Doctor's Appointment this morning

We met with Dr. Douglas this morning at Mayo. Pretty uneventful - he confirmed Dan's MELD is 31 and no changes to his meds. So it's labs tomorrow and Friday as usual and they will keep us posted on his MELD and if any med changes are needed. Dan's next CT scan will be in August, but as Dr. Douglas said, "we hope you'll get your transplant before then", so Dan is still #1 in the hospital and we continue to wait for God's provision for a liver and pray for the donor and family.

And God is still providing. Just when I was wondering about our finances now that I am on temporary leave of absence from my job, unexpected checks arrived in our mail this weekend. God is good!

Aloha from the desert,
Debbie and Dan

Monday, July 21 doctor appointment is on!

We got a call from Mayo after Dan's morning labs - we DO have a Monday doctors appointment, this time to meet with Dr. Douglas, the director of the liver transplant department. Dan's MELD today is 31, ammonia is around 145 which is high but average for Dan. He also has a few more blisters on his leg that opened up this afternoon, so it's back with the medicated bandages and trying to elevate his legs more often.

For my birthday today, we had portraits taken, since last month was our 30th anniversary and we haven't had portraits made since our wedding. Here is our favorite.

Aloha from the desert - Dan and Deb

MELD score now 30, no doctor appt. on Monday

We spoke to Susan at Mayo today, she's the liver transplant coordinator's assistant. She told us as of yesterday's labs (July 15) Dan's MELD is 30 and she expects it to be even higher by Friday's labs, we're not sure why. For a sick guy, she said his other labs look good and the doctors have decided NOT to schedule the appointment on Monday July 21. She said they discuss Dan at their Wednesday team meetings, he's the first one they talk about, he is #1 on the hospital waiting list, and they don't expect to need to see him for an appointment for 3 months unless something extreme happens like a high fever, bleeding, stuff like that. As Susan told Dan, they don't expect to see him again until (not if, but until) transplant. They still talk like it could be any time now. And they may add one more day a week to come in for labs, we'll find out on Friday, that would make 3 days a week for labs.

So we keep waiting, hopefully not much longer. Thanks, Tracy Turner, for your last comment on Debbie's blog that reminded us to "keep looking up." What a wonderful reminder for all of us.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

Debbie and Dan

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Quick update: Dan's current MELD score is 26, but as you know this can change from day to day. We are not sure anymore where Dan is on the waiting list, 26 is high enough to still be #1 at least on the hospital waiting list we think. Dan's next doctor appt. is July 21, we'll get more updates then. In the meantime, it's labs every Tuesday and Friday morning, medications throughout the day and evening, and walking at the mall or at Walmart several times a week.

This past week, most days were pretty good for Dan, he had a few rough days with more mental blips and leg and hand cramps. We went to church with Dan's folks this morning, first time Dan's been able to go to church in a long time, and it was such a blessing. Made us really miss our church ohana.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
Debbie and Dan

Happy July 4th

Dan is feeling pretty good this week, not very many mental blips lately which is nice. He's still pretty tired but he's able to eat well (hepatic diet-low protein; low sodium; low sugar) and we've been out almost every day this week walking either in Walmart or some other store. We've discovered Sprouts, a fabulous natural food grocery store, and have been eating lots of fresh fruit and veggies (yes, Dan is eating veggies now, though still not eating peas). We're still waiting for that phone call for transplant - Dan's even got his overnight bag packed and by the door so when we get the call, we can fly.

Happy First Birthday to Swen! We were so blessed to be there for his birth, and then to be here for his first birthday on July 1st. Amy, Adam and Swen came to visit on July 1st and we had a little party with a Winnie the Pooh theme. Dan's sister Debbie and her son Josh came over. What a fun time! You can see more birthday photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/dananddebvanalstine/SwenSFirstBirthdayJuly12008.

Aloha from the desert,

Debbie and Dan