Halleluia is not a big enough word to express our praise and just plain giddy-ness today!
Gift #1- Dan needs to be able to climb stairs both at home and at church and we weren't sure he'd be able to do this for quite some time. Well, Dan had outpatient PT today, and was able to climb 26 stairs, up and down, unassisted, and wasn't even out of breath! Richard, Dan's therapist, was shocked and could not explain how he was able to do that, as he didn't have this much strength two days ago in PT. We saw several other PTs and OTs who worked with Dan while he was still hospitalized, and they all shared kind words and compliments to Dan on how great he looks now. But the most humbling and blessed of comments shared today was from a lady in the rehab office, we don't know her but she's watched Dan while he's done rehab since November, and she said Dan has given her hope for her own life.
Gift #2- Next, Dan had outpatient OT, this was his third appointment with Michelle who was assessing Dan's ability to start driving again, testing for strength, reflexes, and eye-hand coordination. And he passed! Dan will start driving around the neighborhood at first until he feels confident to try freeways.
Gift #3- Later, Dan saw Dr. Byrne, one of the liver doctors. He also had labs first thing this morning, and results were excellent, the only lab a little off was kidney function, that creatinine number was 1.8 which is great for Dan but normal is lower, the dr. said Dan may never get to that number but he wasn't overly concerned either. It was profound to me that we saw Dr. Byrne today. He was the first doctor Dan saw when he was being assessed for the Mayo transplant program last year, he has seen Dan's health go from bad to worse, and now today told us how fabulous Dan is doing and how good he looks - kind of completes the journey for us to have come full circle with Dr. Byrne. Dan has a few more appointments left like cardiologist, pacemaker check, and 2 more PTs, the last on Dec. 31. So....drum roll please....Dr. Byrne released Dan to return home to Hawaii the first of January!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gift #4- This afternoon, I received a love gift that will cover my airfare for last week's trip to Hawaii.
To be sure, tears flowed freely as we received each of these gifts today. Do we feel blessed? You bet. We are living Ephesians 3:20-21 (HCSB): "Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think—according to the power that works in you—to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever." Amen and Amen!
Can't stop smiling,
Debbie and Dan
(PS: In case you're wondering, yes we already have our flight reservations, we'll be flying home Tuesday, Jan. 6th.)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Praises galore!
We have so much to be thankful for!
Today, Dan had labs, follow-ups with doctors and then PT. His labs are great, as the doctor stated "his liver is stone cold perfect", his creatinine continues to drop, his red cell count is normal, only his INR is elevated, meaning his blood will not clot as well, so they took him off Warfarin for a few days (also called Coumadin, this med is the blood thinner he takes). And today was the first day Dan walked in to these appointments using his cane instead of a wheelchair or walker. Dan was commenting this evening at the great improvement in just a short time, just last week he was struggling to stand up from the wheelchair; as Dan put it "The Lord's just showing off!"
A wonderful surprise this morning, we ran into Tim and Lily at labs this morning. Tim and Lily are from Hawaii Kai, fellow Kaiser patients (even the same Kaiser liver doctor), and Tim just received his liver transplant at Mayo. It was great seeing them again, Tim looks great after his surgery and some challenges that followed. Tim and Lily are also believers, they attend Central Union Church in Honolulu, and actually found our blog a while ago and had followed our journey. We had a great time of sharing and I hope we continue the friendship and fellowship when we all get home.
Dan and I have been out Christmas shopping, eating in restaurants, and just enjoying spending time together. Dan's strength, drive, mental state, and passion for life have improved so much over the past few weeks, every day we notice something new. Like today, we noticed the hand tremors are gone and Dan is able to eat and write with no problems.
Dan woke up this morning cheering, saying "I'm going to be 50 tomorrow!" I don't think Dan has ever rejoiced about getting older before. The last several years, he has been so sick that he said he felt 80 years old; so turning 50 must seem like he's getting younger. We are looking forward to celebrating tomorrow with shopping, lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, then pizza, birthday cake, presents, and games with the family in the evening.
I'll be going home for a week to visit Mom and take her to a few doctor appointments, worship with our Mililani ohana, as well as box up the rest of Amy's stuff and get it sent to her (I know, she's been married for several years now, I guess procrastinating sending her stuff was a way of not completely letting her go - sorry, punkin). I'll be in Hawaii from Dec. 7-14. Then Dan and I will celebrate Christmas in Yuma with Amy, Adam and Swen (who is now walking!) from Dec. 20-25. It won't be long now until we return home to Hawaii together!
Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow....
