Rustin turns 4!

Rustin turned 4 years old a couple of weeks ago and he couldn't be happier. D asked him if he feels stronger and smarter now that he's 4 and he quickly responded with a, "yes!" Rustin brings sooo much life into our house and I am so happy he is our big boy. Here are some pictures and a video from his party.

Hudson's biopsy went really well. Rustin held Hudson's hand while laying next to him in his hospital bed while watching some DVD's with him. They were so cute together! He came home from the hospital today ready to play. Hudson is such a trooper. We have not gotten any of the results back and hopefully someone will call us tomorrow. The doctors are expecting everything to be fine. Hudson will have 2 more biopsy's within the first year of his transplant. Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Kristi

Trick-or-Treat!

This last weekend we went trick-or-treating with our good friends the Mitchell's and their daughter Hollis. It was a great time and the Lord graciously allowed the rain to subside for us or we would have needed to trick-or-treat at the mall - yuck! Instead, we had a great time in their neighborhood, flying to infinity and beyond.

Hey everyone,

Our Hudson is back and feeling tons better. It is like God just hit the switch and Hudson was better. On Tuesday I started to see some improvements as he wasn't hurting as much when he swallowed and he seemed a bit more comfortable. Then on Wednesday he woke up with less drool in his crib and he wanted to play around with Rustin and wanted to eat. And now today Hudson woke up and was back to his normal happy self. Praise the Lord! He went in for his weekly Children's appointment this morning and wanted to stand on the scale himself (with Daddy holding on to him for support) and he has been asking for his favorite food in the world; Stacy's Pita Chips from Costco - amazing! Hudson has been playing, singing, looking at books, trying to walk again, eating food (with normal gums again), and melting the heart of everyone he comes in contact with.

Thanks so much for all your prayers and for coming along side of our family once again. I have been able to see God's goodness and grace so clearly in these last two weeks. I feel soo privileged that He has asked us to bear so much in these last 3 years. God is doing and is going to do amazing things in my family and my sweet Hudson. He will be more wise and sensitive to the Spirit at such an early age, but for now I am just so happy to be his mommy. Here is a video of Hudson working out and walking with my fabulous husband. Enjoy!
Kristi

Ever heard of gingival hyperplasia? Its awful

Hudson has made tremendous progress since his surgery three months ago. He has come alive in so many ways, but the last few weeks have been very miserable for him with a horrible disease in his gums. For most of his life we were unable to brush his teeth because his gag reflex was so strong that he would throw up every time we tried. So poor dental care combined with intense antibiotics (from his transplant) and inflamed gums (from finishing some teething) led to super-inflamed gum tissues and gingival hyperplasia. His gums swelled so much and so quickly that they began to cover some of his teeth completely and made it dificult to swallow as the lining all the way down into his esophogas became inflamed. It never obstructed his airways at all, but he has been in incredible pain virtually all day (and many nights) everyday for weeks now. At best, he plays on the ground for a few hours in the morning but most of the time he just sits and is miserable, crying unless one of us is holding him. It's been awful.

What's been worse is that we have to hold him down three times a day to brush his swollen gums and he just screams his brains out the whole time. They would bleed and he would choke and gag and its been awful. This was completely unexpected and has essentially stopped any progress he had been making in regards to walking and being more mobile. He doesn't eat anything anymore and we only feed him through the g-tube.

I'm sorry to not have written earlier - I have just been out of the habit of writing when things are so tough because life had been going great for awhile. And to be honest, after 2.5 years, I'm over writing about all of our problems. But this is significant and we do need prayer for our boy once again. It seems that his gums have receeded quite a bit in the last few days but he still needs to be held almost all of the time and feels awfully all day. Please pray for energy and healing for Hudson and patience for us as we feel pretty much drained out.

Thanks,
Donny

Ty Reveals All

There have been some recent developments in our family. Ty's having some girl problems and it gets a little complicated for a kindergartner. I guess you have to just watch the video - its one of those clips that we'll love to look back on in twenty years! Hudson's been making some great developments lately as well and we'll try and have some video soon for you.

Our Sweet Bailey Belle

Hi All,

I just wanted you all to see just how cute our Bailey is. She is the best baby I have ever had - super happy, content, and the apple of her daddy's eye. We feel soo blessed to have her apart of our family! Here are a couple of my favorite recent pictures of her. Wait till you see how much Hudson and Bailey look alike. Wow.

Rubber Ducky

Hey Everyone,
I just wanted you all to get a glimpse of our happy Hudson enjoying some new experiences. Tonight was the first time in Hudson's life he ENJOYED taking a bath. We are sooo excited to see our boy do things that we have longed for since he was born.

At the end of last week we were able to change one of Hudson's meds that caused him to have diarrhea, and upon switching to a different medicine he has stopped having super explosive diapers. Besides the obvious reason, it has been so nice for Hudson also because now he has a much bigger appetite, eating many more things again.

We hope you enjoy the videos and pictures. They sure were fun to experience!

Kristi

Fun days

Hi everybody! I know it has been awhile, but things have been both busy and fantastic around here. Ty's school is wonderful and he is still loving it, though Rustin misses him terribly. Hudson, though, is making great progress. His minor surgery was just that, "minor", as he was in and out in about 1/2 an hour. The whole process took all day, but the procedure was no big deal. He is now in the 50th percentile for his weight and 25th percentile for his height for his age and he is making tremendous progress of catching up in these areas. Also, he is making great progress in his leg, pelvis, and back strength as was evidenced today when he began to stand on his own up against our couch. Oh, how we will celebrate when he can walk freely! This is a really big step for him, though, and we are extremely excited. We've posted a few videos for you to enjoy. Thank you for continuing to pray for our family.

with love,
Donny and Kristi

Videos of Ty's 1st Day of School

Ty getting ready for school in the morning.

