Kevin's Blog

Original published at: Roundup Online

I recently had the honor of donating one of my kidneys to my brother Kevin. With a new kidney, Kevin has a new lease on life. Even without this kidney, my health after recovering from the operation is great. The donation experience has touched me tremendously. I would like to encourage others to become organ or tissue donors.

Before the surgery, Kevin’s life was pretty much on hold, mainly because he had to endure dialysis. This consisted of driving 25 miles to a clinic three times a week in order to have a machine filter his blood for four hours. The doctors inserted a catheter into his chest as a port to the machine. This catheter unfortunately became infected twice. Dialysis restricted his ability to travel. It also put a limit on how much water he could drink and what he could eat.

The kidney operation went very well for us, and now life for Kevin is the best it has been in 15 years. His new kidney began filtering his blood literally in the operating room, eliminating the need for dialysis. The color in his face has returned. He can eat foods like ice cream again.

In his own words just a month after the surgery, Kevin expressed that, “I’m feeling great. The new kidney is working well, and I am just chomping at the bit for more activity. It has really been a miracle how I have healed.” Kevin is now looking forward to the birth of a daughter in April and to becoming a father for the first time.

I should live a normal and long life with one kidney. According to the Congressional Kidney Caucus, one out of 750 people are born with only one kidney and usually do not even know it. People with one kidney actually have a longer life expectancy than those with two, according to my transplant coordinator. This is more than likely because we are motivated to monitor our diets. For example, we tend to limit salt intake more than the average American.

I have read so many interesting but often disappointing statistics about organ and tissue donations. One source is a powerful book entitled “The Gift that Heals.” In this book, which I mostly read during my three days in the hospital after the surgery, Reg Green tells the stories of several donors, including his own son. Nicholas Green was tragically shot during a family vacation, but his organs and corneas were successfully transplanted into seven Italians. According to Green, every day 18 out of the 100,000 people waiting for an organ die due to the shortage of donated organs.

How can you help reverse this unacceptable statistic and become an organ or tissue donor yourself? One way is to visit the Donate Life America website at www.donatelife.net. Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of race, age or medical history. In addition, for those of us at NMSU, we can keep an eye out for opportunities like the recent bone marrow drive held on campus and put on by the family and friends of leukemia patient Melissa Sterling.

Donors are divided into two categories: living or deceased. Living donors, like me, simply volunteer. Giving a kidney, a portion of another organ or even bone marrow requires an operation, but it shouldn’t have any long-term effects. Less extreme volunteering examples are donating blood or skin. Most donated organs come from deceased donors like Nicholas Green. Signing a donor card and a driver’s license with an “organ donor” designation is a start. However, you should still ensure now that your loved ones know your wishes.

Donating a kidney to my brother has brought us closer and given us both a new outlook on life. My friends joke that I should not have to give Kevin a birthday present for awhile. Why did I give my brother such an amazing present? In short, Kevin needed my extra kidney more than I did. I wanted to help save his life. The fact that my kidney is working inside my brother is a true blessing. My brother and I want you to experience this blessing as well. If you have not already, please consider becoming an organ or tissue donor.

All is going well.   The new kidney is stable and I am feeling great.   My creatinine was 1.2 at last blood draw.   I continue to follow up either with the Dr or with the study nurse every week for another month or so.   Then, I should get released back to my normal nephrologist.

Lisa and I have taken a couple of great hikes this weekend.   Today we went to O’Fallon Park.  It was our first time hiking there.   It connects up with the trail systems of Corwina Park and the Lair of the Bear.   We probably hiked between 4 or 5 miles.   I felt very good, and we had great views of Mt Evans.   Here is a link to some pictures.   Hopefully this works out where you can view them:

O’Fallon hiking pictures

Kevin

Lisa and I watched a sermon by Francis Schaeffer last night given in 1982 warning about the influence of the secular humanist / moral relativist worldview.   It was absolutely amazing how it touched on many of the same issues that are still political hot buttons today – the purpose of the 1st amendment (not freedom from religion, but government protection for the practice of all religions and not establishing one as part of the government), activist judicial system setting laws vs the legislative branch, and the value of human life.  If the secular humanist worldview were correct, and man is the result of random chance and the pinnacle of random mutations, it inevitably leads to two very hopeless conclusions.

