Happy New Year

The last of the partygoers just left the house....

I never would have imagined a party like this tonight. Just wait. I have pictures. But for now, I MUST go to bed.

Status

Oh 2009 where are you??

#4 in Fort Worth

#5 in Dallas

Nope, not a typo.

Cool Story

So I've actually met a lot of new friends through this blog. It's been very, very cool. Most of them have stumbled on this blog just like I have done to other blogs (the late night googling sessions for "liver blogs"). It's been really great to know that there are other individuals out there in similiar situations. A lot of them have helped me when I was feeling very discouraged.

One gal in particular contacted me through the blog when Geoff and I were in Seattle. Her name is Kristina. Oh, and don't worry she totally gave me permission to talk about her as long as I didn't mention how drunk she got the first time we met. Totally kidding.

Anyhow, she was recently diagnosed with PSC and found my blog. One of the cool things about this whole story is that she lives in Dallas and has 2 young kids. So, we e-mailed a couple of times and decided that we should totally get together for dinner.

We met last week and it was an absolute blast! I kind of felt like I was going on a blind date...with a girl. I was nervous. I even called a friend of mine and said "okay, if I disappear I was last seen at Mi Cocina". The really cool part about this entire thing is that we had so much in common, so there was no need to worry that she might try and kidnap me.

• She's 5'10-me too!
• Her daugther's name is Ava-me too!
• She had a super cute outfit on-me too!
• She loves Nordstrom Rack-me too!
• She had the exact same necklace on that I got for Christmas! Weird!

I know this is all completely useless information to all of you, but remember this was a complete stranger up until a week ago.

Most importantly though, I hope that I was able to share with her that there is life after transplant (not that I've had one or anything...but you get the point) and if you have a great support system you can get through anything.

Reflection Part #1

Just go with it.

2008 was a fun/shitty/happy/exciting/trying/overwhelming year.

The last couple of days all I could think about is how much 2008 sucked. AND then it dawned on me....HELLO I had Conner in 2008. So then the guilt really set in. How could it be such an awful year when I had that sweet, sweet boy (the whole birth part wasn't sweet-sweet but you get the point).

Remember this?

Back to my reflection.

So, 2008 was not a bad year (entirely). We were blessed with a miracle and now were just waiting on another. There's not like a 1-miracle-per-family maximum, right? Or maybe it's like a flex-spending account where it just starts all over the next year? Either way, we were blessed this year.

Besides the birth of Conner being a huge highlight we also survived another year with mini-me (aka Ava). This year more than ever Geoff and I realized how much she is like me. Yikes. This girl will have no problem holding her own in Kindergarten. I have to say, I'm pretty proud.

And now...this is the girl who will be teaching your daughter how to sneak of the house out at night.

That's enough reflection for now. I'll be back.

Merry Christmas Y'all

Church last night with the Clarks!
The "before"

Very, very in to it.

The "after"


I totally gave up on the wrapping and just started putting bows on everything. I even resorted to wrapping Geoff's gifts in one big J Crew bag.

Conner was up first!

The calm before the storm.

This was me following Ava around going "do you like it, do you like it"? I wanted HUGE reactions...

Inspecting the leftover reindeer food. Yes, I know, my outfit is super hot.

The $10 Hannah Montana make-up set which turned out to be the biggest hit!

Still not overwhelmed....

Conner LOVED his stuff. Geoff was excited to get some boy toys in the house.

And here's Grandma!

I've declared a winner

Whether I like it or not, 2009 is only a mere 8 days away. Wow.

Now, about the winner part. This was a recent submission for the liver naming game. It's definitely a winner in my books. Big thanks to Erik S.

We'll be making bile in a little while

The journey continues 09'

.

Status

#3 in Fort Worth
#4 in Dallas

It's the holidays. No sense in getting mad. I think about the families who will lose someone this holiday season. The true meaning of an organ donor becomes a scary reality.

And now you can officially call me...Debbie Downer.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Lisa to post the 4th picture in the 4th file of my digital photo storage.

You've got to be kidding me.

Anyone who knows me KNOWS I will only post good pictures of myself. Why would I want you to picture me any other way? My secret is out.

This picture was taken by Geoff one morning when he thought it would be funny to have the kids and the dog wake me up. Somehow I'm not laughing right now.

I've tagged Lori, Holly, and Jaime.

