Checkity Check-up

Derek and I went to Lahey yesterday for his check-up. All of his numbers look good, his bilirubin is at 4.2 (3 months ago it was 4.9), but again, all of his other numbers are a-ok so no worries there. Now that he is a little more than a year out from his 2nd transplant they’re starting to step-down his immunosupressants. This is a slow process and so they’re dropping his dose of Prograf from 4 pills, twice daily to 3 pills twice daily. He’ll go in and get blood work in a month to make sure his levels of immunosupression are still good. This is good news because immunosupressants are processed through the kidneys, and long term use of these drugs has been known to have a negative effect on the kidneys. So less is more!

The appointment went so well, Derek doesn’t have to go back for 6 months! Huzzah!

I also met with the chair of transplantation about my hernia surgery. I told her about an odd tender spot near the top of my scar (the hernia is down by the belly button.) She put me on the exam table and felt around a bit and then consulted the CT scan from April. She said there’s a chance I have another hernia up there, but it also might just be a thin spot in the fascia. The plan is to mark the hernia and that spot and then when I’m zonked out she can feel the spot more easily (muscles fully relaxed) and determine if it is indeed a hole that has formed up there. In which case I will get two small incisions along my scar. No hole? Just one incision and we’ll hope that the thin spot doesn’t turn into a hernia. She reminded me that I will be out of commission for a while; a week or so of recovery and no lifting for about 6 weeks. I am going to try very hard to be a good patient and not do anything stupid.

I’m planning on having the surgery in October, so Derek will be able to give everyone the report while I’m under the knife. Stay tuned for that!

We also went to the 6th floor to see our nurses and our PA. Hugs and smiles all around. We still marvel at how amazing the men and women who work on the transplant floor are. It’s so fun to see them while we’re healthy and happy and they seem genuinely thrilled to see how amazing Derek looks.