Wednesday

We are home from the big city. We had to have Will at the University by 8:00 (he wasn't a happy camper) and we went from there. We saw the head nurse for kidney transplant. She was nice but she's not like our Tauni or Kelly. Then we went in to a small room and they see us in there. First it was Dr. Raphael, he was our kidney dr. in the hospital so we know him very well. He really likes us and we really like him. Then we saw the social worker to make sure Will has all the help to get by after surgery and that he really wants the surgery. She had to ask all those silly questions.
We met the head kidney doc and he explained that there are a lot of factors to decide with Will's case so they will meet with all the team and discuss the pros and cons.

So Will told the doctors how much he wants this to happen. Then they had a list of tests to be done. After the doctor looked them all over, he found out that Will had had all of them just recently so he didn't have to do any tests today. That worked out really well. If they decide that Will can have the transplant, then they will order a couple more but he can do those up here in Twin Falls or Boise. We will post the next step when we know it.

Then we got to leave by noon. We stopped at a couple of stores on the way home and ate a good meal at Applebee's. Will was hungry after all that. The doctors did tell us that we don't have to wait two weeks to find out because the blood work that takes time, was already done a few weeks ago.. They will be able to tell us by Friday. I don't know if that's good or bad. But I will post a blog when we find out, for sure. Please pray for Will.

Our little baby Kayli didn't come while we were gone to SLC because she listened to Grandma and besides she still has a few weeks. We wait for God's timing in all of this, right?

GOD BLESS

Monday update from SLC

So Will got up very, very early for him. We were at the kidney office by 9:00 this morning. We went into the conference room with four other families wanting transplants. We had a slide presentation of all the stuff that goes on for transplant. We had a good idea already because we have been researching for a few weeks. After a couple of hours, we visited with the financial planner for half an hour, then we visited with dietitian to explain the diet needed after transplant. That took another 30 minutes. Then we visited with the pharmacist for transplant patients. We were old friends so she didn't need that much time with us. Will was a little tired so he left about 10:30, went back to the hotel and took a nap. I stayed and got all the information for him. I think Will planned that to happen that way. After a break from noon to one, we went back to meet with the actual surgeon. They did a check up and asked a whole bunch of questions. I think they were a little nervous around Will, I wonder why that is?

Then we came back for a rest to the hotel. We went to Sizzler and Will ate two baked potatoes and a plate of shrimp soaked in butter. Where does he put it? He decided he wanted to go to the movies. He wanted to see if he would be able to see the movie with his vision. Well, we sat in the front (my neck is still stiff) and he was able to watch "The Night at the Museum" There just isn't anything he can't do.


So tomorrow we have to be back to the hospital for tests by 8:00 am. They just don't know how upset this makes Will. He doesn't think the world should start until 10ish or so. So we meet with another dr. and Will will get about five tests done. He will talk with the social worker and somebody else, I forget who. But they did tell us that we probably won't know if he's accepted into the program for about two weeks. I don't know why........... We are going to pop in and visit with Dr. Cahill, Tauni and Kelly after all the tests are done. They just want to see how Will's doing, it's not an official visit. Then we are going home.

So that's our day and our planned tomorrow. Thanks for the continued prayers for our traveling and tests.

GOD BLESS

Monday night

Will had a great weekend. He had a 20th year reunion of his football team in Hagerman (Go Pirates!) that took State in 1989. Will was one of the managers and that year he wasn't doing so well. They had their rally cry "Win for Willie" for that whole season. Coach Clark (Will's best friend in the front row middle of the picture below) was the head coach that year and with him was Coach Udy on the right (front) and Coach Elliott (on the left). Most of the team showed up and they watched the game film from that special day. They shared all the memories (good and the bad) and isn't that what it's all about. Some of the people had to come from far away and some still live locally. It was so great to just sit back and watch these "kids" just get together like they haven't ever been apart. They will always have this bond. This bunch of "boys" is something special. I know everyone had one great time getting together. Coach Clark got it all put together and he even got shirts for everyone. Thanks for making it happen, Coach.

Below: I already said who were the coaches in the front row.
Back row: Tommy, Michael C., Allen, Chris, Butch, Mike, Jason with Will in front, Brody, Kurt, and behind him (the really tall one) is John. John and Will were almost inseparable in high school. Some guys brought their wives, who were soon forgotten.

