The Dillons Meet the Solinskys

Last night Mike, Josh, Isaiah, and I headed to Applebees in Wisconsin Rapids to meet Sara, her husband Craig, and their 5 year old daughter Ashlyn.  Sara and I were anxious to get together again and so happy to have our families meet each other.  They gave us a large corner booth and after a few minutes of deciding where everyone would sit we settled in with the kids in the middle and the adults on the outside.  Ashlyn was not at all shy with the boys and after deciding what to eat, she and Josh got right into a game on her kids menu.  After trying to let her get ahead a bit, Josh quickly realized that she did not need any special treatment -- she ended up beating him in the end!  The conversation flowed freely and Ashlyn kept us all entertained with her stories and antics.  At one point she asked to come sit by me, which made me so happy!  She tried to teach me how to touch my nose with my tongue, but it turned out that I was just not quite as talented as she was!  It certainly was not for the lack of teaching skills on her part.  At one point she asked me if she could see my kidney!  Unfortunately I had to tell her that it just wasn't possible.  She did decide to name the kidney, however.  Her first instinct was to name it Belle.  Then she said maybe Colleen.  She finally accepted Isaiah's suggestion to name it Colleen Belle.  So Colleen Belle it is!  She also gave us a lesson on "hemodialysis", a word she could pronounce without flaw and a definition of which she knew by heart.  Before we knew it three hours had passed.  We had talked, laughed, and gotten to know each other.  Josh and Isaiah got a taste of what it would be like to have a little sister!  Ashlyn even said she would like to come stay overnight at our house sometime!  How fun that would be!!  Craig and Mike enjoyed their time talking about their jobs, hobbies, and life in general.  It was such a wonderful evening and we just cannot wait to do it again!

Surgery is just 24 days away now.  Sara will go a week from Wednesday to have her final pre-op exam.  My family and I are going to Louisville, KY next week so Josh can attend Rajon Rondo's basketball camp.  We are so looking forward to our time away as a family.  When we get home it will be just over a week until the big day.  I am still not at all nervous.  I am just so excited!  This past year has been incredible.  In the end, two people(Lonnie and Sara) will have new kidneys.  In the end I will be a new person.  So incredibly touched -- so incredibly blessed -- so incredibly humbled.  God is good -- all the time.  

27 Days and Counting....

Sara and I both received our surgical paperwork from UW yesterday.  Her surgeon will be Dr. Hans Sollinger who has a cool German accent and is a smiley fellow!  We haven't met him -- just know this from a video he has posted on UW's website.  My surgeon will be Dr. Janet Bellingham.  Mike and I actually met Dr. Bellingham in December when we were at UW for my donor evaluation.  I would say that she is a bit on the serious side, but definitely seemed to be very competent.  Both Sara and I will need to be at the hospital the day before surgery to have our final pre-op appointments.  Sara will also be going down on July 6th for an evaluation.  Most of these tests should simply be formalities, but still they continue to use phrases like "surgery is tentatively scheduled" and "potential donor" or "potential recipient".  Don't they know that this transplant is definitely happening??  Don't they know that Sara and I have both come way too far in our journeys for this to not work out??  Apparently we will just have to prove it to them!

This coming Sunday evening Sara, her husband Craig, and their daughter Ashlyn are planning to meet me, Mike, and our boys for dinner.  We are looking forward to our families meeting each other before the big day!  It won't be long now -- just 27 days!  Sara goes to dialysis 3 days a week and is counting down the days until that will be in the past!  After tomorrow's session the count will be: 10 down, 10 to go!!  Halfway done!!

Several people have asked me if I am nervous.  The answer is no.  Maybe I am too excited to be nervous.  Maybe I am too naive.  But truthfully I just think that I have complete faith that this is meant to be -- and that is all I need to know!

Surgery Scheduled!!

Sara and I were both anxiously awaiting news from UW today.  She left a message for Kathy a little bit before 1:00, but when we hadn't heard anything by 4:15 I called Kathy myself.  UW had just been waiting on my viral studies to come back(HIV, Hep B, etc) before we could move forward. Kathy checked her computer and indeed the results were in -- all normal as I expected!  She then told me that she had checked possible surgery dates earlier today.  She knew we were looking at the week of July 18th.  UW only does planned transplants on Wednesdays or Thursdays.  There was only one time slot left on July 21st, so she snagged that date for us!  I couldn't believe it --just three and a half weeks from even finding out about Sara from my friend Laura and here we were getting a date for transplant!  After everything Lonnie and I went through this seemed way too easy!  Kathy said that Sara will still need to come down soon to have a final pre-op done.  We are just going to plan on all being fine at that visit!  Kathy said that I should plan on being to UW at 7:30 a.m. on July 20th for my pre-op work.  They will put us up in a hotel that night so we are close by for surgery the next day.  She said I should plan on being in the hospital 3-4 days, depending on what time I get out of surgery on the 21st.  I didn't really care about any of that right now -- I only cared that we had a plan!  The transplant committee will also need to give us their final approval at their next meeting on July 7th, but Kathy assured me that this should just be a formality.  After I got off the phone with Kathy I had the exciting privilege of being the one to call Sara!  Just like the day I called her to tell her we were a match, we both were thrilled!

One of my first calls tonight was to Lonnie and Ginger.  They have been such a huge part of my life that I wanted them to be among the first to know.  Ginger said they are thrilled for Sara and I and that they still love me :-)  As happy as I am that he is doing well and as much as I knew I would have their support, I just needed to hear it from them.  Lonnie's visit on Wednesday to UW went very well.  There is no trace of the BK virus that he had earlier in his blood.  They again increased his anti-rejection meds and we will pray that the virus stays away.

As I sit and think about this past year tonight I am overwhelmed with emotions.  I have often said that this has been the most faith-filled journey of my entire life.  What started as a simple "voice" in my head saying, "tell him you will give him one of yours" has turned into a road of excitement, disappointment, thrills, heartbreak, friendship, love, and unwavering faith.  I have had many people tell me that this is an amazing thing that I am doing.  I only wish those people could walk in my shoes down this path.  What I have given so far has come back to me ten-fold.  I am so blessed to have family, friends, co-workers, and an amazing husband who have supported me through it all.  I am so blessed to be able to offer this gift of life.  I am so blessed to have Lonnie.  I am so blessed to have Sara.