Ty in his classroom.

Ty's first day of school!

Today was Ty's first day of school! He loves his new class (11 kids) and he told us that he has never been as excited about anything in his whole life as he is about his school. He can't wait to learn how to read, write, paint, and do other things he can't even think of yet (in his words).

He had a great time and is "super excited" to go again tomorrow, even while we are at the hospital for Hudson's surgery. I can't believe our Ty Ty is old enough to go to school. Where did those 5 years go. I will miss him at home,but I know he is ready for this and I couldn't be happier to send him to his amazing school. We couldn't be more proud of him. Plus, doesn't he look so cute in his uniform.

Big adjustments!

General updates on the Vankers:

Donny survived camp with Ty and Rustin - they all had a fantastic time and saw many students have a life-changing time listing to God's Word.

Ty is starting kindergarten on Tuesday! We found out just over a week ago that he has an opportunity to attend a small Christian school (12 kids in his kindergarten class) that is just two minutes from our church, so Donny can drive him in every morning on his way to work. Ty is EXTREMELY excited about learning how to read and making new friends and this is a real answer to prayer for us in that the school he was registered for would only have class time for 2.5 hours a day and his new school will be a full-day of learning which he is ready for.

Rustin will be missing Grandma Kerns as she just left this morning for Chicago. We are incredibly thankful for all of her help these last two months and we really could not have survived without her. Love you, Mom! Can't wait to see you again. Also, Rustin will be assuming the "big brother" role during the day when Ty is at school. He wishes he could go to school too, but he'll just have to wait at least for another year.

Bailey is fantastic, always quick to give Daddy a smile and be the best baby in the world for Mommy during the day. She's started to eat rice cereal, or at least she lets us put it in her mouth; she doesn't seem to like it much yet, but she still has a good attitude about it! Check out the video below!



Kristi wanted to thank you all for all of your prayers and encouragements. Your messages, even the ones on Facebook, have been super encouraging to her as this time has been very stressful for her. She is still mostly home-bound with Hudson's care (he's had diarrhea 10+ times again today) and will be adjusting to life without help from her mom and with Ty at school as of Tuesday. These are HUGE changes for her, so please continue to pray for help and peace.

Finally, Hudson is still doing great. He is making up for lost time in his speaking, talking NON-STOP from morning until night. He can say his ABC's and count up to 20, though he typically will not do much upon request. We will be postponing his physical therapies for a little while until things are stabilized more for him and our family, but he still has many appointments to deal with. We desperately want him to be able to walk and it seems that he now shares our desires as he talks about it and is highly motivated to move, even crawling across our gravel driveway to go explore outside. His clonus has practically disappeared, so thankfully he no lunger has the uncontrollable tremors as he recently did, thankfully. Please keep praying for his legs as it will open up his life dramatically if he can move as he wants. Also, please pray for his surgery on Tuesday as the doctor will be removing a kidney shunt through his bladder. It's not a big deal, but he'll still go under general anesthesia and will be quite sore.

Thanks!

Donny and Kristi

He has moved on

It's official: Hudson has moved on from Elmo. It's not that he has anything against Sesame Street, but he has simply fallen in love with the great international hero, Micky Mouse. He talks about the furry creature all day long!

Hudson is really doing very well right now. His medications have been stabilized for a few weeks, his vocabulary has practically tripled since the surgery as he repeats everything we say (even with funny sayings like, "Oh nuts!") and he has grown significantly. He has gained over .5 an inch and several pounds, and for a little guy like him, this is quite a lot. Hudson is an incredibly happy kid when he is not bored, though his continued inability to walk brings him to this state quite often. Please pray he will continue to grow in strength and ability as his mind wants to take him much farther than his body will.

Thank you for praying for Kristi and our family as I had the older boys at our church's high school summer camp. The camp itself was a phenomenal success and Ty and Rustin did just fine, though they were exhausted at points, and I am thankful the Lord was able to carry Kristi through the couple of days of discouragement she dealt with. Things can still be very difficult to handle emotionally at times and we do covet your encouragements and prayers.

Enjoy the video! M-i-c-k-e-y... M-o-u-s-e!

Blessings in the Lord,
Donny

Discouraged

My soul is discouraged. Today was a tough day for me. I am having a hard time dealing with "my life." I am just tired!! I hate sitting here crying about all that my son has to endure. I am tired of having over 12 appointments a week. I want my boy to walk and eat normally (preferably right now.) I want to be able to go on a real date with Donny, not one where we can only be out for a little bit before we have to come home and hook him up to food, or give him his medication. I want to not feel stressed . I want our family to be able to go on a vacation. I want Ty to be able to go to a better school. I want to be redeemed from my past (which I am in the process of working on). I want more Lord and I want a break. I want to always "trust in Your lovingkindness"- Psalm 13:5. Lord, please fill my heavy heart. I need a bucket full of peace, patience, and grace. I trust in your plan. Please allow me to be able to stand back and look at the forest, b/c right now I feel like I am in it. I love you Lord, you are good.
Kristi

Making Comments

We've heard a lot of people say that they're having trouble posting comments on the blog. For some reason, there is a problem with Blogger, and the site is not remembering people's information when they create an account (or loading very slowly). Because of this, we wanted to let you know an easier way to make comments. If you click on "Name/URL", it will allow you to put type your name and post a comment with no problem. We've also added Donny & Kristi's e-mail address on the right side of the blog.