Debbie and Dan
Swen was in his first rain storm recently - love that hair! Sunday, November 30, 2008
Beam us up, Scotty...
What a terrific weekend! And a weekend of firsts since Dan's surgeries.
On Saturday, Dan and I along with Debbie and the kids went to the Arizona Science Museum in downtown Phoenix, nearby the Convention Center - we saw Star Trek: The Experience! This is heaven for Star Trek fans like us - memorabilia, props, costumes, sets, shuttlecraft simulator, and more (check out http://www.startrek.com/custom/include/community/tour/virtual). We all took turns sitting in the captain's chair on the bridge set of Next Generation (actually, I took several turns). This was the first big "field trip" for Dan, transporting and using his wheelchair and being around a big crowd of people.
Today, we went with Dan's folks to church, Dan's first time back since his transplant on Aug. 25. It was a wonderful time of worship and thanksgiving, church members were praising God for answered prayer for us. And another first, Dan managed all his morning preparation by himself, with just a little help from me. After church, another first, we went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. If you haven't been there, you must go. I don't know if the menu is the same at all locations, but this location's menu was about 40 pages long! So many choices, you could eat here every day and not make it through the menu.
Dan's next Mayo visit is Tuesday at 4pm for outpatient rehab. Thanks for your prayers for Dan to regain all his strength, he is doing better each day. And fyi, his mental challenges are gone, he's back to normal (for those of you who know Dan, I know you are laughing out loud).
Thankfully,
Debbie and Dan
On Saturday, Dan and I along with Debbie and the kids went to the Arizona Science Museum in downtown Phoenix, nearby the Convention Center - we saw Star Trek: The Experience! This is heaven for Star Trek fans like us - memorabilia, props, costumes, sets, shuttlecraft simulator, and more (check out http://www.startrek.com/custom/include/community/tour/virtual). We all took turns sitting in the captain's chair on the bridge set of Next Generation (actually, I took several turns). This was the first big "field trip" for Dan, transporting and using his wheelchair and being around a big crowd of people.
Today, we went with Dan's folks to church, Dan's first time back since his transplant on Aug. 25. It was a wonderful time of worship and thanksgiving, church members were praising God for answered prayer for us. And another first, Dan managed all his morning preparation by himself, with just a little help from me. After church, another first, we went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. If you haven't been there, you must go. I don't know if the menu is the same at all locations, but this location's menu was about 40 pages long! So many choices, you could eat here every day and not make it through the menu.
Dan's next Mayo visit is Tuesday at 4pm for outpatient rehab. Thanks for your prayers for Dan to regain all his strength, he is doing better each day. And fyi, his mental challenges are gone, he's back to normal (for those of you who know Dan, I know you are laughing out loud).
Thankfully,
Debbie and Dan
Friday, November 28, 2008
Friday, Nov. 28th updates
It's been a busy week. Dan's had something to do at Mayo every day this week, except for Thanksgiving day. Labs, PT, pacemaker check, and follow-up with the liver doctors and all went very well. Dan's new liver function is about as perfect as can be, his creatinine is up a little and his prograf level is down a little, so meds are being adjusted. Dan may have a intestinal virus, we should hear the test results tomorrow and then get antibiotics. The next think Dan and I want to work on is a thank-you letter to the donor family. We will give the letter to Mayo to send to the family; the family may or may not respond, again via Mayo to us. After a certain amount of time, it is up to them and us if we actually know each other's names and/or meet. We hear that sometimes the donor and donee meet, other times it is too difficult for one or the other family. We'll send the first letter, then trust God with what happens next.
Thanksgiving was truly a time for giving thanks. Dan's sister Debbie and the kids Tim, Alyssa, and Josh were with us and Dan's dad asked Dan to pray. It was emotional as Dan shared in his prayer that God had granted the desire of his heart, to spend the holidays with family. It was particularly poignant since we had been told years ago right after Dan was diagnosed with Alpha-1 that the doctors were not sure if Dan would see his 50th birthday (next week, Dec. 5); then we were told by Mayo doctors the day after his transplant that Dan probably had only a few weeks left to live.
Today was especially productive, Dan and I dove into cleaning our room, tossing a lot of junk we've been holding on to, packing more boxes, clearing out his desk, my nightstand, and the closet shelf and rearranging the stuff to keep that was strewn all over the place. It will be much easier to pack everything for returning home (still planned for January). Tonite we are relaxing and watching 2 great holiday movies - Polar Express and The Family Man - if you haven't seen these, run right out and borrow them.