First, that those with the greatest power establish what they think is best, leading to all kinds of potentially detestable consequences such as genocides and other forms of tyranny, at the whim of those in power to do what they believe is in their (and presumably humankind’s) best interest.

Second, human life is devalued.   This happens in many ways.   First, eventually the sun is going to burn out and the earth will cease to be fit for life, so everything is going to die anyways.   It is just a matter of timing.  Second, those that don’t have the fittest genes to pass on to the next generation can be looked at as adding less value to the species, and either deemed not as valuable or at least seen as having some fixed value where resources could be withheld if the resources value is deemed higher than somehow their worth is calculated at.    This is happening now, and this really hits home personally for me with some articles such as this older one where the government either tries to determine how much medical treatment one’s life is worth or organ transplant allocation policies based on some value of the person formula that are tracked really well on Dialysis from the Sharp End of the Needle. It is a very slippery slope when someone else tries to determine how much your life is worth and you may not like their answer, and without a fixed value system, the answer may change based on the person making the decision.

There is a solution.   It is the only worldview I have seen that fits reality and can prevent these types of problems.   In the Christian worldview (I think the definition from “UnChristian” in my previous post is still good for what beliefs make up the Christian worldview), God is the absolute source of truth and moral law.   This doesn’t leave the most powerful person to impose what they think is best for us based on their relative morals.   If we are obedient and look to God, true freedom can be found and life is valued.   Humans are created in God’s image, giving all humans equal value.   Arbitrary and relative decisions about the value of one person vs the other are avoided, and we are taught that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, body, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself.   By looking out for your neighbor as yourself,  you are treating them with equal value as yourself.   Granted we are all fallen, and no one is able to do this type of love perfectly, but if we strive for this ideal everyone is treated with value and life respected.   I know there have been historical abuses of power in the name of Christianity, but they obviously haven’t been done in obedience to the command to love one another.   The story also isn’t complete yet.  Until Jesus comes back, it does leave room for man’s disobedience (sin), but, this still doesn’t negate the validity of the worldview.  The Christian worldview is the only one that solves this problem of sin.   Jesus came and paid the penalty for our sin on the cross, redeeming us and creation.   I submit that Christianity is the only way to explain creation (God is creator of all), the presence of evil in the world (the fall), and the solution / redemption from evil (the cross) that fits with reality.   Secular humanism cannot explain creation (all scientific evidence points to a creation event – the big bang, and thus a first cause.  Secular humanism has no credible explanation for creation), cannot explain the presence of evil, and has no solution to / redemption from the presence of evil.

Anyway, this is a very brief summation.   I’ll probably try to work on this more and add more detail / expound more on my thoughts as I have time.   But, if my brief writing has piqued any curiosity, I’d highly suggest reading Francis Schaeffer, or Nancy Pearcey’s “Total Truth” for a more complete discussion on worldviews, and more specifically, the Christian worldview.

Kevin

Everything continues to go well after the transplant.   I’m feeling great, the new kidney is working well, and I am just chomping at the bit for more activity.   I’ve taken a few short hikes, and a very easy flat bike ride.   I am still restricted to not do anything to strenuous for fear of a hernia in the surgery area, and I have a stent in my bladder that rubs and causes a little bleeding if I overdo it as well.    I’ll get that out soon.   I just praise God for the peace, and making this path so straight.    It has really been a miracle how I have healed.

Lisa and I have been working on Faith’s room and other general preparations for Faith’s birth.   We took a childbirth class Sunday afternoon, got rid of an old couch to make room for a hide-a-bed that will now be our guest bed, as the guest room is becoming the nursery.   The childbirth class was good and I learned a lot.   I really just pray that everything will go well and we’ll be able to naturally manage the pain and have this child.   It is a little overwhelming to me right now, but Lisa and I both know that we have God to trust in and that we won’t be alone when Faith is born.   Many of the complications were pretty ugly and not fun to think about.