Below: This is another picture of Coach Udy with his oldest son, Justin, who was about 5 yrs. old when we went to State. I remember the little guy running all over that field all the time. Now he's playing college football in Eastern Oregon. We use to babysit Coach Udy's kids a lot so Angel ran down just to say hi. She didn't stay to watch the game film or eat. I did though, lol.

Below: just another shot of some of the guys swapping stories. They were so funny.

Below: Now they are sitting around watching the game film and seeing things they hadn't seen before. Some plays are etched in their minds forever, like Jason's four yard kickoff.

Below: Here is Will with two of the cheerleaders from those "good ol' days," Mary and Angela.

The highlight for me was one of the football players, Brody Engles, wrote a very, very, good poem about the road to State and it was titled "A Win for Willie" Wow-very powerful. Now I know all of you ex-Hagerman teachers are probably saying "not Brody" because he really wasn't known for his writing skills, unless you call graffiti -writing. But he did a wonderful job, no, not just wonderful---marvelous. Maybe I will put it on here sometime this week. It's a little long but I think you all might enjoy reading it.

I just remember the time when Will was very, very sick in the hospital when the boys won the game to allow them to go to State. Four of the guys came up with pizza for Will. They didn't know how bad he was and he wasn't waking up hardly at all about then. The boys came in, turned on all the lights, sat there and talked to Will about the game even though Will wasn't awake, and then they got ready to leave. One of them went back to the bed and said in a very loud voice that they wanted Will to wake up because they weren't going to State if Will wasn't going. For some reason Will woke up the next morning and started to turn around. The doctor couldn't figure out why. About five days later we took him to State. His doctors and nurses still talk about that night. When they went out to accept the State trophy, they had their little manager, Willie, go out and get it. Then, they put him on their shoulders and carried him around. I know---A box of Kleenex time. Now, I'm glad we didn't have to test the boys on whether they would or wouldn't have gone to the game, but this is one special bunch of guys and I really think what they did that night was pure magic. I wonder if they ever knew what was accomplished that night? I just love them all so much.

Now, twenty years later, and many other hospital stays in the meantime, he still uses that mind-over-matter attitude of his, and we are starting his process for a kidney transplant.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, he goes to a class all morning. Then he meets with the team and has some tests. Wednesday he will meet with the surgeon that might do the surgery and they do other tests. He meets with some other people and other tests but I'm not sure what ones yet. But I will blog tomorrow night (Tuesday) and fill you all in. We are very excited that he is getting started. I pretty sure that we won't know if he gets accepted into the transplant program for a few days. Please say your prayers for him.

I told Angel that baby Kayli (that's the name they have picked out right now) better stay right where she is at least until I get back home. She's not due for a two more weeks, but you never know.

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and the walk down memory lane with Will. God bless and sweet dreams.

Sunday, July 26

We have been crazy the last few days. Lots of people visiting and we have some pictures. But I don't have time tonight to get them up. I have to get ready for Salt Lake. We are leaving tomorrow when we go to dialysis. Because of the busy weekend, I haven't got much done. So I will put them up on the blog from salt lake. We have many appts. and I will keep you up on all of them. It should be a really interesting week. I will be blogging most nights.

Please keep praying for all the testing to allow Will's new kidney. It will be such a good thing and change his life dramatically, if that's is God's plan. We have complete trust in our Lord's plan for Will. No matter what, we know who really is in charge.

GOD BLESS

update

Our God is an AWESOME GOD!!!!

I know this to be true for all the wonderful miracles He has shown us in Salt Lake, but He has once again shown his love and mercy. My friend, who I asked all of you to pray for last night and this morning, has shocked and surprised us all. She had exploratory surgery and has come out of it with no worries. What a miracle. Things weren't looking so good, and I asked all of you to pray for her. The doctors looked all over and they found nothing cancerous. What a wonderful blessing. I want to thank each and every one of you that prayed for her to get through this. They didn't hold up much hope, but our God is so good and He knows how this lady is needed by her family. Now we will be celebrating a long life for her.

Please go into our blog on the homepage on the right hand side and go to Curt and Megan's blogspot. It will show you a picture of a most beautiful baby. They are sure missed here in Hagerman but I think they are having a wonderful life in California. CONGRATULATIONS BABY RIANNE AND WELCOME TO THIS CRAZY WORLD. she's ALMOST A WHOLE DAY OLD.

