Upcoming Appointments

Greetings all,

Not much has changed since the last post. Patrick has been referred to three transplant centers since the kidney donation from his best friends did not work out at UNC. This month we are waiting for appointments at Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte, Duke University, and Baptist Hospital at Wake Forest, for further work-up, where labs will be drawn and evaluated. The first step is for the medical teams to determine whether Patrick will be accepted as a candidate for kidney transplant. After he is evaluated, Morgan will be re-evaluated, and given a second (or third, or fourth) opinion about his eligibility as a donor. If for any reason it is determined that donating a kidney would jeopardize Morgan's health in any way, there are other options to be explored for Patrick. All we can do now is be patient and do everything we can to support a healthy process.

In the meantime, he's been doing dialysis at home now for about 2 months. It is a different technology that the one that Patrick was used to in his sessions at the clinic. This method is called penitential dialysis and it uses the stomach lining as a container and filter for fluid that draws toxins out of the body. It has been a challenging adjustment- sleeping and eating have been difficult; energy level has been low. Patrick has learned a lot about self-care and the freedom gained by doing dialysis at home has been countered by tremendous personal responsibility. It should pay off, when his body has adjusted to the new schedule, routine, and physical burden, and he is able to regain some freedom and flexibility in his daily schedule.

For now it looks like Patrick and I will be living together in Greensboro come August. This has been long anticipated, since we planned on living together last summer, until Medicaid required him to stay at the dialysis centers in Raleigh/ Chapel Hill. It will be a fresh start in a new place for him, and for me, a chance to spend more time with my brother and keep a closer eye on him, and on the health care system that he is navigating. Hopefully there will be big, productive changes to come in the second half of 2012!

Best to you all.
sincerely and with love,
Kate