I’m reading a book right now titled “UnChristian”.   It is written by a researcher at the Barna Group summarizing a ton of research they have done on basically my generation and a little bit younger and their views on Christianity and the church.   “UnChristian” refers to the picture that many people outside of the church get when the perception of Christians is seen as hypocritical, uncaring, and judgemental.   It goes into a lot of detail and research as to why a lot of those attitudes exist.   There are a few areas that really hit home with me and I had thought about before, but not in as much depth as this research.   I had always thought the hypocritical label was more of a misunderstanding.   Every Christian is a sinner – a sinner that has realized they have a problem in that their sin seperates them from God, but Jesus in His mercy and grace died on the cross to remove if we believe in Him.   Jesus has paid the penalty for our sin.   Out of this faith, only through the gift of the Holy Spirit, there should be some transformation and fruit.   This transformation should be visible.   But, the believer won’t be perfect.   This is a process we know won’t be complete this side of heaven, but hopefully as we mature we’ll grow and continue to bear more and more fruit, with of course God as the source.   So, I believed the main source of the hypocrite label was a misunderstanding and the expectation of a Christian to be perfect, which of course is an impossible expectation and the transformation and growth was just not seen.   The research shows that on the average, people who proclaim to be born again and non-believers have statistically identical behavior in most areas such as gambling, viewing pornography in the past 30 days, etc that they were surveyed on.   So, that is very interesting.   I really hope and pray that people can see transformation and fruit in my life.   I know that I am far from perfect still, but I hope God’s effect on my life is visible to those whom I come in contact with.   I feel like I have grown a ton and know God has done amazing things in my life.   This line of reasoning also led into discussions on politics and emphasis on moral behavior vs showing love and grace.   This is a really tough subject.   We know that we are all sinners, and cannot live up to the law perfectly.   But, when asked about expectations of Christians from both believers and non-believers, the number one expectation of a Christian was someone who follows the rules – follows the law exactly.   So, essentially, our expectations are that everyone behave perfectly, especially Christians.   But, since we know this is impossible, we are setting ourselves up to a standard we know we can’t live up to where the hypocrite label looks right.   I don’t believe this minimizes what God defines as right and wrong, and that we do need to look to and be obedient to the law and morals as defined by God in the Bible.    But, we need to remember the grace God has shown us, and try to show forgiveness and grace and lovingly correct the people we have relationships with when they do go astray.   Outsiders need to see that grace being practiced.   Of course, sinful behavior cannot be encouraged and does need lovingly corrected, but we need to remember the source of our forgiveness and make it known that forgiveness is available to all.   It is a really tough area, as a lot of people will be in denial and not want to admit something they are doing is sin even if they know better – which kind of leads to a vicious circle of probably accusations of hypocriticality and judgementalism (i.e. – what gives you the right to define morals for me – moral relativism is an ugly thing) and we really haven’t gotten anywhere.   It is tough especially when worldviews clash.  This is just an area where I know I need to rely on and trust God, and if I am bearing the fruit of love and patience hopefully at least my personal interaction will be seen as loving, even if it is any area of worldview clash and we just have to agree to respectfully disagree.   Anyway, it is obviously a subject that stimulated a lot of thought.   I do agree with the author’s assertion of the need to be transparent and admit that I don’t have it all figured out and that I can’t follow the law perfectly and am in need of God’s grace on a daily basis this side of heaven.   I am utterly dependent upon Jesus – and He is my Lord and carries me.

Second had to do with the emphasis on conversion, and the lack of emphasis on discipleship within the church.   This one really strikes home with me.   The author has come up with 8 items used to identify someone with a Christian worldview from the polling, that I tend to agree do an excellent job.   They are:  “Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, God is the all-knowing and all-powerful Creator of the universe and He still rules it today, salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned, Satan is real, a Christian has a responsibility to share his/her faith in Christ with other people, the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches, unchanging moral truth exists, and such moral truth is defined by the Bible (“UnChristian, Kinnaman and Lyons, p75)”   A very small percentage of people who profess to have made a personal, meaningful committment to Jesus Christ actually have a Christian worldview as defined by the 8 categories above.   I believe this shows the emphasis on conversion, but the lack of emphasis on discipleship afterwards.   I believe all 8 of the principles are very clearly defined and supported in scripture and the percentage of people who have professed a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior and the percentage of those with a Christian worldview as defined by those 8 criteria should be nearly equal.   I think the numbers being wide apart shows the emphasis on conversion, but not on following up with discipleship and helping those people learn and grow in their faith, and grow in their knowledge of the Bible.   This really strikes home at my home church and I hope to figure out a way to do something about it.   We are taught every week in a sermon, and we do have a small Sunday school Bible study program.   But, we don’t have a discipleship emphasis or committee.   Although discipleship is recognized as a need, it never seems to get any type of priority especially compared to other better established ministries.   It is an area where I think we are out of balance and I hope to be able to help facilitate a solution more than I contribute now.   I am probably really biased in that I live for discipleship – but this book really helped reinforce that there probably is this problem out there in general too.   Obviously another area that has stimulated a lot of thought.

