7 Year Anniversary

Just wanted to make a quick post celebrating Cathy's 7 years with her liver transplant. We are so thankful to the family that allowed her to benefit from their daughter's tragedy.

The last I heard, the lady that received Cathy's liver as part of a domino transplant was doing well.

We recently traveled to Lake Almanor where Cathy talked a fellow camper out of this fish.

She is doing very well and proved that she still can sleep in a tent!

Changes Galore

Remember me? What a crazy summer, even for me.
First things first. The amyloidosis is technically cured. Because I had a liver transplant, my liver is no longer producing amyloid--the good news. Because I had a liver transplant, I have to take a ton of drugs--the bad news. Recently, I have had some of my immunosuppressants reduced. I am being "weaned" off of prednisone. I have gone from 5 mg. a day to 4 mg. a day. Actually going from 1 5 mg. pill a day to 4 1 mg. pills a day. My total number of pills a day is between 25 and 27. Throw in a shot every other week and a blood test once or twice a month and you've got my schedule!
I do feel very grateful that I'm doing that well. My kidneys are hanging in there, and that's worth a lot.
The big change this summer has been moving to Oregon. We haven't found a house to buy yet, but we are trying! We both love the small town atmosphere. Any place in town takes 10 minutes or less to get there. I don't get lost that much.

We've had lots of company this summer and my camera is full of pictures. I will be blogging more. It is far better to blog about our cute grandkids and our adventures and not about being sick!

Anteaters-in-Training

Last Sunday Alan and Ellen and the kids came to dinner. We had some pretty tasty beef fajitas, but the highlight of the evening was making cookies after dinner.
We got a very large package of bendy straws at Ikea. Grandpa put them in a very accessible spot and they are a popular item at our house. The kids like to try out several colors.
After dinner we got out the cookie dough that had been chilling in the fridge and the cookie cutters. I usually have three bowls for sprinkles. That way only a finite amount can be spilled or eaten straight and the tops don't get put in the cookies or the frosting or the mouth. It's not a perfect way, but it's OK. We were getting ready to roll out the dough, and Alice gave a bowl of sprinkles a good "blow" through a straw. Sprinkles flew. (I told you it wasn't a perfect system). She was pretty surprised, but I wasn't too concerned, since the whole kitchen usually gets decorated. Usually they lick their fingers so not one tasty sprinkle goes to waste. But this time was different. They each had their straws and were sucking up sprinkles. They had a great time. And they looked like a couple of little anteaters. In fact next time they want to make cookies with sprinkles, we could probably just pour sprinkles on the countertop and hand out straws. Little anteaters in training!

Rocket Grandma

A couple of weeks ago I got to go to Virginia to visit Karen and Randy and their families. I had a wonderful time visiting. I had some good Virginia BBQ and got to watch a mini triathlon. The best part was all the visiting, of course.
I left from the Charlottesville airport, and on the way Karen stopped at the brand new Kohl's. Four year old Jake and two year old Tyler were with us.
Some background information. I have a stroller. It is the very bottom of the line stroller (when we were at Disneyland with hordes of strollers there wasn't a single one that approached this stroller). It is also old. I think Marie bought it when James was born and he is 12 now. The shade part is smushed and pathetically hangs there. It also has odd stains. It is a much loved stroller though, especially with Grandma at the wheel. It goes to fun places. And even when it goes to non-fun places (think Baby Gap) it is fun. I run into mirrors and we make faces. If the occupant is "tired" I lean it back and set the handles on the floor. I find interesting things to look at. The things the kids love the best is when I do rocket stroller. I yell,"Rocket Stroller!" and start running, sometimes with only two wheels on the ground. Of course my stamina is only good for a few steps, but it is an exciting ride!
Back to Kohl's. Karen was a Mother on a mission. Jake, Tyler, and I were holding hands and pretty much lollygagging. Every once in awhile I would say "Rocket Feet" and we would kind of, sort of run to catch up with Karen. I was very careful to look ahead and make sure we had a clear path to run. It was great fun! Well, it was great fun until we got our feet tangled up and all three of us went flying. I fell hard on my hands and knees. Jake got up rubbing his elbow giving me the stink eye. Tyler sort of started crying, but I think even he knew my falling trumped his falling. I popped right up--I was so embarrassed! What was I thinking doing rocket feet in a store. Karen said it looked like I was on a slip and slide. My whole body felt jarred and it felt like it would be sore for a few days. I felt the fall the whole way home. There were no broken bones thankfully. The only injuries were very colorful knees and hands. Something I like to call Rocket Knees. Time to act my age.

Amyloidosis/liver/birthday update

My meds have changed from name brand Prograf (immunosuppressant) to generic tacrolimus. With the change came more frequent blood tests. I had gone three weeks between tests, and my veins noticed the rest.
Well, Karen had a Southwest voucher lying around and thought it would be great if I came to Virginia to celebrate our birthdays. She hurriedly put together a trip and I hurried and packed. (I now call her the master manipulator, but that's another post!) I was leery about being in a closed plane full of germ soup for 6 plus hours. I was also worried about edema. Although my kidney function stinks, I don't retain fluid, except when I flew to Virginia for Randy's wedding. I really didn't want a repeat of that. But visiting the Virginia gang trumped any of that other stuff.
Back to the lab visit. My prograf level was down and my liver numbers up, so I couldn't go. I am back to weekly labs for awhile. My prograf was increased a little and we need to keep an eye on my labs so I don't do anything exciting.
This is disappointing. I think this might be the first birthday that we don't spend with each other, so we definitely have some make up to do. Any ideas? I'm thinking of a crate of peas to share this summer.

Catch up

Slacking! That's what I've been doing. Birthday season is in full swing. Happy birthday to my sweet husband. He's taken such good care of me, and with such a good attitude. He has been an example to all of us. We celebrated at home with a plethora of pizzas!
Happy birthday to dear, sweet Claire. She is one. Her brothers just love her so much--it's always exciting at her house.
Happy birthday to dear, sweet Alice. She is five and loves all things sparkly and princess! She is my helper when I make anything that could possibly have sprinkles.
Happy birthday to dear, sweet Jill. Our oldest granddaughter is eight. She is getting baptized at the end of the month. I miss her so much--they live in Texas and I don't get to see her very often. She is a good helper with her little brother and sister.
The next birthday is Karen's. Lots of birthdays!

Family Home Evening

Brian and Christine are ready to welcome a new baby boy very soon. On Monday night they held family home evening with four year old Lincoln and two year old Natalie. The subject of the evening was very important--swaddling. Lincoln really, really loved to be swaddled.
So out came the baby dolls and stuffed animals. All were swaddled and reswaddled. Then Lincoln and Natalie got swaddled. Brian and Christine reported that big kids don't really swaddle all that well. Brian would pick them up and sing to them to soothe them. It didn't work any more.
My favorite quote was from Lincoln. "Hey, I can't move my arms!"
To finish off the evening Brian got swaddled. It sounded more like a self-made burrito to me. Lincoln and Natalie tried to lift him up. It sounds like one of those nights that I would have liked to have been a bug on the wall to observe.
Of course the very best thing for this Grandma is that I know the new little brother will certainly be loved and well taken care of!