April 30, 2019

Hi Everyone!

There's been quite a few things happening since the last time I made an update. As some of you may already know, Alfredo was hospitalized the week before our wedding due to fluid overload in his lungs. It was a scary, stressful, and down right exhausting week in the ICU, but with the help of the BWMC staff, family and friends, and God's grace, we made it through. And he was out just 2 days before the big day! The wedding was beautiful; we couldn't have asked for anything more. With the fluid overload, however, Alfredo was forced to start hemodialysis even though we were on the path for peritoneal dialysis. He can still can do PD, thankfully, and was able to get his abdominal catheter placed on April 8th. It's healed beautifully, and we are now going to begin training for the next 2 weeks so we can learn how to do PD from home. This is a HUGE step finally, as it would allow him more freedom and a somewhat more normal lifestyle since he would only have to be hooked up to the cycler at night. It's still not the most ideal having to rely on a machine for life support, but we are grateful that there are different treatment options for those living with kidney disease. We are very much looking forward to the transition.

We haven't really made much progress on the donor front. We are really hoping for some good news soon. Our honeymoon is planned for September, but we may have to postpone simply due to the fact that we don't know what could happen with the potential living donors at any given moment. Also, recovery after transplant for Alfredo would be about 3 months. So, given that it's basically May already and we still don't have anyone formally lined up for surgery yet, we're weighing our options. Traveling is not recommended while in recovery of course because of all the bacteria he could encounter. With the anti-rejection medications he'd be taking, he's at much higher risk of infection, especially in the first 3 months. We'd love to be able to get away and travel, especially after everything we've been through this year, but we also want to be sure he has plenty of time to recover so he can really enjoy the trip. This all of course is based on the assumption that he'd have a living donor match within the next couple months....It's really hard just waiting for answers and basically putting your life plans on hold. Really, really hard.

We appreciate everyone's support as always - the contributions you've made to Alfredo's campaign thus far, the prayers, words of encouragement, love, and the inquiries about how/if you can be a living donor, it means so much to us. Now that the wedding has passed, I have more time to focus on some fundraising efforts. I will update everyone as soon as I've finalized the details!

It's been a pretty tough year so far, but we are staying hopeful and praying for the best possible outcome. Alfredo is such a trooper, really. The things he goes through daily between all of the medications, dialysis sessions 3 days a week for 4 hours at a time, the pain, fatigue, diet limitations, and mood swings, all while still trying to work at the bank, I'm so proud of him. We are still in search of living donors. If you or anyone you know with O+/- blood type would be interested in learning more about living donation and how you could help Alfredo, please don't hesitate to reach out. I honestly wish I would have been a match so we wouldn't be going through this right now, but I am a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, so I've just come to trust the process and keep praying for a match.

Anyhow, this was much longer than I anticipated but if you've made it through reading this far, I really appreciate it.

Until the next update,

Nicole

February 27, 2019

Alfredo had his catheter consultation today, so he can prepare for peritoneal dialysis (PD). PD will allow him the opportunity to continue his normal, daily life as he would only have to be hooked up to his cycler at night in his sleep. We’re hoping to get through the next month without needing to start dialysis so we can get through our wedding! His catheter appointment is scheduled for April 1st. We’re still working through finding potential living donors. Unfortunately, we haven’t made much progress on that end just yet but we are staying hopeful. We’ll also be planning a fundraising event after our wedding. One of the most difficult things to deal with with kidney disease is not knowing when things could turn for the worst. We’re at the mercy of biweekly lab appointment results and Alfredo’s overall well-being and health to see if/when he’d need to start dialysis. We’re hoping by getting the abdominal catheter early, he’ll have time to heal and wait and see what comes next. Until then, we’re staying positive and hopeful that a new kidney will come soon. Thank you all for your support!