It's time to party

Our week of parties start tonight:

Wednesday: Geoff's work party. I'll get the let's-not-have-too-much-to-drink-in-front-of-my-boss talk before we go. I'll nod my head and then go about my merry way. I promise it won't be like the year I accidently tried to break in to the valet guy's car.

Thursday: My work Christmas party. I'll behave there.

Friday: 3rd or 4th Annual (?) Christmas Lights Dinner with the Bettencourts. The first year the girls were just 5 months old and the guys drove us to a bar after dinner. We ran inside, did a shot of tequila, and ran back out to the car. It's not like we were going to take our babies in the bar with us.

Saturday: My 3rd Annual Cookie Exchange with the neighborood gals. This ain't your momma's cookie exchange. This year were all fired up because last year half the party was pregnant.....and that spells b-o-r-i-n-g.

Museltov!

Status

#2 in Fort Worth
#3 in Dallas

Just a little more of the same. Not bitter, at all. Actually, I am counting my blessings today.

Croup, croup, and some more croup

I thought croup only existed in the 1920's?

I have two barking seals also known as Ava and Conner. Geoff is walking around the house with a hospital mask on like we are on the brink of a SARS epidemic and I am praying that I don't get sick because I have 3 Christmas parties this week (that I would like to drink at).

Dammit.

We are home

Hip-hip-hooray!

Back to reality.

I found you

We paged the doctor this morning. Here is what she said:

• Yes, they would accept his case
• They do not think the board will grant additional points
• They are going to write of letter of inquiry to the review board just to make sure
• If the letter fails, we are still going to get listed here with the MELD of 14 just to have a back-up
• After looking at his liver yesterday they do feel that a re-transplant is necessary (his upper bile ducts are deteriorating significantly, BUT his tube has done an excellent job of keeping the blood flow going).

That's it. We are headed to the airport in 30 minutes. So long Seattle-maybe we'll see you soon.

Doctors didn't call...I am hunting them down tomorrow

Is that you McSteamy?

Oh, sorry....nevermind, it's another woman doctor.

I am feeling very Seattle-ish as I sit here at UW with my huge cup of coffee, my tucked-in jeans with boots (EVERYONE is doing it here) all while I blog to you guys.

Geoff's procedure was scheduled @ 8:00AM and it looks as though he was taken in on-time. So far, so good. This day should bring a lot of answers. At first we were discouraged, but now we are looking at it in a different light (with the help of some friends). A couple of things:

• At least we can check the box on this one. No regrets.


• We will get a second opinion. Nothing wrong with that. Looking back maybe it was something we should have done anyways.


• Our thoughts this morning: maybe it's not a bad thing to get listed her regardless of the low MELD. What happens if Geoff's "natural" MELD shoots up to a 19 in the next two months and he still hasn't been transplanted in Dallas? At least our bases will be covered and UW could still come through.


• The flip-side to that thought: maybe this is all God's way of telling us to go back home because there is a better plan for us in Dallas.

Your thoughts?

Committee is @ 12:30PM...it usually goes for a couple of hours. Should hear something in the afternoon. If not, I will come find them.

Hello, Hello

Big thanks to Lori! We weren't around the computer all day-she was so kind to update for me.

Well.....the day was an interesting one.

We got to the hospital bright and early. FYI-still freakin cold here. We pretty much met with a set of doctors for an 1 1/2 hours or so. We went through Geoff's past, present, and future (medically speaking). They were all really great (and ALL women...interesting, huh?).

The main concern is that Geoff's MELD would not be a 20 in this region therefore not making him anywhere near the top of the list (like we had hoped). His MELD would most likely be a 14 here, which is pretty much non-existent in the transplant world. It's not for sure, but they wanted to be honest with us. Remember, Geoff is an automatic 20 MELD in Dallas because of his biliary tube. We thought that was a standard throughout the country-apparently not.

Next steps: tomorrow morning Geoff is going in for a procedure to get a good look at his liver/bile ducts. We pushed for this because at the very least we would like a second opinion. Secondly, tomorrow @ 12:30PM they will be presenting his case to the committee @ UW to see if they will agree to take on his case (which they said that was pretty much a given) BUT to also get the doctors feelings on how the "all mighty regional committee" will feel about granting the additional points for his tube.

They are going to call us tomorrow afternoon and give us the results from all. Keep your fingers crossed.

Much love. We miss Dallas.

Reporting Live From McKinney.....

