Progress Update

Hi everyone. It has been a long time since my last post. I haven't had a computer and most importantly as you all know I have been recovering from a kidney transplant.

Well, it has been 6 weeks since my transplant and I am feeling pretty good. I have cabin fever bad. I am still not able to drive or to lift. What this means is I am still totally relying on my family to get around and help take care of Hailey. I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful family, both mine and Scott's, to help me out. I am sure they are getting pretty sick of me by now though.

The first couple weeks of recovery were kind of tough. I had to retrain myself as to what I could do and what I could not do. I am pretty stubborn so I had to be reminded a few times that I was not able to do something. My labs are looking really good and I only have to get blood work once a week now. I only have to see the doctor once every 2 weeks. I no longer have to measure my input and output and this is a major accomplishment in itself.

I did have a scare before Christmas and was admitted back into the hospital for a possible rejection. After having an ultrasound and a kidney biopsy it was determined that I just had a viral infection. It was pretty scary ... thinking to myself that I just received this great gift and that it may have already went wrong. I am so thankful to have another chance to have a healthy and happy life. Greatful that I will be around to see my baby girl grow up and become the beautiful person I know she will be. She is the light of my life and the reason that I keep going each and every day.

I have another kidney biopsy scheduled for January 26th. I will keep you all posted. Next week is going to be very tough for me as it is the first anniversary of Scott's death. Not sure I am ready for this but I will cope the best way I know how.

Til next time...

~Ann~

Our Christmas Miracle

Well it has finally happened and Ann's Christmas Miracle has come true Tuesday Night Ann recieved a phone call at 11:30 pm that she was second in line for a Kidney 15 minutes later they called her back and told her she was primary for the kidney and to go to Lehigh valley Hospital to be admitted. Annie called me at about 12:30 to let me know she was on the way to the hospital that Lori was taking her 5 minutes later she called back she had to go home she had forgotten her insurance cards I told her I would meet her at her house I was originally going to meet them at the hospital. We get to the hospital and they told us her transplant would take place around 6:00 AM we were so excited. they drew blood and we just sat and waited they came back later and told Ann that her BUN was high and she needed to go for Dialysis before she went to the OR so off to Dialysis she went Lori and I went and got something to eat and talked we were so excited for her, surgery was now looking like it was going to be around noon or 1:00PM we just tried to remain calm and keep Ann calm as well but the waiting was torture to be honest. Noon came and went 1:00 came and went the nurse had no idea when surgery was going to take place all we did know was that the Kidney was not there at about 3:00 PM the surgeon came into her room he thought surgery would happen between 6-7PM now we could call everyone and give them a real update. About 7:15 they said they were on the way get Ann to take her to surgery she was scared to death but put on a brave face for all of us. She was now going to get her Christmas Miracle a new Kidney surgery would take 3-4 hrs this felt like the longest time of our lives. the surgeon came out about 12:10 and said that surgery went well and Ann was doing well she would be in ICU in about 1 hr we could see her there. We were so glad to see her again around 1:45Am Thursday she was in pain but looked good. I saw her again last night and she looked fantastic her facial swelling was way down and her kidney is working great she was alert and talking and had been out of bed her pain is well controlled and we could not ask for a better outcome. To the family who Generously donated there loved one's Kidney we would like to Thank them from the Bottom of our Hearts this had to be a agonizing decision but by doing so your loved one will live on we could not thank you enough for this gift of life. Keep Ann in your thoughts and prayers that her recovery will continue and she will be home soon. What a great Christmas this is going to be !!!!!.

Count Your Blessings

Hi Everybody,

It has been a month since my last post and I must say many good things have happened since then and now I am going to share them with you.

As of my last post I told you all they were planning on using my fistula in my arm for dialysis and that did take place on October 19th. I was scared to death. I wasn't too happy about the needles in my arm but I just hold my breath and the pain goes away pretty quick. So I went through a month of that and on November 19th they removed the permanent dialysis catheter from my chest. Yahoo!! So now as soon as I get the okay I will be able to shower again.

On Friday, November 13th at 12 midnight I received a phone call. I, of course, was wondering who in their right mind would call my house at that hour. It had better be an emergency. I picked up the phone and said hello and they asked for Ann Mulrooney. I scolded the person on the other end of the phone and said "Do you know what time it is?". She told me to sit down and listen to her. Her name was Becky and she was calling from Lehigh Valley Hospital Transplant Center. I was 5th in line to receive a kidney and I needed to get to the hospital within an hour to get a blood test done. She advised me to go to dialysis the next morning and just have a light breakfast and she would contact me before I left dialysis with any updates. So off I went at 1:00 am to get the bloodwork done and got back home at 1:45am. Of course, I couldn't sleep and I couldn't call anyone because they were all sleeping. So I tossed and turned and finally got up and went to dialysis. I told the girls at dialysis about my phone call and they were all excited. Right when my treatment was ending the phone rang and it was the transplant coordinator calling to tell me that my blood was a match to the donors and that I had moved up from 5th to 4th on the list for this kidney. I was advised to eat lunch and stay on clear liquids the rest of the day. I than received a call at 5:00pm that the kidney went to someone in front of me. Oh well. There is always next time. I was just happy to receive a phone call so soon. I was only on the list for 2 months. Pretty exciting. Friday the 13th will never again be an unlucky day for me.