Thank you so much for all your notes of encouragement. Though I am just the aunt, it is so encouraging to know how many people are praying for Hudson, Donny, Kristi & the whole gang.

Blessings,
Emily

God is answering

I took Hudson in for his labs this morning. I didn't get much sleep last night because I was worried that I wouldn't stop his feeds in time and that I would miss my alarm. But, thankfully I got to Children's on time and it went really well. Hudson was saying hi to everyone that he saw and then when the blood draw was all done he turned to the technician and said, "all done." I am so proud of him. He puts up with so much. Since I got there early I was able to make it home before Bailey woke up to eat. I called Children's to ask how his numbers came out so that I would be able to tell Donny this morning, but our nurse told me that she couldn't see his information in the computer. I didn't understand what was going on. I asked if they lost his blood and she said that she would call me back and figure out what was going on. Well, God was testing me right away. I didn't want to have to come back tomorrow morning since I have 2 other appointments there tomorrow in the afternoon. It would have been a long day for us all. But, our nurse tracked our tech. down and he had left the blood viles in his pocket. Crazy.

His numbers came back really well. His creatinine is still .3. Our doctor told me that they have never had anyone else have a .3 creatinine. Go God and go Scott. Hudson's anti-rejection levels are between 10-12, which is exactly where they want him to be. I am so thankful for what God is doing in our Hudson.

Donny is having a great time at camp. He said the boys are doing fantastic and that he is trying to think like me throughout the day. He is becoming Mr. Mom and I couldn't be prouder. I got a chance to talk to the boys this morning and Ty was telling me how much fun he was having and that he really missed me. Then I talked to Rustin and he said that he missed me a little bit, awesome. Just a little bit. I love it. I am so happy that everyone is doing well. I will continue to update you all.
Kristi

Home alone-well almost!

Today Donny, Ty, and Rustin left at 5 a.m. for our high school summer camp which will be from today thru next Sunday. It took our youth group 12 hours to get to J.H. Ranch in California. Donny called me throughout the day to let me know how the boys were doing and to check on me with Hudson and all of his home care. D said the boys were great, they even took a 2 hour nap on the bus, could I say "all-stars." I am at home with Hudson, Bailey and thankfully my mom. It would not be possible for Donny to have gone to camp if I didn't have my mom here. I don't know how to explain all that my day entails with keeping track of Hudson's care. Thankfully, I have felt God's peace today.

Tomorrow I will leave super early in the morning for his blood drawl and then try and rush home to feed Bailey before she wakes up. It wouldn't be as hard if I wasn't still feeding Bailey, but she is just 4 months old and I still feel like it's important to keep nursing her, for now. Donny was concerned to leave me while Hudson is still not a month out from transplant, but I know how important this week is to set up the rest of the year with our students. I look forward to next year when I will finally be able to serve along side Donny in ministry. I am serving along side of him now, but I long to be more active in the lives of our students and staff. But for now I am continually trying to learn patience and that God is good all the time, not just most of the time, but all the time. I have realized that if God is not good all the time, then He is a liar and I definitely know that He's not a liar. Each day, sometimes each hour I have to choose to believe that God is good, no matter if I feel like it or understand. Please don't think that I have accomplished this, oh I only wish, but I am striving each day to live out my dad's favorite verse, Romans 8:28. It is amazing how now, even 14 years after my dad's death, I am still learning from him. I would love if you all could pray for me to believe and know that God is always good this week while my stress level is much higher without Donny being here. Please also pray that Donny will have some much needed bonding time with Ty and Rustin and that God's presence would be evident and active with our staff and students at camp. I will keep you all updated as this week progresses. I have yet to see what the Lord has in store for our family this week.

I just want to let you all know that each day Hudson is getting stronger and stronger. He is crawling like normal again and one of his physical therapist said that it wont be too long until she believes that Hudson will walk. I can't tell you how exciting that day will be for our family and most importantly, Hudson. Thanks for standing along side of us. We love you all.
Kristi

Great and suprising news

This morning, Hudson's creatinine number was all the way back to .3 and the doctors are no longer concerned about anything! Also, he seems completely over his cold and even the clonus appears significantly milder than just a few days ago. Nobody knows why or how these things happened, but we all (including our doctors) are just very happy and relieved. We did not really do anything differently except pray much more as I know many of you did, and we are thankful that the Lord listened and helped our son. The Bible says in Psalm 141:2 and Revelation 5:8 that the prayers of God's people are like incense to Him, a sweet aroma to His senses, and He loves to hear them and then respond. Thank you for lifting them up before the mighty God.

Also if any of you are interested, there is a television show called Hopkins about things that take place in John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore that recently aired an episode that really resonated with things we have been through with Hudson. The link is:

http://hopkins.abcnews.com/episodes/6

This is an amazing episode to watch (#6) if you want to see what happens during a kidney transplant and also when a premature baby who is not supposed to be able to breathe is born. The steps they took are extremely similar to what they did with Hudson when he was born, though the cause of the condition is not the same. My only caveat: this is terribly sad at parts and we sobbed through much of it. However, I still highly recommend it.

Uh-oh. This isn't good

Hi all. Hudson had a fantastic day on Friday, his first really good full day since the transplant as he seemed completely recovered from the surgery itself and is now just dealing with the effects of balancing the medication. Today, however, his blood work had some discouraging news for us.

