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