GOD BLESS

Midweek update 7/22/09

Now I did promise you all some pictures of our crazy wedding trip. First to Salt Lake and then on to Boise all in one day. Will and Angel didn't have any trouble with the drive. The heat did bother both of them and I got a great picture of them cooling off at the hotel-both of them with their shirts up over their bellies laying on the couch. Trust me-I won't be putting that one on the blog. They would both shoot me, but it was funny.


Before I start on about the weddings, let me tell you some good news. Remember how I wrote that we wouldn't be able to start the big tests done in Salt Lake until the middle of August. Well, after Dr. Cahill saw how Will has improved just by doing the dialysis four times a week, she knows Will would be so much better when he gets the new kidney. So she did her little magic and we have an appt. for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. I don't know how she does it, but people listen to her. I will put more on what's going to happen on Sunday when I do the regular blog.

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Now the first set of pics are from the Boise wedding of our niece, Christ and Ryan Wilcox. It was in their backyard and it was beautiful. The wedding was at 7:00 pm. . The only downer was the heat, it hit a new record of 105! It didn't stop the "love" flowing though. I got to visit with a lot of my family that I haven't seen in a while. Everyone was having a fantastic time.

Christi and Ryan Wilcox

They make such a beautiful couple.

So in love.

Above: Will is with Christi (the bride)

and an old friend of theirs, Ashley. Will hasn't seen her in years.

Below: Just Christi and Will, they have always had a special bond. They are only a month apart and have grown up together.

Below: This is the happy family. The boys, Noah and Elliott, and the newlyweds. Ryan is going to be a great step dad. The boys love him already.

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This is the first wedding on Saturday morning(I got the pics mixed up).

Danny and AnnMarie Kenison

Don't they make a sweet looking family.

They are both so, so happy and you can see it in their faces.

Above: the newlyweds with Anne's two kids, Jaycee and Tucker

Danny loves them so much already.

He's going to make a great step-daddy.

They got married in a beautiful park. It was very casual except for the

wedding party. They did take the tux and dresses off as soon as the special ceremony was over. Everything was beautiful and then they had ribs for everyone. Will was in heaven.



below: Here is where they are toasting (notice everyone is in the shade)

so "toasting" is a good word. They brought Will up with them because they

were telling how they met (through Will at the hospital, but you all probably have heard the story by now) and

through the terrible times-good things can happen. It was

verrrrry moving-maybe I cried a little bit but then so did everyone else.

AnneMarie is in red and then her parents and Danny's parents and Will and then last but not least-Danny on the right. Isn't he cute??? Big ol' tough major in the Air Force and he's got tears in his eyes. Big softy.

Below: Angel and Will admiring our newest great nephew-Cooper.

He belongs to our niece, Brenda (Danny's sister).

Below: They are still trying to get Danny's emotions under control.
Will doesn't care because look who's getting all the love!
I think AnneMarie loves Will the best.

Below: Did we mention how hot it was? At 11:00 am-96 degrees.

Little sister is trying to keep Will out of the sun.

So there are some great pictures and I hope you enjoyed all of them.

############

I would like to ask special prayers for a friend of ours (I won't put her name on here because I didn't ask her first, God knows who you're praying for.. ) She's going through some terrible medical problems and we just need to pray for God's special healing for her today (Thursday) as she goes in for surgery. She needs all of us praying today. Thank you so much.

God's Love is all around and I hope you all feel it as strongly as I do.

GOD BLESS.

super trip

THE GOOD NEWS YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR:

What a nasty person I am, making you all wait until Sunday. Will told me to do it though. He didn't want to put anything on it until Sunday about the clinic visit because he wanted to let a few people know in person. It was such great news.

AND HERE IT IS.......

(I feel like a suspense writer because this is how

they do it. They get you hooked, anticipating the ending.)

We went to the Salt Lake clinic on Friday afternoon after having done dialysis Friday morning. Will had an xray, labs, and a PFT (pulmonary function test-the test that tells you how well the lungs are working).

Then we went to see Dr. Cahill. Will was the last thing on her "to do" list that day. None of the nurses were around or anything so Dr. Cahill had to even do nursing duty. She can do it all..