His creatinine (which shows kidney function) increased from .3 (amazing!) to .5 over two days. A creatinine of .5 is still really really good, but the change is really dramatic in such a short period and is unexpected if there are no complications. Essentially, there are a few things that could cause such an increase: dehydration, levels of his anti-rejection medication that are too high, or beginning stages of kidney rejection. His fluid level intake that we measure leads us to rule out dehydration and on first glance, the level of the medication in his blood is far too low to be causing these problems. Obviously this is not good for Hudson. Please pray for this as we will be rechecking his blood early tomorrow morning. If the creatinine remains high, we will be doing a series of blood tests on Monday to once again determine if we can give him lower doses of the medicine more often during the day to keep from spikes that could cause this problem with creatinine. We will also be doing an ultrasound on Hudson's kidney and bladder to make sure there are no obstructions and that everything is draining well and there is a likelihood he will need a kidney biopsy to make sure the body is not rejecting the new kidney. This would certainly mean that Hudson would be re-admitted to the hospital for a time, which is always difficult on our whole family. Please pray that his blood work would come back well tomorrow and that this problem would be solved.

There is another problem, though, that is also very disturbing. Hudson has always had a very small residual degree of a condition called clonus, which is involuntary twitching in his feet and ankles that happens after stretching out. Clonus can be indicative of all kinds of issues, but his condition had decreased over time almost to where it was non-existent and we were not concerned about it. However, since the surgery, it has progressively grown worse, much worse, and is now not only highly noticeable but even prohibitive of him doing simple things like standing while supported or pushing off with his feet while he is on the floor. His leg will twitch uncontrollably until Kristi or I hold it still. This is terribly difficult for us to experience as it seems uncomfortable and confusing for Hudson and we really don't know what to do about it. All we can think of is that this is another side effect from his medication which can cause tremors in 40% of patients, though our doctors have never seen the medication effect the legs, only the hands. Hudson also has a runny nose now, which may be a sign of him trying to fight off some kind of virus.

Please pray for us as we are all quite exhausted and concerned for our son. None of these developments are good, in fact they are all potentially devastating in different forms. We are trying very hard to just trust in God's provision and not be discouraged, but this is proving to be very difficult.

Donny

Whew! Still lots of work

Hudson's energy level is up tremendously and his diarrhea has been solved with a change in his diet, bringing some relief of his diaper rash, and overall he is doing exceptionally well considering that he should still be in the hospital. However, things are still very stressful for us around here. Fourteen pills, ten liquid medications, and four powders daily are required for him on a daily basis at specific times ranging from 7:30 AM - 11:30 PM. He also has one by-weekly intravenous infusion and has needed blood draws at the hospital everyday at 6:30-7:00 AM but Tuesday and today when he could have slept in but woke up at 5:45! His medication dosage has changed almost everyday we have been home, occasionally leading to some confusion for us, and he still requires feeding throughout the night via his g-tube in his stomach.

Eventually, Hudson will be weaned down to simply a once a month check up at the hospital and just a couple of pills a day with a normal toddler's diet and we can't wait for that time. We know that things will settle down in the next few weeks and months, in fact the doctors continually reassure us of this expectation, but for right now things are still very tiring for us as we are trying to acclimate to our new "normal" as quickly as possible. Please pray for patience for us, continued health for Hudson, and even for my work if you will. Though I have saved up sick days and vacation for this time of recovery, it is difficult to be away from my staff my students at the church, especially during the busy summer months. I long to return as quickly as possible, knowing this will mean Hudson is in a stable condition. Please also pray for Scott as he will head back to work this next week and he is still very sore. I've included a short video of Scott reading to Hudson if you can find it (the videos keep disappearing when I log on to the blog!)

Thank you all,
Donny

A bum deal!

Last night we had Scott, Kim and Kara come over for awhile to visit with us before they left for their home in Tennessee. I was great to see them before they left. Just trying to get settled home from the hospital didn't leave us with tons of time to be with them, so last night was sweet for us. Scott had his final check up yesterday and the doctor told him that he was doing really well. I always love having a doctor tell me that I am doing well! Donny and I still are having a hard time comprehending what they have done for Hudson and our family. Sometimes I feel like he hasn't even had a kidney transplant, it's all very strange. He's crawled a few times and eaten a few things, but really other than more talking, we haven't seen a huge change in him yet. I'm trying to be patient, but its hard. We've just waited so long for him to get better. I am hoping that he will overcome so huge milestones that he hasn't completed yet.

Thankfully, Scott is doing well, but Hudson is in a lot of pain. He has an extremely bad diaper rash and is bum is soo raw that we have to keep him naked and continually put creams and ointments on. He was even a bit dehydrated yesterday because he has had so much diarrhea and we've been trying to pinpoint what exactly is causing it, his new meds or the new formula he is on as he is trying to get his appetite back. We think its the food, so we're trying some new things tonight and hopefully he will be back to normal tomorrow. Please pray for us as Ty, Rustin, Donny and I have all been sick since we came home and THANKFULLY Hudson has not caught anything. Please pray he stays healthy from whatever we have going through our house and that his bum will heal quickly so that he can sit up and move around again.
Kristi

A note from our friend, Scott Gorrill

A note from Scott:

It is hard to believe that it has been over a week since the surgery. In my mind I thought I would be back to normal by this time. I am not so much discouraged with the progress, as I am discouraged that I set these expectations that have not been met in the time frame I had in mind. I am learning to “down-shift” a little and allow my body time to heal. In light of this I am very thankful that the Lord has allowed me to recover so well in just a week, and even more thankful how the Lord has answered our prayers with Hudson, beyond all our expectations.

