More Good News!

I am lagging behind a little on some great news (turns out life is a little busy when the nurses aren't doing everything for us!)

Darren had his appointment at the hospital yesterday to do labs and check creatinine as well as medication levels. And...drum roll please...his creatinine is down to 3.09 (from 8.5 on Friday)!!!!! We're so thrilled with the news, the doctors feel that his creatinine should settle under the 2.0 mark which would be considered a "normal" functioning kidney. Wow.

Now that his kidney is working, we just have to keep close lookout for any signs of rejection. They are constantly juggling his anti-rejection medications to find the right balance. So our prayer is that they do their job in defending this foreign kidney from Darren's very healthy immune system (ironic isn't it). Conversely, as a result of the anti-rejection medications, he is extremely immuno-compromised...therefore he is highly susceptible and defenseless to any common illnesses from a cold to the flu. If he were to get the flu, for example, they would have to pull back on his rejection meds to allow his body to defend itself, which of course isn't ideal since he needs his immune system suppressed right now in order to protect his kidney. Needless to say, I've purchased an industrial sized container of hand sanitizer and I'm not afraid to use it. ;)

Darren's definitely feeling the benefits of his kidney function, despite the surgery pains and recovery. It's wonderful to see the signs of how good he's going to feel post recovery...we've so cautiously allowed ourselves to accept all that will change due to this transplant....but the possibilities are slowly seeping their way into our consciousness. How blessed we are.