So, with all of the thinking and hopefully some action stimulated by the book so far, I would really recommend “UnChristian” to anyone willing to read it and interested in these type of areas.

Kevin

I wrote a book of short stories.   It was inspired by the book “Walking His Trail”, by Steve Saint.   In that book, Steve Saint pointed out “Sand Castles” in his life, where he had been able to see God working to create something deliberate workings in his life demonstrating God’s grace and provision.   He challenged anyone who read it to write up their own “Sand Castles”.    So, I did this.   Instead of “Sand Castles”, I used “cairns” for my analogy.   A cairn is that pile of rocks you come across sometimes when you are hiking marking the trail, showing you how to find the right way.    I believe there are many situations where God has laid out a “cairn” for me to follow.   I’m attaching a PDF copy of this here, and if anyone would want a hardcopy, it is published at lulu.com.    Here are the hyperlinks:

(hardcover) http://www.lulu.com/content/4943460

(softcover) http://www.lulu.com/content/4945169

I hope you enjoy.   God has really carried me through a lot in my life, and I am so grateful for His amazing grace, love, and mercy and how lovingly and patiently He has carried me.

Following God’s Cairns.pdf

Over 700 years before the first Christmas, the prophet Isaiah told us about Jesus’ birth.   There are literally hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah given to us in the old testament, and Jesus fulfills every one of them:

Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born,  to us a son is given,  and the government  will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting  Father, Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace  there will be no end.  He will reign  on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness  from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

On the first Christmas, God came to live with us:

The Birth of Jesus

Lk 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
Lk 2:2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
Lk 2:3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
Lk 2:4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem  the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
Lk 2:5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Lk 2:6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
Lk 2:7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

Lk 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Lk 2:9 An angel  of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Lk 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.   I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Lk 2:11 Today in the town of David a Savior  has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Lk 2:12 This will be a sign a  to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Lk 2:13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
Lk 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace b  to men on whom his favor rests.”
Lk 2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Lk 2:16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Lk 2:17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
Lk 2:18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Lk 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Lk 2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God e  for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus came to die, to bear the punishment for our sins, His shed blood the atonement for all of the worlds sins:

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

Isa 52:13 See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Isa 52:14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him —his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness —
Isa 52:15 so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isa 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
Isa 53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isa 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isa 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment a  he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
Isa 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Isa 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
Isa 53:11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death,  and was numbered with the transgressors.  For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

All of us need Jesus, we all are sinners:

Ro 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference,
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ro 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace  through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Ro 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.  He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished  —
Ro 3:26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Ro 3:27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.
Ro 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Ro 6:23a For the wages of sin is death,

Since we are all sinners, and the just punishment for sin is death, we have a huge sin problem that needs to be solved.   We cannot work our way out of this problem through being good people, or through good works somehow balancing out our sinfulness.   We are deserving of death because of our sin.

Ro 6:23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God solves our problem for us.   This is entirely a free gift from God.   This is grace.   God created us in His image, as free moral agents.   We can’t work our way out of our sin problem, but we can choose to believe in this amazing present from God, and have faith that He has solved this sin problem for us and has given us the gift of eternal life through Jesus.

Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This is just absolutely the most amazing news.   The best Christmas gift and why I am always so thankful and happy at Christmas.   God came and died for me – but that is not the end of the story and good news.

1Co 15:2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
1Co 15:6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
1Co 15:8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

1Co 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
1Co 15:24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Christ died on the cross for us, to solve our sin problem and to pay the penalty for our sin.   But, on the third day, as He told us, He conquered death and was resurrected.   Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluiah.  God demonstrates that He has conquered death, and we can hope to share in this eternal life with Him.   Will everyone share in eternal life?   What must we do to accept this gift?