Some of you may not know my connection to Donny and Kristi, so here is a little background. I first met Kristi as a Jr. High student at Grace Church of Dupage, where her dad was pastor. We both spent time together throughout high school in the church and at school. Donny moved to the Chicagoland area to attend Wheaton College. I got to know him as one of my youth leaders there at Grace. He was always on the go, but never too busy to invest in the lives of the students in the ministry. He loved and cared for me as both a H.S. student and a young college student. I spent countless nights at Wheaton College just spending time with him. He was, and still is, a man who’s desire is to please the Lord. Once they got married, their plans took them away from Chicago to Michigan. We lost touch, but that did not change my love and respect for him as a brother in Christ.

Following their move back to Chicago and Hudson’s birth, we connected through their email updates. We began praying for their family and were eager to see how the Lord was going to work. Our faith was constantly encouraged as we read their honest struggles through this heart-wrenching process. I knew that I wanted to do something to help but that was difficult from so far away. In the fall, of 2007, when Richard was processing through the transplant, I began to wonder, “What does it take to be a donor?” But since Richard was in line to donate, it went no further. With the news that Richard would not be able to donate, I contacted the transplant unit at UW. As I looked at my daughter, who at the time was 8 months old, I thought, “I wonder if there are people in my life who would be willing to do this for her.” I decided then that, if the Lord would see fit for me to match Hudson, that I wanted to be able to give a little piece of me (that I can live without anyway), so that he might be able to live a more full life and especially one that walks in the footsteps of his father as a Man of God. Although every day since surgery has not been enjoyable, it gives me great joy to know that the Lord chose to use me and my family in this way.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We are the body of Christ, working together for the good of the Body. You have all played a vital part, just not out in front for everyone to see. May He receive all the praise for the wonderful things He has done!! I am eager to see how the Lord will continue to grow me and my family as we reflect on His Goodness to us.

Too cute to miss

This video is with Grandpa - just too cute to miss!

Even though it seems to disappear, the video is just above this! Keep moving the cursor around until you see a fist and click the button.

He's Home!

Yesterday evening, the doctors told us last night that Hudson did not need to return to the hospital if we had his blood drawn early each morning this weekend, so one week after transplant surgery, Hudson came home for good. Last night was a wonderful celebration for us as a family and it has been exciting to see our son continue to recover well today after a few good naps. I'd write more but both Kristi and I are completely exhausted as Hudson was up every half hour last night, but we'll fill you in with more details soon. I hope the pictures say enough! At least you can know that he's starting to eat more, he's already crawling again, though a bit slower than usual, he took his first bath, and he's still the sweetest kid in the world. We are truly blessed by God.
Donny

Feeling better but may stay longer

Hudson is definitely starting to feel better (see the basketball pictures), but the level of the anti-rejection medication in his blood not only is not high enough for us to come home today, but it actually went down yesterday. That was a huge disappointment for us and they ran a bunch of tests last night to see if they can find out how quickly his body clears the stuff. Everything is going great with the new kidney, but they need to get this medication level high enough for us to come home permanently

However, they just told me a few minutes ago that they will give Hudson a "pass", meaning he can come home for most of the day and come back tonight. This is fantastic, because we get to celebrate with our family that is in town and Kristi will be able to give him a bath and enjoy him at home. It's not exactly what we were hoping for, but it is still an answer to our requests to God and we are very thankful!

Donny

One day closer

Today started out a little tougher for me. We were told that he would have all of his cords and stuff taken out, so I was prepared for Hudson to not be attached to anything when I arrived early in the morning after feeding Bailey, but that wasn't quite the case. I was also expecting Hudson to want to eat more and move around more today, but he didn't want to do either of these and I was very discouraged. I find it really hard to have a good attitude when I have unmet expectations, when I think things are going to be one way and then they are switched for the worse. I know that overall he is doing fabulous, way beyond anybody's original anticipations, but I guess I somehow figured that the new kidney would be some sort of miracle pill, that it would just fix everything right away and it has not.

I know this might sound crazy to most of you because he IS doing so well, it's just that we (and he) have waited on the sidelines for two and a half years now and it is so hard to be patient. God has really been pounding that into me lately! I know that God is still in the process of redeeming Hudson's little body as He is even for parts of my life and this takes time sometimes, but its still hard to be patient.

God was really gracious to me today, though, because right when I was the most discouraged, the Oldhams (some friends from church) came by with some food and encouragement for us. It was so timely - the Lord new I needed it, and I did much better throughout the rest of the day. Hudson did too. He was in some pain earlier and even throughout much of the day, but we're a bit more on top of it with the medicine. He probably hasn't eaten because he has been hurting. Nobody wants to eat when they are in pain! Oh, he has pooed several times today. Yeah for poo! Thanks for praying for him and please pray that the levels of his anti-rejection meds will keep going up because that's the one thing that could keep him from coming home soon.

We have been told repeatedly that it is a strong possibility that we can come home Friday, which is AMAZING, but I am worried that this won't happen and we'll be stuck here for the weekend. I loathe hospitals, always have ever since my dad had cancer, and I really want to get Hudson home. We actually got to take him on a short walk outside, but we couldn't stay long because he was hurting too badly. Hopefully he'll have a bit more freedom tomorrow. We'll keep you posted, hope you enjoy the picture.

Kristi

Let it shine!