We knew that Will's PFT's would be better this time. His last one two months ago was a FEV1 (that's just one of the results that test shows, but it's the one the doctors look at first) of 24 %. So we knew Will would be blowing better. We were hoping for a few percentage points, Will really wanted a 30% and I thought that was pushing it a little. WELL (now the drum roll please.......(I really wish I had a sound for a drum roll. This is a perfect place to use it) back to the drum roll.......) Will blew a 38%. YES, THAT'S RIGHT!!!!!! 38%!

We are thinking that might be the highest he has blown in over ten years, maybe more. We are trying to find the records to compare. So the dialysis four times a week is really working. His xrays were looking much better too. That also shows how much Will can improve if he got his kidney. Dr. Cahill is calling the kidney transplant team on Monday to "get the ball rolling a little quicker." Will was really strutting his stuff after that. He's even talking about buying himself a huge present to celebrate. No, not a big screen TV, he already has one of those. I will let you know when he decides..another suspense for you all. So Dr. Cahill was really, really pleased, and we all know-when Dr. Cahill is happy, everybody is happy. So we all left feeling really well.

The weekend was a lot about traveling but it was also about family. Here is a great picture of part of our family Sunday afternoon at Olive Garden.

below: Here is a picture of our little Brianna not really sure about

getting into the pool with "Uncle Will last week."

(For all you medical people reading this-Will is in the shady part of the little pool. So he is staying out of the sun. He's okay) It was harder getting Will into the pool than Brianna.

We have many pictures from our travels this weekend but I want to put them on tomorrow or the next day. If I did it now, it would take away from the "good news" and it would take a long while getting them all to download. The two weddings were wonderful although both of them were very, very hot. We wouldn't have missed it for the world. More on them next time.

Miracles are still happening in Will's life and we appreciate all the prayers that were sent to our Heavenly Father for Will. Thank you for the love also.

GOD BLESS

Friday good news

Will'S GOT GREAT NEWS FROM SALT LAKE........

BUT.....I'M GOING TO WAIT UNTIL

SUNDAY TO TELL EVERYONE

(no it's not the baby, trust me, I will be screaming

that from the mountain tops, still another 3 weeks to wait)

But, back to the good news....

Come back on Sunday, we will be going to the two weddings

on Saturday. Will's up to it for sure.

Lots of pictures and GOOD NEWS

CAN'T WAIT....

GOD BLESS

July 12th middle of the summer

Wow, summer is going so quickly.

On Saturday Angel and I went to two different showers. The first was Angel's baby shower given by Aaron's mom and two sister-in -laws. It was held in Boise and a lot of work went into it. They even had a chocolate fountain because they knew how much Angel liked chocolate. It was so sweet (not pun intended) of them and, of course, she got a lot of baby stuff, including diapers, which she needed.

Here is some family from Boise:

left to right; Billie ( Angel's cousin) Aunt Karen, Christi, (Angel's cousin), Maegan (Angel's cousin)

Angel, Aunt Gloria and me, the proud Grandma.

Here are the little ones that came to share Angel's shower with her.

l to r: Ash (she helped so much with the shower), Candace, Sadie, and Coby.


Here's the four cousins hamming it up for the camera. They couldn't get their hands around Angel anymore. They thought that was funny. (Angel didn't)

The next shower that we went to was the shower for the bride-to-be, Christi. She is my niece and I am very proud of her. She is being married next Saturday. We met at a dinner club in downtown Boise and had some good fun. Yes, she is sporting a pink nightie over her clothes. We made her wear her gifts if she could. She is going to make a beautiful bride.

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Sorry there are no pictures of Will this week.

He had a wonderful visit with a good friend of his, Katie Rose and her husband, Paul and her little 7 month old baby, Bella. I forgot my camera, I have got to get that thing tied around my neck, I think.

I thought at the beginning of the summer that by the middle of the summer we would be almost ready for a kidney transplant. Boy was I off, although it is now closer than it was a week ago. Will did pass his echo stress test (he told me he studied really hard for that). This is how our week will go: Next Thursday we will go up to Salt Lake after dialysis. Then Friday at 8:30, he will do dialysis in Ogdon and then go on to the U of U and do a PFT (lung function test). After that is done we will go see Dr. Cahill. She wants to see how he is doing having four dialysis treatments a week-if they are helping him. Will informed me that he doesn't care if his PFT's are just 1%--he is NOT going into the hospital this time. Since he's gotten out of the hospital in January, he has had to go into the hospital after clinics everytime.