Ro 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”  and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Ro 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Ro 10:11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Ro 10:13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

We must just ask Jesus to save us, have faith that what He accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection solves our sin problem.   We must accept this Christmas present of grace that God has offered to everyone.

As I reflect on Christmas, I cannot help but praise God for this greatest gift in my life, the gift of Jesus Christ.   Jesus is my Lord and Savior.   I hope if you don’t know Jesus, reading about God’s love for us in this blog will help you to consider God’s amazing love for all of us, and you will ask Jesus into your life and accept this gift God has offered to you too.

God has been so amazingly good to me this year.  2008 wasn’t easy, but God has brought me through everything I have faced with just more of His amazing grace.   Dialysis was a shock, along with the hospital stays for infection and my vancomycin allergic reaction, but He has also healed me from all of this.   The gift of my brother Randy sacrificing his kidney is just amazing and beyond what I can express in words.   Randy’s modeling and reflection of Christ’s selflessness, and faith and dependence on God in giving up his kidney for me just brings me tears of joy.   God has also brought both of us through the surgery and has brought healing to us in remarkable ways.   It is only one week ago that I received this new kidney, and already people cannot tell that I had surgery a week ago.   God has brought so much healing, and straightened out the paths through this trial in such amazing ways.   The new kidney is working well, and already my creatinine is lower than it has probably been in the past 25 years.    God is so good, and I just trust Him for all of the details with the new kidney.

Lisa and I are incredibly excited to be expectant parents.   God has given us a daughter, little Faith, inspite of the incredible odds of conceiving a child while on dialysis.   I just look forward so expectantly to her birth in late April, and I just pray that I can reflect God’s love in my relationship with her, and teach her about God.  We just pray and rest in God’s will and look forward to the adventure He has for us in pregnancy and the birth of a little girl.

Lisa and I were really blessed to be able to climb 3 14′ers this summer.   I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of climbing to the highest places in the beautiful state we are blessed to live in, and am so thankful God gave me the strength to be able to do this this year.   We probably won’t be able to be quite so ambitious in 2009 with Faith, but we hope Grandpa and Grandma will be willing to babysit for at least one or two 14′er hikes.

There are so many more blessings and trials from 2008 I am thankful for.   Both blessings and trials work together to bring me closer to God, so I am incredibly blessed and thankful for that.  I wish everyone who reads this Merry Christmas, and I just can’t wait for what God has in store for us in 2009.   May God bless you.

Kevin

A small excerpt from the ultrasound video of Faith

Today has been a day of small victories, and small set backs.   I have been off of pain medication for 24 hours and comfortable.   Randy has been struggling some with pain, and also with waking up his digestive system from the anesthesia.   Both of us at the end of the day though had a solid vs liquid meal, and are in better shape than we were the day before.    We had quite a few visits toda.     I really appreciate the hospital visits.   Sometimes I don’t really feel my best and too active during the visits, but the sentiment is always appreciated.   Today was quite interesting when both Randy and I were trying to work through digestive issues during the visits.    I was a little further ahead and also had solid food for lunch.    Randy was really focused at taking walks and trying to get things moving that way.   We were hopeful Randy would make it home today, but didn’t quite get things moving in time.   He should go home tomorrow for sure though.   I am hopeful that I will also be released tomorrow.    I just get so bored in the hospital.   When I am not well and home, I don’t do a lot different, but it is just so much different being in your own surroundings.   Lab tests are a little slow getting communicated to me.   My creatine from Friday morning was 4.2 – so not great, but as good as it has been in a year.    I would suspect it is much better today.   The only other real excitement in the hospital was the announcement of a disaster situation – this is not a drill.    I guess a plane caught on fire out at DIA and some of the trauma victims are on their way here.    Please be praying for all of them.    Randy, Lisa, and I still continue to value and appreciate your prayers.    We know God is with us and carrying us through this situation and are so grateful.