Hudson is incredibly tired in this short video Donny's parents shot yesterday, but it is still really cute! You can see him "dancing" at the beginning too. He loves to dance when he is listening to music or when one of us is singing to him. I will let you know if he poo's today (we really need him to) and if there is any other good news. Enjoy! - Kristi

Bananas and a Big Suprise

Wow, today was another awesome day. Partially because our family and some friends were able to visit, but really because more doctors confirmed that Hudson should be able to come home before the end of the week and Hudson's day had been relatively pain-free. He's been reading more, talking more, even laughing a bit at some more Elmo sing-along stuff, though he can't laugh or cough too hard. Today he even tried some bananas for the first time, which he could never do before because of the high level of potassium. One of the greatest times of the day was what happened right after the pharmacist spent an hour going over his new anti-rejection medications, telling us how difficult they are to take for some little children. She no sooner walked out of the room than the nurse walked in with the most difficult pill for Hudson to get down and I decided to just try it in his mouth anyway. Within two seconds he swallowed it with no problem! The nurse was shocked and ran out of the room to go and tell the doctors - it was hilarious! It seems that everything is going smoothly, probably because it is. We were told today that his progress is much better than "textbook" and nobody has seen anything like it before. I would love to say that it is because our Hudson is such a tough kid, but the reality is that his body has been broken since it was formed and truly the Lord has just been gracious to him once again.

That moment with the pill was fun, but the truly the sweetest time of the day was when Scott and his wife, Kim, walked through the door to see Hudson. Scott spent the first few minutes reading to Hudson while Kim was filling us in on more of the details of his surgery, and then we spent some time just talking about life and other things with them. They have been such a tremendous blessing to us, I still hardly know what to say. I was reminded the other day of a trip Scott and I took together a number of years ago when we were some pastors in Russia that were trying to learn how to work with teenagers in a quickly morphing culture. At the end of the week-long conference, Scott and I heard some noise down the hall late at night and upon investigating, found a room packed with the pastors singing together, praying together and sharing food they had saved over the week for this modest feast before they spread out all over the country. Some of them had a seven day train ride spanning eleven time zones ahead of them the next morning but here they were, loving each other and trying to bless even us foreigners simply because we are of the same faith, part of the same body of believers. They gave us food, even to our objections, that some of them had saved for that train ride because supplemental provisions on the trip would be unavailable. They just wanted to give and they had joy in this, so we did not want to refuse them. I suppose this trip must have rubbed of well on Scott, because this is exactly what he did for Hudson. I'm sure you can see the joy in these pictures.

Please pray that Hudson will continue making progress towards recovery as there are still many things that must be accomplished prior to his discharge, including a satisfactory level of anti-rejection drugs absorbed into his blood and establishing a successful eating regiment. He really needs a bowel movement to be able to move forward in his recovery. Also, please pray for Kristi and me as we are still taking in all of the additional work that will be required post transplant for the first year even after we bring Hudson home; it was a bit overwhelming going over the schedule with doctors today. There are still a few surgical procedures left (a kidney biopsy and stint removal from his new kidney) and a strict regiment of daily drugs that will be difficult to adapt into our lifestyles, so pray we will continue to have peace, patience, and wisdom.

Thanks,
Donny

Breaking Records

Hudson's nephrologist told us today that Hudson is literally breaking records (at least as far as she knows) as to how quickly he is recovering. Today his creatine level was 0.4 (down from 0.6) and this is amazing because with smaller numbers, they are exponentially more difficult to bring down. She was so encouraged by his progress that she was quite certain he will be able to come home before next weekend. That is INCREDIBLE! That would mean his stay of one week in the hospital would be a third of what they were expecting. We are trying not to be too excited because we know things can change quickly, but still, its fun to see his changes.

Though Hudson was in a lot of pain throughout the night last night, this afternoon he has done much better. So far, we have been able to hold him a few times, read books with him, watched Elmo with him (again...and again...and again. If anybody has other suggestions than "Elmo goes to the Doctor" or "Elmo's World: What Makes You Happy" please PLEASE let us know!), and we have even watched him start to eat and drink (the biggest water bottle EVER) and become more talkative. He was up for a long time today, waking up at 6:00, taking several naps throughout the day and now trying to go to bed at 10:30. He is tolerating all of the medications really well, coming off of some things, and we are preparing to move out of the PICU right now. He would have moved to a private room on the surgical floor much earlier except that we waited all day for some blood to come for a transfusion he needed (his hematocrit/red blood cells have been low the last few days and haven't really come up enough) and he is just now receiving it. His pain medications are also well managed now, so basically Hudson is recovering like a total champ and we are really thankful. We'll keep you posted tomorrow - more exciting developments to come, I'm sure!

Good night,
Donny

A few pictures from the day after

Here's Hudson watching some Elmo videos with his new friend, Ernie. He still needs the distractions as he is in quite a bit of pain when he is awake.










Even Auntie Amber from Chicago was able to visit. This was another blessing from the Lord, that Kristi's sister and her family happened to be in town on their way up to Canada the night before Hudson's transplant. We could not have planned it any better if we had tried! Thank you, Lord








Here is Hudson, sleeping away. We are so excited for him!

Quick Update

Hudson is doing great! He is such a champ. He had an ultra sound about two hours ago on his new kidney. The doctors just came back and told me that it went really well and one of the doctors said that it was even better than textbook. She told me that there is a perfect amount of blood flow throughout the new kidney and there is NO clotting. Yeah! I feel like we keep getting perfect news - Thank you Lord. When Hudson woke up about an hour ago, I started singing to him and then I began to ask him some questions. I asked him if I could have some kisses (not thinking that he would respond) and he started to sit up to try and give me a kiss and I was shocked. He gave me a bunch of high fives and when I would count to 10 he would say, "again." He is soo precious.