The cleaning we did today made me think about how our spiritual lives often need cleaning, how we need to confront and confess sin, rearrange priorities, get rid of unhealthy habits to make room for God and His will for us. When we do this, our lives will truly reflect God's glory, people will see Jesus in us, that's what it's all about.
Thankful,
Debbie and Dan
Thanksgiving was truly a time for giving thanks. Dan's sister Debbie and the kids Tim, Alyssa, and Josh were with us and Dan's dad asked Dan to pray. It was emotional as Dan shared in his prayer that God had granted the desire of his heart, to spend the holidays with family. It was particularly poignant since we had been told years ago right after Dan was diagnosed with Alpha-1 that the doctors were not sure if Dan would see his 50th birthday (next week, Dec. 5); then we were told by Mayo doctors the day after his transplant that Dan probably had only a few weeks left to live.
Today was especially productive, Dan and I dove into cleaning our room, tossing a lot of junk we've been holding on to, packing more boxes, clearing out his desk, my nightstand, and the closet shelf and rearranging the stuff to keep that was strewn all over the place. It will be much easier to pack everything for returning home (still planned for January). Tonite we are relaxing and watching 2 great holiday movies - Polar Express and The Family Man - if you haven't seen these, run right out and borrow them.
The cleaning we did today made me think about how our spiritual lives often need cleaning, how we need to confront and confess sin, rearrange priorities, get rid of unhealthy habits to make room for God and His will for us. When we do this, our lives will truly reflect God's glory, people will see Jesus in us, that's what it's all about.
Thankful,
Debbie and Dan
Monday, November 24, 2008
Great Day!
What a great day today was. Except for the early morning. Dan did great, he likes mornings, but I don't do mornings well and found myself racing to get ready and out the door, but we got to Dan's PT appointment on time. Dan's therapist is Richard, and he worked Dan hard. And Dan loved it. Dan's goal is to be able to walk without the walker, so it's a lot of leg lifts, squats, stretches, and just walking. Dan has "homework", exercises he has to do-5 sets twice a day. We'll see Richard twice a week, next time on Wednesday.
We had a little break between PT (8-9am) and Pacemaker check (10:15am) so we had breakfast in the cafeteria. A nice rest, although PT says "rest is rust", yikes.
Pacemaker check went well, Dan's heart is in sinus rhythm and pacemaker is working fine. Dan has 3 more weeks until he can lift more than 8 pounds and lift his left arm above his shoulder.
We boxed up more books to send back home, now we can finally see the carpet in our room. Tonite we're watching the finale of Dancing with the Stars - we think Brooke will win, but we love to watch Warren.
And we got a call from the disability insurance agent today, who told us they will be sending us a sizable check for monies they should have been paying us (it's a long story), and mahalo to Pastor Derrick for all you did to make this happen. God spoke to Dan in the hospital, clearly telling Dan that He would provide for our every expense during this journey, and this unexpected gift looks like the beginning of God's fulfillment of his word to Dan. We can't wait to see how God will provide for the rest of the bills, including the 6-figure charge for Dan's liver transplant.
"God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns." Philippians 1:6 CEV
Debbie and Dan
We had a little break between PT (8-9am) and Pacemaker check (10:15am) so we had breakfast in the cafeteria. A nice rest, although PT says "rest is rust", yikes.
Pacemaker check went well, Dan's heart is in sinus rhythm and pacemaker is working fine. Dan has 3 more weeks until he can lift more than 8 pounds and lift his left arm above his shoulder.
We boxed up more books to send back home, now we can finally see the carpet in our room. Tonite we're watching the finale of Dancing with the Stars - we think Brooke will win, but we love to watch Warren.
And we got a call from the disability insurance agent today, who told us they will be sending us a sizable check for monies they should have been paying us (it's a long story), and mahalo to Pastor Derrick for all you did to make this happen. God spoke to Dan in the hospital, clearly telling Dan that He would provide for our every expense during this journey, and this unexpected gift looks like the beginning of God's fulfillment of his word to Dan. We can't wait to see how God will provide for the rest of the bills, including the 6-figure charge for Dan's liver transplant.
"God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns." Philippians 1:6 CEV
Debbie and Dan
Friday, November 21, 2008
Friday, Nov. 21
Today was a pretty good day, Dan is feeling well and was able to walk out to the dining room table for meals, and he enjoyed reading "The Grand Weaver" by Ravi Zacharias and writing a new blog entry (www.linesfromdanielsden.blogspot.com). We also started packing a few boxes of books to FedEx back home, we figured if we start now a little bit at a time, it will be easier in the long run. We also enjoyed listening to CDs, in particular, Tony Bennett's new Christmas album, and Three Wooden Crosses (inspirational songs by country artists -- thanks for this CD, Karen and Calvin!). Dan's first follow-up appointments are on Monday - 8am outpatient PT and 10:45am pacemaker checkup.