The benefit concert was a huge success. So many people came out to support me. I was overwhelmed but felt blessed to have so many people who care about me be there to wish me well.

Hailey and I have also been adopted for the holidays by a department at my work. It amazes me when you are in need how many people are just waiting to jump in and help.

So, just remember when you are feeling down and out, take a moment to stop and count your blessings. No matter how bad it gets a bright side is always around the corner.

~Ann~

Moving Right Along...

Hi everybody! It's been awhile since I have been able to post. I have been experiencing alot of back pain due to the pancreas and that keeps me down for awhile.

On Monday, October 19th they started doing dialysis thru my fistula in my arm. Quite a scary experience but I made it thru. They said they will continue to use my catheter in my chest as well for about 3 weeks until they are sure the fistula is in good working order. Than ...hip hip hooray they will remove the catheter from my chest. This will be a glorious day. I have been waiting for this for so long. Will keep you all posted on this event.

I have been somewhat busy. Trying to get into a schedule with Hailey each day now that I am not working full time. Also, trying to sell tickets for the upcoming benefit concert for my kidney fund.

So for the most part this week has been a good week so far. Normal aches and pains but no major catastrophes.

Must go for now....

~Ann~

First Fundraiser

Late as usual! I am just posting this today, Nov. 18. Not Oct 14 when I started it.

I was going to put up a post about our first fundraiser and never did. The day has come and gone and it was..............phenomenal!!!

The Pastor from our church contacted a local man she knows of who does concerts in churches. He was all for doing a benefit concert for us. We had to sell tickets and put up posters. He also advertised as he has a fan base. Well, never in our wildest dreams did we think it would do as well as it did. I won't post any totals, but I will say that Ann made enough to pay for at least a months worth of meds after the transplant with some left over. And the donations still keep coming in. It was an answered prayer.

There is some other fantastic news from that day, but I will let Ann share it. She is planning on coming over tomorrow, so I guess you'll just have to wait till then. I can imagine the questions swirling around in your heads. LOL Oh, the suspense!

Next fundraiser won't be till after the New Year.

Ann's First Post

So I just got out of the hospital for another bout of pancreatitis. The doctor's say these will come and go as I have two pseudo cysts on my pancreas that seem to aggravate and cause pain. I will have to go to Philadelphia in December to see a specialist about this to see whether I will have to have the cysts drained or removed. Not too excited about this but seems I have no other options. And if my back pain will go away it will be worth it.

I have officially started my disability leave. A bit scary for me. Had to decrease my time to 10 hours a week and will not officially receive a payment of any kind from social security until January 2010. So Hailey and I will be living rather tight. I am a miser so I hope to be okay until than.

Family has all been great to me helping out during my hospitalization and due to having the fistula put in my arm. I am not allowed to lift anything heavier than 20 lbs so that leaves Hailey out and as most of you know she has developmental delays and is unable to get herself into bed, into her carseat, etc. But she brings so much sunshine into my sometimes gloomy days.

Dialysis has been going okay. Takes alot out of me and I sleep during most of the treatment. No word yet on a donor. However, they said it could take 1-3 years until I get a transplant. But I was placed on the list on 9/9/09. Must mean something... I am hoping it brings me good luck!

Okay.. that's all for now. I am going to try to stay out of the hospital so I can continue to post on a weekly basis.

~Ann~

Moving Along

Ann has been having good and bad days. Some good news is that her arm is changing back to normal color after being bruised all week. The bad news is that her back is still killing her. We think some of it may have to do with stress, but it puts her down. If she gets down on the floor, she can't get up. Not good. She is looking into disability right now. Honestly, I think it's for the best. We don't know what's down the road right now but we'll find out.

I really wish Ann was able to start writing here. Because Debbie doesn't always know what she's talking about (okay, most of the time I don't know what I'm talking about...sheesh). Unfortunately, she doesn't have the internet at home and only has access when she's at work (which doesn't leave time for blogging and she hasn't been there too much) or comes to my house. The state she's been in doesn't exactly make her feel like she wants to hop in the van and travel to my house I'm sure. So I guess you'll just have to put up with me for now. But that's okay. Really, I'm not so bad. Just don't know my medical terms or what I'm talking about. LOL

Still Waiting

Another update for you. Ann finally got out of the hospital. On Friday, Aug. 28, she had surgery on her left arm to get her set up to have dialysis that way. It needs to mature for about 8 weeks before they can use it so she will continue to have dialysis through the chest port. She is very excited to be able to take a shower again when the time comes! Such a small thing to make her happy. But it usually is the small things, isn't it?

So today...she is back to work! She's a real trouper and a fighter!

Best Laid Plans

Ann was very excited to get started posting here last week. She's got lots of things she'd like to write about. However, she is in the hospital right now with inflamed pancreas. Not feeling so hot at all, but hopeful the stay will not be much longer. I'm sure she'll tell you all about it when she's finally able to. Keep her in your prayers.

Labor of Love

I have created this blog for my sister Ann. Earlier this year, she was diagnosed with kidney failure and is in need of a transplant. She is now beginning the road to fundraising for uncovered medical expenses. Along with myself, Ann and her sister-in-law, Susan, will also be author's on the blog.

This blog will mainly be a place for Ann to share her thoughts and feelings and about what she's been through already. It will also be an update for friends and family for fundraising events in the works. One such event will take place on November 14, 2009, so mark your calendars! More details to come!