Donny left to go back to our hotel room ( which is just a mile away) to take a nap and a shower before Ty and Rustin come for a visit. My mom has been bringing Bailey to me every 3 hours so that I can feed her and get a little time in with her. It is a lot more work having another baby to take care of during this time, but I am blessed that Bailey is so easy and sweet and that the hotel is so close to the hospital. God always knows what I can handle, and I am also so thankful for all our family who is here to help us during this time. I cannot imagine doing this without them.

If everything continues to go well, Hudson will be out of the PICU sometime tomorrow and moved into a private room on the surgical floor. We asked the doctors what the steps are for Hudson to go home and they said:
- that he does not react to any of his anti-rejection meds.
- that they would be able to get a good blood level with his anti-rejection meds.
- that his pain would be under control
- that he would eat (and keep the food down)
- that he would have a bowel movement
- that he would keep peeing
- that Donny and I would finish our training for how to take care of Hudson's new meds.
Please join us in praying that these steps would be accomplished quickly and without any problems - I cannot explain how much you all have blessed us through your prayers and comments. We love you all. I have taken some pictures of Hudson and I am going to try and have them on the site by tonight. Isn't our God soo good?!
Kristi

Really fun news this morning

This morning we received an incredible phone call from our nephrologist, Hudson's kidney doctor. She was extremely excited and said that she had to refresh her computer screen a few times to make sure she was seeing the correct numbers, but now she is satisfied that her information is correct, that Hudson's creatinine number is 0.6, which indicates normal kidney function. That number is as good as Kristi's or my creatinine number! This means that his new kidney is working absolutely perfectly and the doctors could not be more excited. One of them considered it a miracle, saying she has never before seen such a dramatic recovery so quickly as it was just over twelve hours from receiving the kidney until he had normal blood work. Things were so good this morning that were he not so young, they would have already moved him out of the intensive care unit and into a regular room on the hospital floor. It's just incredible!

Kristi and I are doing well, though it is hard to see Hudson still in pain. Right now he is content to watch some Elmo, his favorite Sesame Street character, though he would like to drink more than he is allowed. We have had a complete peace through this entire process and are so thankful to Jesus, the Prince of Peace, for giving us such rest and security in this process. I truly believe we were and are ready to handle more difficult news but I am very thankful that things are progressing so well. We have even had several opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with other nurses and surgeons since we arrived and we do hope that the Lord will continue to use our son to bring hope to those who have none.

Also, we praise God that Scott did receive a room last night at around 6:00 and even already began to walk around a bit. I have not heard anything more this morning but will let you know when I do.

Thank you again for all your love and prayers. Kristi and I are excited to keep you updated as we are anticipating exciting changes for Hudson as he continues to recover from the surgery and experience the benefits of a functioning kidney. It should be fun to watch!

with love,
Donny

Our Amazing Friend, Scott!

We wanted to share with you a few pictures of Scott, his wife Kim and their daughter Kara. They are such an amazing gift to our family - there truly are no words to express how grateful we are for them!

I'm so excited!

Well, we waited for almost 40 minutes for the doctor to come talk to us after they told us they were done with Hudson's surgery, but it was worth it. We went in and got to meet with Dr. Healey who is such a sweet man and we got to hug him and everything. He was so nice to us and he just kept smiling at us because we were so excited at everything he was telling us. I guess it wasn't so much "we" as it was "me" (Donny kept it all in and I couldn't even finish all my sentences). I even hit my head on the wall when I was rejoicing. I couldn't believe it I was so excited. He told us that he took out the first kidney, the right one, and it was super small and full of cysts and that Scott's kidney was a good looking kidney and a good size for Hudson. The kidney was only out of commission for 2 hours and Hudson is already peeing really well. Everything was a step forward, he said, and it all went really smoothly. He was happy to tell us about changing the mickey feeding tube and taking out the dialysis catheter. He said Hudson was awesome and we are just super thankful for Dr. Healey.

After that we got to go back to see Hudson and he looked like my little tiger. He was extubated already because he is breathing so well that he didn't need any help with a machine. His new feeding tube looks awesome and I haven't seen the incisions yet (I couldn't do it), but Donny said it just looks like a red Sharpe pen from below his belly button to under his upper ribs on his right side. His dialysis catheter is also out and just needs to heal naturally, but now once it heals and with the new feeding tube, I can get to give Hudson a bath and he can swim with Ty and Rustin which I have waited his whole life for. I can't wait! The other doctors were really surprised that all this extra stuff was done, but I don't care. Deal with it, he's my Hudson. Bam!

Oh, and it was the cutest thing EVER. When Donny and I went back to see my boy, he was just laying there with his eyes open just a bit and he was making a little bit of noise. So I started to sing to him and Donny asked him, "Who loves Hudson?" He whispered super softly, "Mama" and then closed his eyes again. That's my boy! I love you so much, Hudson. He's in pain but will be on drugs for probably a day or two and he really doesn't look puffy at all. He looks just like he did for all of the other surgeries and I am so proud of him. Right now he is getting a scan to see how much the kidney is filtering his blood and then we are moving to the PICU for a few days. They only let one parent stay the night, so Donny will be there while I will be at the hotel nearby with my mom and Bailey. This will be REALLY hard for me because I never leave my Hudson after surgery, but God has been working on me to just trust Him and trust Donny too. I do, but please pray for me that I won't get too nervous.