Aloha from the desert,
Debbie and Dan
Aloha from the desert,
Debbie and Dan
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Home again!
It's Thursday, Nov. 20 and we're home from the hospital again. Sorry for not updating since Sunday, I haven't been home until today.
Dan's heart procedure on Monday went very well. They did the cardiac ablation and then implanted a very high-tech pacemaker. It's called an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) and it has 2 leads into the heart and 1 lead on the outside of the right ventricle. It will keep Dan's heart from going too fast or too slow. He's doing very well, he seems to have more strength and is breathing easier. The pacemaker is permanent, along with taking coumaden (a blood thinner).
The liver doctors decided on Tuesday to do the ERCP procedure (removal of the bile duct stent). This procedure also went well, it is done endoscopically so not real invasive. They removed the stent along with a biliary stone and put in another stent which will also have to be removed in a few months. Dan was fine and able to eat a regular dinner that night, he just had a scratchy throat.
Wednesday was a rest day, meaning no procedures, but PT and OT were back to get Dan up and around. He was able to walk a lap around the nurses' station, he hasn't done this in weeks. Yay, pacemaker!
Today was very busy, with doctors' last rounds with Dan, PT and OT getting in a few more exercise times including the rehab gym, removing the PICC line and catheter, discharge instructions, prescriptions for more meds, we ended up leaving around 4:30pm.
Dan now has outpatient OT and PT twice a week, labs twice a week, pacemaker check-ups a few times in the next month, cardiologist follow-up, liver doctor follow-ups, dietician follow-up, you name it. And now we start trying to follow the low sodium diet at home, along with fluid restrictions, he only gets to drink one 16 oz. bottle of water in a 24-hour period. This is sure different from the instructions after transplant, to drink 6-8 bottles of water a day. They tell us it is a different way to get the excess fluid out of his tissues and into the plumbing, he gets a huge amount of diuretics and drinks very little fluid. Go figure. He also has new instructions and restrictions with his pacemaker, like no more MRI's, no airport security systems, cell phone and ipod on the right side, etc. and my personal favorite...no arc welding.
Thanks for your prayers and support. Continue to pray for Dan to regain his strength, and for me and Dan's folks to stay healthy, and for all of us to continue living together in harmony and love...it won't be long now until we hele on home.
Aloha,
Debbie and Dan
Dan's heart procedure on Monday went very well. They did the cardiac ablation and then implanted a very high-tech pacemaker. It's called an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) and it has 2 leads into the heart and 1 lead on the outside of the right ventricle. It will keep Dan's heart from going too fast or too slow. He's doing very well, he seems to have more strength and is breathing easier. The pacemaker is permanent, along with taking coumaden (a blood thinner).
The liver doctors decided on Tuesday to do the ERCP procedure (removal of the bile duct stent). This procedure also went well, it is done endoscopically so not real invasive. They removed the stent along with a biliary stone and put in another stent which will also have to be removed in a few months. Dan was fine and able to eat a regular dinner that night, he just had a scratchy throat.
Wednesday was a rest day, meaning no procedures, but PT and OT were back to get Dan up and around. He was able to walk a lap around the nurses' station, he hasn't done this in weeks. Yay, pacemaker!
Today was very busy, with doctors' last rounds with Dan, PT and OT getting in a few more exercise times including the rehab gym, removing the PICC line and catheter, discharge instructions, prescriptions for more meds, we ended up leaving around 4:30pm.
Dan now has outpatient OT and PT twice a week, labs twice a week, pacemaker check-ups a few times in the next month, cardiologist follow-up, liver doctor follow-ups, dietician follow-up, you name it. And now we start trying to follow the low sodium diet at home, along with fluid restrictions, he only gets to drink one 16 oz. bottle of water in a 24-hour period. This is sure different from the instructions after transplant, to drink 6-8 bottles of water a day. They tell us it is a different way to get the excess fluid out of his tissues and into the plumbing, he gets a huge amount of diuretics and drinks very little fluid. Go figure. He also has new instructions and restrictions with his pacemaker, like no more MRI's, no airport security systems, cell phone and ipod on the right side, etc. and my personal favorite...no arc welding.
Thanks for your prayers and support. Continue to pray for Dan to regain his strength, and for me and Dan's folks to stay healthy, and for all of us to continue living together in harmony and love...it won't be long now until we hele on home.
Aloha,
Debbie and Dan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
