Ethan’s Journey

 Ethan seems to be feeling better. Much better. The doctor said that all of his screening so far has come back negative and we needed to change the rejection medication doses just a little bit to compensate for potentially processing his medications differently. The doctor also wanted to add in another medication that will help lower Ethan‘s LDL (bad cholesterol). He has been struggling with this number being too high. His Team did try that other medication. That is the one which threw his kidneys into a tailspin as a “rare side effect”. We had to discontinue due to decreased kidney function His Team wants to start a new medication.  I’m worried, so I did some reading. I was researching if his current medication will have any contraindications with his new medication. and I found out that it typically doesn’t. We all know that Ethan‘s not typical.  As I dug a little deeper, I discovered some “rare” side effects. I reached out to the team. I voiced my concern. I learned th...

 I woke up this morning and checked on Ethan. He said he slept through the night and felt well enough to go to work! Yay! He stomach was still a little out of sorts but improving. The bland diet is helping. He continued with it all through today but is quite sick of it already. More tests came back. Negative for the nasty viruses that transplant patients can get. Rejection medication numbers were within the range they want him to be.  The swirling and twirling anxiety subsided for me. Ethan is supposed to get an MRI next month with contrast. We are meeting with the nephrologist to see if that will be ok. Ethan’s GFR is down to 36. Normal is above 90. They stop giving contrast to patients with a GFR below 30. We are getting close. 😬 The MRI is to get specific images of his heart and will be important to have a baseline. So fingers crossed. Ethan laid low after work. He ate his bland diet. He did participate in the conversation. He was even crackingPaul and I up. Paul had to ma...

 Ethan was up in the night with more stomach upset. This time he was nauseous and feeling like he was going to vomit. I sent a communication to the transplant team and tentatively scheduled an urgent care appointment. Ethan chose to call out sick which he has never done. Not even with his pneumonia’s. Yesterday he said “NO URGENT CARE” today he is waving the white flag. I am proud of him for recognizing that he needs a break. I have to be careful and make sure he knows that HE is calling the shots and I am just here for guidance. We talk through all the options and the pros and cons of each. Then HE chooses the next step. I started moving some of my appointments to this evening. It hit 9:00 am and I called the Transplant team. I received a call right back directing to go to the lab to rule out some bacteria overgrowth as well as assess hydration, electrolytes and rejection medications. We had to collect a-hem….a sample….to be tested. We went to the lab. And waited and waited for ab...

 I figured Ethan would be run down a little bit today because of his long drive yesterday.  He kinda threw a curve ball. He was planning on going over to my Mom and Step Dad’s house. It was a little bit before and he told me he felt “weird”.  He had mentioned earlier that his stomach was a little off. He had off and on cramping.  “What does weird mean?” I asked him. “Like I am chilled today and I don’t know if I should go to Mema and Beba’s because I don’t want to get anyone sick. I almost think I have a fever.” I checked his temperature and he was 99.7. Not bad but in true Ethan fashion, not normal. I needed more information and began my “subjective”. We use SOAP notes in veterinary medicine.  S-Subjective - you collect information on the owners/patient’s (in human medicine it would be the patient) perspective of their ailment. O- take actual measurements and factual data. Temperature, pulse, blood pressure, weight. A-Assessment- the doctors reviews the subject...

 Today I saw an ad for “Last Minute Memorial Day Outfits”. Ummmm…..are these outfits for 2025? We have well over a month to Memorial Day. What the heck? Also, am I the only one that will wear the same clothes on Memorial Day as I wear any other day of the week? Then I was annoyed. I was annoyed at the ad, annoyed with people who wear Memorial Day outfits. Just annoyed. I looked down at little Jiminy all curled up and sleeping. HE NEEDS a Memorial Day outfit. I have a tiny top hat that looks like a flag. He will look dapper in that! I am sure someone will get annoyed that I dress my dog up. So I guess that is a wash. It was so beautiful out today. Our yard is so mushy. There is visible standing water on all sides. Paul was pissed because he “couldn’t do anything” outside. He proceeded to fix a friends car (outside), dig up some weeds (outside), troubleshoot out gutter situation (you guessed it, outside). I had the windows open on ever side of the house. I was chuckling because he wa...

 Last night I tried something different. I used one of Ethan’s old mold-able rectangles and placed it under my back to sleep. It’s like a plastic bag with play-doh in it and it was helpful for Ethan when we had to worry about bed sores. I laid on my back and it created my back to flex in the opposite direction of sitting. The small of my back was pushed towards the ceiling. I slept the entire night like that. I wouldn’t say it was comfortable, but it wasn’t so uncomfortable to keep me awake. I am really good at sleeping. This morning I figured I was either going to be significantly crippled or feel much better. I was delighted that my back felt pretty good. So weird! I was busy after work today. I dropped off stuff at Goodwill, picked up groceries, went to the ATM and on my way home I got a call from Avery. Paul had told her to drop her car off at the house so he could remove the snow tires and put regular tires back on it. Avery needed a ride back to her apartment. She met me at t...