Back to the Hospital

Ben and Josh and I did manage to go for another walk along the Burke-Gilman trail yesterday afternoon before it got dark.  It was a little wet and slushy out, but not raining and a little warmer than the previous couple days.  We were probably only walking for 20 minutes or so, but the last bit was all uphill, so they were pretty tired when we got home.

Josh's weird bubble popped just as we were sitting down to dinner last night.  Gross.  Laada and I helped clean him up, cover the area with gauze, and get him into a clean shirt, and then we were able to carry on with dinner.

Laska (almost 14) got home from her first school dance just as we were finishing dinner.  She was part of the group that helped plan the dance, and it sounded like it was a big success.  Not only did everyone actually dance, but a couple of the popular football players showed up with a bunch of glow sticks and necklaces, which they passed out to all the attendees.  While the interpersonal drama remains much the same, things sure have changed since I was that age...

Before we left DC, I discovered that with Verizon FiOS, I can access our DVR remotely through my computer.  It finally occurred to me last night to check it to see if it was filled up -- which it was.  We can't watch recorded shows remotely, but we can delete and cancel recordings.  Josh and I spent a couple hours last night watching some of the shows on my laptop via Hulu.com and then deleting them from the DVR to free up some space.  The wonders of modern technology!

This morning was a bit chaotic, especially for Laada.  Ben had to be at the hospital at 7:30, Laska had to be at school by 8:15, Larissa had to be at school by 9:20, and Josh had to be at the hospital at 10:30, so Laada spent most of the morning shuttling everyone around.  Meanwhile, Lynne had a 10:45 am flight back to DC, so Priscilla came by at 8 to take her to the airport.  After Laada dropped us at the hospital at 10:30, she had to deliver a couple of Laska's high school applications and then teach a class at 1:30.  She's the only one of us that has to deal with work, on top of everything else.  I don't know how she does it.  It's a lot to be juggling at one time!

Josh had to get some lab work done before his 11 am appointment, which took all of 5 minutes.  While we were in the waiting area in the transplant clinic, Ben came out from his appointment and sat with us.  The new kidney is still doing great, but his T-cell count was high, so the doctors said they were going to readmit him to the hospital for a few hours so they could administer a dose of immunosuppressants intravenously.  They didn't have a room available until 2, so he hung out with us until Josh was finally called in a little before noon.

Josh's surgeon, Dr. Baktha, came in to see him first.  He said the incision was healing nicely and that the blister was nothing to worry about.  He gave us some gauze and tape and encouraged Josh to keep it clean and dry.  Josh's blood test results looked good, but they didn't have the urine results yet.  There's a slight risk of a urinary tract infection, but Josh hasn't had any symptoms.  They'll call us if the results show any sign of infection and prescribe some antibiotics.  Dr. Baktha said we could fly home next week if we wanted to, so we might try to see if we can get an earlier flight.  We're currently scheduled to fly home on the 22nd, but we're getting tired of living out of our suitcases, and we have A LOT of things to do to prepare for our move to London.

Josh's transplant coordinator nurse also came by with some paperwork so Josh could have copies of his medical records from the transplant sent to himself and his doctor in DC.  She also gave him some gifts, including this sweatshirt:

It says "Got 2 Give 1: I'm a Living Kidney Donor"

And this license plate frame:

Not sure if we'll put this on our car, since we might be selling it in a couple months.  On the other hand, this might help us sell it.  Who wouldn't want their fellow drivers to think they were brave and altruistic?  Maybe we should put a "Harvard" sticker on it, too.

Ben was still in the waiting area when we were done with Josh's appointment, so we all had lunch together in the cafeteria and he hung out with us while we waited for their friend Clarissa to pick us up and give us a ride back to Ben's house.  We were bummed that Ben had to spend the whole day at the hospital, but at least he had the foresight to bring his laptop, medication, and stuff to work on while he's there.

Our friends Rob & Diana are coming to Seattle this weekend, so we are looking forward to venturing out beyond the hospital while they're in town.