There is a reason for that, WEDDINGS. On Saturday, in Salt Lake, Will's cousin, Danny is marrying the most wonderful person, AnneMarie. You should all remember the story about how they met when Will was so sick in SICU and AnneMarie was Will's respiratory therapist. How romantic. So they really need Will to be there. They will get married at 11:00 am. We will be there for that fun, for sure.

Then about noon, we will have to leave because Will's other cousin, Christi, is getting married in Boise at 7:00. We will be able to make it in time, it's about a five hour trip. It will be a long day for Will but he should be okay. He can sleep all the way. Angel and Aaron are going with us too. That's the one we will be worried about. The doctor told her that she will be able to travel just as long as she gets out of the car every hour and walks around. We will do that for sure.

We have made an appt. for Will to see the kidney transplant team on the 11th and 12th of August (that's the earliest they have). Then they will run a bunch of tests and he will meet the surgeon and everybody else. They want him for "classes" for four hours on what to expect from transplants. We are going to ask if he can skip out on those. He pretty much knows all the ins and outs of it by now, I think.

We will be needing traveling prayers for our trip and if you could pray for Angel to make it just fine, that would be appreciated. We are all looking forward to this week. I love weddings.

GOD BLESS

Sunday the day after the Fourth

It's Sunday and it's summer, what a great day we have had. But first I forgot to tell you all what Will did for the Fourth. Now you have to remember last year we were in the hospital still and the nurses let Will get out of bed and they took him to a room with a lot of windows. We were hoping that he could see some of the many fireworks over Salt Lake. He couldn't see anything and it was very depressing. But now this Fourth he went out on his boat a little bit before dark and we set off our own fireworks out onto the river. He was really loving it. It was a full moon and what a great couple of hours we had. Angel, Aaron and Candace went with us along with our neighbors, Victoria and Jax. We are so blessed to live in the beautiful valley that we do.



But I did forget to let everyone know what we found out about Will's test last week. Well, we found out nothing yet(go figure). I think everyone probably took the whole week off for the Fourth of July holiday. Couldn't find anyone who had answers. But first thing Monday morning I will be calling everyone all over again and try to get somewhere. We need to get a move on with this transplant so Will doesn't have to have his whole life going around dialysis and his renal diet (not a good thing). So if I find something out, I will blog asap.








So back to our great weekend.
We had Shannon (Will's cousin from Mountain Home) come over for a few hours. He brought two of his three kids. Jack and Amiah. They were so darn cute. I didn't get a picture though. They really kept us entertained. Then we had the Andrus' clan come over. They were raised with Will and Angel as best friends. Now their children are my best friends. Below is the dinner we had--adults were inside and the kids were out on the patio. Then a unfriendly bee came and brought a lot of tears so I decided I needed to sit with them outside, to protect them of course. I think I had a better time than those boring adults did inside the air conditioned house. Aren't they so wonderful???

Here is Will with all the little ones. Great picture.

Below is the picture of all of them that came to dinner. We did have a full house and I loved it. Will had a great time visiting with them all. Angel's tummy is getting big huh??? Soon, maybe five weeks left.

I hope everyone had as great a holiday weekend as we did. Tomorrow is dialysis and so the week begins. We have a real good friends named Megan and Curt who are expecting any day now. They just moved to California and we miss them lots. Please pray for the family and the exciting new addition, it's a girl also. We love you guys.

Please also pray for the "speediness" of the doctors and techs so Will can get his new kidney.

Thank you all and GOD BLESS. Our God is so good to us.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism"

Erma Bombeck

GOD BLESS AMERICA

WE HOPE EVERYONE HAS A HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Will has had a wonderful day. Curtis, Jenn and Cali came over from Boise for the afternoon. It was great to see them again. Cali is just so darn cute. She was doing gymnastic moves for Uncle Will.

Then he rested for a few hours and went over to the Clark's to have an old-fashioned BBQ. There were many friends and the food---It was so good and I think Will gained ten pounds (which he could use). I probably did too, but that's a whole other story.

He has dialysis and then we will probably just stay close to home for the fourth. We will put some pictures up on Sunday night. Be safe and be happy on this long weekend.

When you have time go to this website (I hope I did it right-if it doesn't work, I will try again) and watch the video. It has our two good, good friends that have had transplants. If you have followed Will's blog, you will remember Tanya and Sarah. They did a good job.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/sharedp=8c1b2c8fa53596b905ef78&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url