Phone call from Hopkins received...records released!

Well...Mark received the phone call from Johns Hopkins today! There isn't really much to report and it isn't time to celebrate yet as the Transplant Team at Hopkins only called to request our address in order to send an informational packet and release of medical information. Thus, there still may be a chance that Hopkins will not accept the referral. While we still don't know what will happen with Hopkins, it was nice to receive the call and find out that things are moving forward. As always, thanks for the continued prayers and support.

Referred to Johns Hopkins

Mark and I went to the Transplant Clinic at UK this week for our last follow up appointment. Now that Mark has a dialysis routine established and has been weaned from the immunosuppression medications, he is officially being referred to Johns Hopkins. The Chief of the Transplant Team at UK has been in contact with a physician at Johns Hopkins regarding Mark's two failed kidney transplants. The team at Johns Hopkins is doing a research study on transplantation in individuals who present much like Mark. UK is sending Mark's medical record to Hopkins this week. There is no guarantee that Hopkins will accept Mark or will transplant him again. But, there is at least hope of another transplant for now. We should find out by the end of the month if Hopkins accepted the referral and (if so) when we will go to Baltimore. Please continue praying for Mark. If Hopkins decides Mark is not a candidate for another transplant, we will have to come to terms with being on dialysis for life. We will post information about the referral to Johns Hopkins as soon as we find out more!

Report from Cardiology/update on dialysis

Mark saw the Cardiothoracic Surgeon yesterday at UK. Since being discharged in mid February, the Cardiothoracic Surgeon has monitored Mark's heart through various imaging tests. In addition, Mark has been taking an oral blood thinner to prohibit formation of any additional clots. The Cardiologist who read the imaging tests feel like the masses in Mark's heart are most likely clots. The clots are slightly-almost insignificantly smaller-than they were when Mark was hospitalized. Although the change is slight, the fact that the clots are smaller serves as evidence that they are indeed clots and not a tumor. Although having two clots in the heart is definitely worrisome, it was wonderful news to hear that the clots are smaller. The Cardiothoracic surgeon did not think that the clots would jeopardize Mark's candidacy for a future transplant. He will continue to monitor Mark although our next appointment with Cardiology is not for three months! Mark is back at UK tomorrow for removal of his midline used for the IV antibiotic. He will then go back to transplant later this month. Peritoneal dialysis seems to be working well. Mark feels much better than he has for months. Although doing a PD exchange every 6 hours is burdensome at times, it is well worth the sacrifice as Mark feels and looks great! Praise be to our God for this blessing!

We're home...traveling to Hazard for PD training

Mark was discharged from UK Tuesday evening. As you would imagine, we were really anxious to get home and see Mark Thomas. A good friend offered us two great tickets to see UK play on Tuesday night. Much to my surprise, my husband-a huge UK fan- turned them down saying he would rather see Mark Thomas than John Wall! Yesterday, we traveled to Hazard for our first training session on peritoneal dialysis. We will be going to "PD Boot Camp" for at least 4 more days. We're hoping that the PD catheter will work without complication and that the weather will cooperate and we can travel over the mountain safely. Mark is completing blood work every day to continually monitor the consistency of his blood. He is now on an oral blood thinner. The cardiologists are continuing to monitor the clots in his heart. It is our understanding that the longer blood clots are present in your body the less likely they are to travel. The echocardiogram completed on Tuesday indicated no significant change in the size of the clots. The fact that the clots have not increased in size is great news. If the clots had grown or if new clots were present, Mark may have had to have open heart surgery. The presence of two clots is worrisome to say the least, but we are very thankful to avoid a major surgery. We're praying that the clots will resolve, but understand this may take time. As always, please pray for our family! We appreciate all the love and support from everyone. It has meant so much. We know God has a perfect plan for Mark. We are trying to trust in Him without losing patience or hope! Off to Hazard for now...I'll post more information about Mark's health soon!

Emotional day....may be discharged tomorrow

Not much has changed with Mark's health since our last blog. Mark spent the weekend recovering from the surgery on Thursday. We celebrated my birthday on Friday and were able to visit with Mark Thomas and our family. On Thursday and Friday, Mark had some pretty significant pain in his abdomen from the placement of the peritoneal dialysis catheter. We learned today that the fistula that was created in Mark's forearm during surgery on Thursday is not functioning. The physicians suspect that Mark's clotting issue contributed to the fistula not working. Although we were aware of the potential threat blood clotting issues create for fistulas, we were really hopeful that the surgery would have been successful. It was difficult to hear that the fistula isn't working. It is our understanding that the veins and arteries used in creating fistulas can never be used in another fistula in the future. Thus,the fistula not working means that we lost one "life line" for Mark. As we mentioned in an earlier post, the intent of the surgery on Thursday was to create two types of dialysis accesses so that we would have two options for dialysis. The physicians talked about trying to repair the failed fistula or creating a new one. However, they decided against this...at least for right now. So, the plan is to continue monitoring Mark's blood work to make sure he is safe to go without dialysis at least for a few more days so the incisions around the catheter can heal and so we can be trained on peritoneal dialysis. We may be discharged tomorrow. At that point, we will go to Hazard for a 5 day training on peritoneal dialysis. Before we are discharged, we think that the cardiologists will complete another echocardiogram to gain more information about the clots in Mark's heart. We are uncertain if this will happen today or tomorrow. Today Mark had a mid-line placed in his arm to allow him to receive IV antibiotics when we are discharged. We will be trained on how to administer this drug as well. Please continue to pray for Mark. We are hoping that no problems arise with peritoneal dialysis!

Surgery is complete

Mark's surgery is complete. He is now back in his room on the 8th floor. However, he is in significant pain. Please keep praying!

Surgery has started

Mark is now in the OR for the surgery to create a fistula in his forearm and place a PD catheter in his abdomen. The surgery should take several hours to complete. The surgeon estimated it would be 4 or 5 hours before we would see Mark in the recovery room. Although we have not spoken to the Cardiologists, a resident told us yesterday that the echocardiogram they completed yesterday indicated no change in the blood clots in Mark's heart. We are anxious to hear what the Cardiologists' plans are for Mark's care. We were hopeful that the blood clots would have decreased in size, but understand that this may take time. The Transplant Team feels like the Cardiologists will repeat the echocardiogram sometime next week and continue to closely monitor Mark. Please lift Mark and our family up in prayer this morning. Rhonda, Larry, and I are anxiously awaiting the phone call from the OR nurse with an update on the surgery.