Kevin

The transplant did happen yesterday.   We got up at 4:00 AM to get to the hospital for 5:45 AM check-in.   They took Randy back first to pre-op, and then me shortly after.   We were next to each other in pre-op bays.   The anethesioligist I had had a great bedside manner and helped to explain what was going to happen.   Randy went back probably 30 minutes before I did.   After the 30 minutes, the anesthesiologist took out a little syringe, injected my IV, and they wheeled me back to the OR.  I remember getting over onto the operating table, and that was it.   I guess about 2.5 hours I came to in the recovery room.   I was in a pretty good amount of pain – like 6 out of 10.   They started adjusting my pain meds, and soon that was under control and I was set up with a button I could press every 15 minutes or so as necessary.    This worked great and I wasn’t in pain the rest of the time.    I was still pretty out of it at this point, but gradually they started letting Lisa come back with a friend and family member for about 5 minutes every hour or so.    I don’t remember seeing Randy in recovery, but he did say he saw them wheel me in.    They moved him up to the room pretty soon after, probably still while we were getting my pain under control.    I really appreciate all of the prayers and everyone who stopped by – even though most of the visits in recovery are part of a hazy fog for me right now.    I was in the recovery room probably like 5 hours as they straightened out confusion over the room I was going to be in.   Originally I think they were trying to get Randy and I into private rooms, but eventually we got put up into a shared room.   Randy’s kidney in me started working nearly right away, and was producing a lot of urine.    For the first 24 hours, they came in and measured the amount of urine produced on an hourly basis, which means we didn’t get a ton of sleep last night.  I was on IV fluids only for Thursday and up until lunch time on Friday, with all of the urine captured via a catheter.   That is not fun or comfortable, but it was put in on the operating table when I was out so I at least wasn’t awake or aware for the worst part.    Randy also had one, but he was able to get it removed today.   Randy has been on a clear fluids diet since last night (broth, jello, sprite, juice, etc).   I got added to the same at lunchtime today.    Chicken soup / broth is such an amazing blessing of a fluid.   It always makes me feel better.    Randy and I both got transitioned off of the IV pain button painkiller to oral pain killers this afternoon.    We both just got back from taking a lap around the floor with Lisa.    That felt amazing to get up and walk after being in bed for more than 24 hours.   We are both doing well, and really appreciate all of the prayers.   God has given me such an amazing sense of peace about this the whole time.   We are so blessed to be carried through this whole ordeal by such a loving God – and I am so blessed to have such a loving brother as to give me a kidney.   Greater love has no man than he would lay down his life for a brother – Randy has really demonstrated this sacrificial love to me and I am so blessed and grateful.    Both Randy and I are eagerly awaiting being able to pass gas, meaning our digestive systems have recovered from the surgery enough for us to be able to eat solid foods.    That is also the signpost for Randy to be able to get out of the hospital.    It has been a real blessing that they were able to get most of the CO2 out of his peritoneal cavity from when they extracted his kidney, and not had residual pain as that gas tries to find a way out of his body.   That is supposed to be one of the most painful parts of being a donor.    Lisa has been absolutely amazing helping us both out as we need it.   She was able to stay on a recliner in our room last night and share in our interrupted sleep.   I am so blessed that God brought Lisa and I together.   Well, I wanted to try to get most of the experience so far documented.    Again, thank you to everyone for your prayers and support – they have really carried us.

Praise God for carrying us through this.

Kevin

Lisa and I had our 20 week ultrasound today.   We are going to be parents of a little girl.   Our leading name candidate is Faith.   Everything was looking good on the ultrasound.   I was just absolutely amazed to see the 4 chambers of the heart beating.   I have to admit I have no idea how I am going to handle being the parent of a girl, since I really have no experience with sisters or daughters, but I trust God is not giving something to me that I can’t handle.   I know Lisa will be a great mom.

Yesterday Randy and I had our pre-surgery tests at UCH.   Everything should still be on track for Thursday.   The only thing we would get bumped by is if there would be a cadaverous donor transplant that would come in Wednesday night.   I am really blessed to have a brother who is willing to donate a kidney to me.   That selflessness is absolutely amazing.   I know everything is going to be alright.   This won’t be fun, but in many ways we have the example of Christ to follow here.   He endured so much more for my sake than I face with the surgery.    I should spend less time in the hospital than I was anticipating originally which is good news.   Anyway, I feel I have so much more to write, but right now not enough time.   I hope to be able to write a lot more after the surgery, and will also get some pictures posted of the ultrasound and our early holiday festivities with my parents and brothers.

Kevin