I am so thankful! Thank you God! I didn't even tell you yet but this last night we were rooming right next to a little boy and his family who had a kidney transplant last week and I have always thought he was just the cutest kid in the world. I wanted to adopt him, so I asked the nurse, but she told me he already had parents. To be honest, I was a little bit bumbed out b/c I love his fro. Amazing, but I am glad that he has super nice parents. But anyway, I was able to talk with the parents a bunch yesterday and see their son and it really helped me to relax and trust God for this surgery. And also, God gave us one of our favorite nurses in Seattle (My most favorite nurse in Chicago - you know who you are!) and she was a really big encouragement too. Side note: she was the one who helped me name Bailey. I even slept better last night than I expected and I have really been feeling the blessing of all your prayers. Please thank the Lord Jesus for protecting and helping me and my Hudson and please keep asking for more help to get him home as soon as possible.

One other prayer request is really important, though, and that is that the University of Washington hospital does not have any room for Scott so he is stuck in one of the recovery rooms with almost no privacy and in a pretty uncomfortable bed. This is ridiculous that they won't just make room for somebody who just gave up a life saving organ, but it is what's happening right now and I'm sure its disheartening for both Scott and Kim. I guess Scott's not in pain right now but he's still pretty medicated. Anyway, this is important, so please pray for him.

Thank you all!
love Kristi

The Kidney is in!

We just got a call from our nurse who is in the operating room. She told us that the kidney is in and that he is urinating already! She also told me some other great news, that along with taking out the catheter, Dr. Healey will also change his g-tube to the Mickey, which is a feeding tube that won't leak unlike the current one he has that spills out junk from Hudson's stomach all the time. We are so excited because that means that Hudson will not have to come back for another surgery and that Hudson must be doing really well, b/c our Doctor told us that he usually doesn't do anything else other than the transplant. Wow, isn't God so amazing?! I have seen His sweet hands all over Hudson and Donny and I. I am so blessed.

Lord, I thank you for all you have done for my sweet Hudson and my family. Your kindness is overwhelming to me. I praise you for the peace that you have given me and all that you have graciously done for Hudson today. I am excited to see what you will do next for him. May I never forget all that you have done through our Hudson. I thank you that he is your son and that you are in control over all things. Blessed be your name and may you be glorified through Hudson and our testimony. I love you Lord and I trust in your perfect plan. Amen.
Kristi

Success for Scott

We just got word that Scott's surgery was a great success. The surgeon said that there was even one anticipated incision in his back that he didn't have to do. He is going to recovery now and the Doctor says that he is very strong and healthy. Praise the Lord! Kim will hopefully get to see him soon.

Our Dr. came in and told us that she just came back from seeing Hudson in surgery. She told us that he was doing really well and that his catheter will be removed after the kidney is putting into place. Yeah!!!! I am so excited. Please pray that the kidney will work right away, since he will no longer have the catheter as an option for dialysis.

We are so excited to see what the Lord will do in Hudson's body! Our hopes and super high. Thanks again for praying. We love you all and are encouraged by you!
Kristi

An Update

Scott's kidney just arrived a few minutes ago. Dr Healey (our transplant surgeon) is prepping the kidney right now and they will call us again after the kidney is in and things are running. They did remove Hudson's right kidney and ureter to make room and they told us that there is minimal bleeding so far.

Thank you all for praying. We have both been filled with an overwhelming peace all day and we know its from the Lord's help as he has listened to you. Thank you for all your love and support.

Kristi

Hudson is in surgery

Hudson was just taken back to surgery a few minutes ago and will be there for the next six hours or so. It was really pretty funny right before they took him because they gave him some drugs in his IV and instantly he went to a "happy place", perhaps the happiest place he's ever been! Even the anesthesiologist was cracking up with us and it was very comforting to see. The surgeon also gave us other exciting news right before they left, that there is a strong possibility he will remove Hudson's dialysis catheter during this surgery just to make more room for the kidney. This is exciting for us to think about because it would save another surgery in the future and allow Hudson to come home from the hospital with one less tube in his body (he still has the g-tube for medications).

Please pray that he will react well to the medications, that the doctors will have wisdom, that the kidney will work well, and that we will continue to trust in the Lord's plan. Please pray for Scott as he is also in surgery right now. We are so very thankful for him and his family!

We will keep you posted. On the side of this site are recent pictures of our family for you to check out. I hope you like them.

Kristi

A Big Day

We don't know what time Hudson's surgery is yet, however, we do know that Scott's surgery is at 7:20 am (a four hour surgery), and Hudson's should begin somewhere in the middle of his. Donny's mom is going over to be with Kim (Scott's wife) and will wait until she gets a call to say when she should go over to Children's Hospital, as the surgeries are at two different hospitals.

Donny's dad and Kristi's mom will be at Children's with Donny, Kristi and Bailey, and Ty & Rustin are at home with Kristi's sister Amber her husband John and their 2 kids.

Please pray for the entire family, as this is all a bit overwhelming. Here are a few things to pray for:

- A sense of peace that can only come from the Lord
- Hudson and Scott
- All the doctors involved
- Donny & Kristi, as they care for Hudson
- Kim, as she cares for Scott
- Ty & Rustin. Mommy, Daddy & Hudson going to the hospital for an uncertain amount of time is a bit reminiscent to 2 1/2 years ago when Kristi was in the hospital and all that took place surrounding that tough time.

It will be a big day. I will update this as much as possible.

~ Hudson's Aunt Emily