Biopsy 7.. I lost count.

We made it home after a very busy three days in Palo Alto.  Owen's biopsy went perfectly and he received another zero rejection score.. yay!   His pressures were the perfect and his labs all looked good.  The exception was the Prograf (anti rejection) level.  We have had daily labs trying to get that one stable.  We'll get there.  Owen did his chest xray to get a new baseline and then we headed to dermatology.  Owen has Keratosis Pilaris and the steroids were making them inflamed and it looked like a little folliculitis on his upper arms.  We'll see Dr Z at PCH next week and then back to Stanford in two weeks.  He has grown a half inch and is now 50" and his weight has hit a plateau of 55lbs.  Much better than the 46lbs he was at transplant.  All good things!

 

Exactly one year ago, he was going to the cath lab at the exact same time, to get his stent placed in his coronaries.  Just 24 hours later, he suffered a cardiac arrest and I thought his fight was over.  I signed consent to take him back to the cath lab knowing he was probably not going to make it off the table.  I don't think anyone there that night thought we would have made it this far.  It's such a miracle to see him today.. how far he has come.  We are feeling blessed.

Palo Alto and School is Out!

Last night, my frequent flier and I headed back to Palo Alto.  It has been so great at home and we already miss our family.  Owen has been doing great!  His echo looks great and he is staying healthy.  His Prograf (anti rejection) level has been extremely high for no apparent reason, so there have been frequent labs.  Thankfully, he doesn't hate labs.  We need to get this level back down, it's more than 3 times what it should be and it can make his Kidneys angry.   We met with Dr Z at PCH last week and clinic today at Stanford.  All looks good!  A chest xray and dermatology appointment scheduled for Wednesday following his biopsy in the morning.  
We've been busy at home.  I met with the district Special Ed Director and we set up a gameplan for school in the fall.  We will enroll him in our neighborhood school and they will have a teacher hired by the time school starts in July.  He will start Medical Homebound and that will give us time to do his benchmark testing, do his service evaluations and get his IEP updated.  Then we will go from there.  He is excited to work on some curriculum this summer and do lots of reading. Kam's last day of school was today and she is officially a SENIOR!!!  How did the time fly by so fast!?  I am going to soak up every minute of our summer together at home.  The fall will bring college tours and scholarship applications and then paying deposits on dorm rooms.. gasp.  Let them stay little.
Gpa Todd's work sent Owen a goody basket and Gma was taking pics to send Thank Yous.  Logi was our little photo bomber.
We have had a lot of sickies in our house since we have been home so we are laying low.  Carson got a nasty virus that took him down.  Logi had a week long stomach virus that he is finally over, or at least we thought until he spiked a fever today.  Kam has had a chronic cough and acid reflux.  Owen and I are somehow avoiding it all and  my house smells of bleach.  Nothing beats being home.

Until tomorrow..

Mother's Day

It has been a dream to be home with my family.  I am exhausted from a crazy year and today it caught up to me.  I woke up at 5am with Logi, went back to bed until Mother's Day breakfast was ready and then back to sleep until noon.  I feel great now!  We spent the day with my family and it was wonderful!  My Dad and Rog cooked some amazing ribs, wings, and all the fixins.  Owen was in heaven and ate more meat than I thought he could ever consume.  My sister and her fam came over and we haven't seen them since forever.. almost a year I think.  The kids had a great time with their cousins and we all had some catching up to do.  This evening Kam made treats and we all snuggled on the sectional in the play room and watched a movie together.  The house is quiet and everyone is tucked into their beds. 

  I feel blessed and incredibly happy.   Happy Mother's Day!!