Hi all of you FANTASTIC prayer partners and friends!
It's Dave the Donor this time. : )
I just wanted to write with my own typing "voice" and thank all of you personally for so many, many encouraging notes - besides all the THOUSANDS of prayers on my and Dickson's behalf. Wow! It's been amazing. Our God is SO incredible. How could I NOT have had peace through this whole process?!!
I'm doing so well, that I feel guilty. Today is day nine of my "Rebound Tour" - my name for my recovery journey. I think it was four days after surgery that I felt like my brain caught up with my body so that everything was working together as it should. I rarely feel pain; I haven't changed anything I eat or drink and it doesn't feel like I'm missing a kidney...ever; I've been able to walk a lot, even hills and steps; and so far, I've been able to control myself from overdoing it. I already know that I'll need your prayers as time goes on, because by day 22 I'll FOR SURE be wanting to do things I probably shouldn't be doing yet!
God has taught me a lot and I know there's more to learn: Kidneys do WAY more than just filter impurities out of our blood-trust me! (read up on 'em a little if you don't believe me); "overly" familiar verses have taken on a much deeper, richer meaning, becoming new again; I thank God for my kidneys every day (plural is NOT a typo as I still have two...it's just that one of them is helping Dickson now); I understand in a small and incomplete way, a little bit more of how my Savior felt as He experienced pain He didn't need to - for someone else, by choice; and on and on.
Dickson and I agree that the biggest challenge is waiting: A minute is a minute no matter how much you try to speed it up! Every minute that goes by we are getting better, But it just takes time. He just got back from the doctor and every indicator is more positive than before. They continue to cut back on the amounts of his meds. His creatinine (vital indicator of kidney efficiency) is within normal parameters and lower yet even though it was already 12X lower after surgery than before. He is producing red blood cells now too.
Enough for now. My first Gdaughter is a month old today and vovô (that's me) gets to see her one more time before we fly back to our wonderful Brazilian family on April 23 (barring unforeseens). We continue to rely on our Amazing God and your faithful prayers.
More soon!