesting place to hang out.

All in all it was a great day. We hope to enjoy more of these days. Now that Jim is feeling great and excited to go fishing again, we know we will have many more PERFECT days ahead of us

What a Difference a Year Makes

It's almost 6 months since the transplant. Jim continues to do well....in fact....very well.  The only remaining signs from the transplant are the medications he take every 9:00 am and 9:00 pm. No big deal.  He also goes every other week for blood work that continues to monitor his kidney function. Again...everything remains good.

The end of January we took a vacation to Florida to visit Jim's aunt and uncle. We were so happy to leave the cold weather and to spend some time in the sunshine state, seeing the ocean and eating to our hearts content. We had a great time. One thing Jim always talked about doing was going to the ocean. While the water was somewhat cold, it didn't stop us from putting our feet in. Something we never ever imagined doing last year.

 It's so hard to believe that this time last year he was in the rehabilitation center learning how to walk again and building up his strength.

Like I said....what a difference a year makes.
We are truly blessed.

Good Bye 2014

While 2014 started out quite rough, I must say it is ending on a very good note.

January 9^th was when Jason first experienced seizures at home. While at the emergency room I called home to check on Jim and he was having difficulty breathing. Called for an ambulance and he too was in the ER.

Thus began our trek of many difficult months of pneumonia, crippling gout, blood clot on lungs, peritonitis, rehabilitation, food poisoning, bursting cysts, uremia, hemo–dialysis, and then finally on September 4^th....Jim’s kidney transplant.

Since then Jim has been feeling amazing. He is a totally different person than he was this time last year. While 2014 was a rough year, it’s ending on a high note.

2015 will be amazing. We no longer will take for granted the simple things we liked to do before like traveling, going to the lake, fishing, hunting.... just normal things. Jason is feeling fine. Had additional tests and he will continue to be on his anti-seizure medicine for now.

Once again we thank everyone for all the support and prayers we had last year, for everyone who participated in the kidney walk which we raised over $3,000, for all the encouragement we needed when things looked so glum.  For all who came and celebrated Lindsay and Matt’s wedding. Something that was so special to see Jim walk Lindsay down the aisle.

Here’s to 2015.....