April 2, 2019

Update information: April 2, 2019
We have a lovely family member who is willing to give her Uncle a kidney. The University of Utah is dragging their heels for some unknown reason. Honestly, we do not understand and they have put him on the inactive list for some reason. Mike is feeling so awful, is not wanting to eat and energy level has dropped to very little. One of the medications they put him on to raise his red blood cells nearly killed him as he had an extremely bad reaction to it. The doctor made us do it again to prove it was the medication. Go figure. It’s horrible to watch your spouse suffer.
To top off the problems, Mike is in need of a new shoulder. A complete shoulder replacement as it is now bone on bone rubbing together and causing him enormous pain. They can repair his shoulder but going under general anesthesia can cause his kidneys to finish going out and no kidney function at all. Therefore Mike has opted to start peritoneal dialysis asap. This is where a surgeon puts a tube in the area behind you stomach called the peritoneum. It acts as a “strainer” filter to get rid of the “bad things” or toxins that the kidney can’t do anymore. It’s very smart and knows which things are good to keep and which ones aren’t. He can do this at home. He will hang a bag of fluid that will go into the abdomen and as it “washes ” out the toxins it drains into another bag and resembles urine. When the process is done he just empties the bad fluid into the toilet just like urine. It’s a 30 minute process that he does 4xs a day which is about how many time most people go to the bathroom anyway. So we are waiting for the surgeon to call with a time for this surgery, then it takes two weeks to heal. He will then go to the dialysis center in Ogden and be taught what to do and we will be able to do it at home. He also has sleep apnea and we are waiting on a machine for that. Seems like all they have us do is wait and wait and wait. As a wife I am very anxious. I know Mike is too. He keeps to himself as he doesn’t want to worry me but I worry anyway. About what I know and what I don’t know. Your prayers are appreciated and if you are financially able to donate to HELP HOPE LIVE in his name at this website for him we will be gratefully thankful for your caring assistance. Our love to all our family and friends.