Hey, it's Lori B...Geoff and Erin's friend from across the neighborhood. She asked me to update her blog as they are out and about and not near a computer! (hopefully they are shopping!!)

Anyway, this is the text she sent me to update all of you fellow blog stalkers:

"Seattle is still a crap shoot...Geoff probably would not be the same meld score here therefore it probably would not be worth it to list him here. BUT is case is going to presented to committee tomorrow and they are going to look closely at his liver to give us a second opinion."

They are disappointed but hopeful that tomorrow will answer some more questions for them....as to how sick his liver is at this point, etc.

As I know you all do, please pray for them tonight and throughout the day tomorrow. For answers, for good news and for the Lord to surround them with his love.

Until next time,

Lori B

How's this for irony?

Usually Monday morning we ask for a status update in Dallas to hear where Geoff is at on the list. This week we didn't ask, but I always check www.unos.org for the regional stats.

Here comes the irony.

Last week there were 7 people in FW with Geoff's blood type waiting for a liver (he was in the #2 spot) and there were 9 people in Dallas with Geoff's blood type (he was in the #3 spot). And just for pure torture I like to look up UW. There was 1 person in Geoff's blood group.

This week there are 9 people waiting in FW and 10 waiting in Dallas. Ready? There are ZERO people waiting at UW in Geoff's blood category.

Off to get some great Seattle coffee and head to the hospital.

Transplant? Huh?

That's why were here?

Um...did some forget to remind me that I was going to be RIGHT next to the flagship Nordstrom store? And if that's not good enough how about right down the street from the 4-story Nordstrom Rack? H-E-A-V-E-N

Geoff and I did a ton of walking. I told him he needed to prepare his body for the evaluations tomorrow, especially if he was going to see a cardiologist.

When did Seattle get so cold?

I swear it's the lighting....were not that yellow.We are here and it's cold. I'm not complaining. Conner has croup. I'm not complaining, but how's that for timing? Dallas seems so far from here. I think I already miss it.

Some observations so far:

• Lots of trees! Who said that there was a shortage?


• Lots of skinny people


• A little grunge...or I've really become a little "Dallas". I'm hope my big silver earrings aren't too much with my huge red purse?
  
• Hills!!! Can't wait to start walking...Geoff is cringing.

Bags are packed

Well, not really, but it is on my to-do list for today.

We leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Seattle. I'm anxious about leaving the kids for so long. Conner is still so young.

And now for my Oscar acceptance speech....

This trip would not be possible without the help of so many people. It wasn't as simple as just booking a flight and hotel, so thank-you from the bottom of our hearts to Lori, Kim, Colin, Rhonda, ALL my moms in the neighborhood who have offered help, Tim, Brad and Linda, my mom, Lee and the Pro Pac family, my work, my online liver supporter friends, and Kendall Jackson.

Sometimes it seems like such a blur...to think we are flying to Washington for the possibility of finding a liver. Other times I think no big deal-just another bump in the road. I feel so grateful for all of the support we receive. It's never-ending. People really care.

I will be updating as much as possible ESPECIALLY if I see McDreamy or McSteamy.

LC

Liver clinic, not Lauren Conrad (for anyone that watches The Hills).

It went well today. Geoff's numbers were stable-kidneys a little elevated, but nothing out of the "norm". The doctor commented on Geoff going to Seattle. It was a blessing of sorts. He said that UW is a great program. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

My grandma (GiGi to Ava and Conner) is coming into town today from California. We are all very excited. Welcome, GiGi!

Yay for Friday.

You should build your butt muscles

Me: Huh?

Geoff: I'm just sayin

Me: Huh?

Geoff: I just thought you had more.

Me: Huh?

Geoff: Hahahaha (nervous laughter).

Me: Are you mental?

Geoff: I was uh just uh saying...um that I thought....you know?

Me: Um, I don't know and you are an idiot.

Just a normal Tuesday night discussion. I think this falls into the category of a dust buster for Christmas and when he bought me a scale when I was 5 weeks pregnant (because he thought for sure that I would want to keep track of my weight gain).

Happy Wednesday!

This just in

#2 at Fort Worth

#3 at Dallas

Deja Vu anyone?

We haven't received the final "blessing" but the transplant coordinator (in Dallas) feels that the doctors will say GO to Seattle for the appt. She is forwarding an e-mail that Geoff wrote this morning to them. If need be someone will loan us their private jet, right?