Rejection: HE makes me Brave

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest in me.

2 Corinthians  12:9

Yep, back at Vandy for an unplanned treatment.  I heard the dreaded "R" word this week- rejection.  Let me back up.

July started out with a bang (pun intended).  We celebrated Independence Day with family at my brother in law and sister in law's home in Caruthersville.  Great food and fun fellowship!

The 8th was our granddaughter Anna Kate's 12th birthday.  Her party was scheduled for the weekend, but her mom surprised her with festive balloons and birthday breakfast doughnuts.

Those balloons had two meanings.  They helped mark the birthday of a special girl, and a milestone for me- I actually blew one of them up!  That is something I have not been able to do for many years.

Later that week I had routine follow up visits at Vanderbilt.  This was actually my 6th month visit- two weeks early.  I saw Dr. Shaver and she was very happy with my progress.  My labs are still good- my kidneys are not thrilled with the entire transplant routine, but we are moving forward.

The documents below are my pulmonary function test results.  You can see the previous ones in the archived blogpost "The Backstory".

You may recall that one of the main numbers they look at is the FEV1- mine was 24% when I was listed.  I have starred and circled this week's number below- it says 105%!  What?  Seriously?  How is that possible?  Just call me an overachiever.  See all the "Ns" in the right hand column?  That means each value is normal.  Prior to transplant, I had never seen that.  Each test had an "A" for abnormal beside the value. Seriously, there is NOTHING God cannot do.

Look at the graphs below. The first plot on the left is 1-1-14.  The last plot on the right is today.  Look at how the line was low, and getting lower, and then started rising sharply.  The day that the numbers starting climbing is the week after my surgery, when I had my first post-transplant tests.  

Dr. Shaver told me many good things.  She said I could go back to work full time if the bronchoscopy was normal.  She said I could decrease my prednisone to 5 mg a day if the bronchoscopy was normal.  She said I could stop the anti-viral medication if the bronchoscopy was normal.  Wonderful news!  She also said I could travel to Washington DC in October for a national meeting I need to attend- I was not able to go last year because I was too sick.  I have to purchase a special mask for the plane.  She smiled and said "If you fly Southwest wearing that mask - no one is going to sit next to you."  We all laughed.  Just a little transplant humor.

Later that day, Dr. Robbins did my bronchoscopy.  It went well.  

Elizabeth, the wonderful transplant nurse who takes care of me, called the next day.  The bronch showed no CMV and no donor specific antibodies.  Those are very good things.  The pathology was not back yet, so she would have to call the next day.  I had no reason to think there would be any rejection, because my lung function was WONDERFUL.  I was feeling great!

When Elizabeth called me on Friday, I heard the "R" word.  The term "rejection" is not what you want to hear as a transplant patient.  There are several different types of rejection.  The kind I have is acute rejection, and the Grade is A1, which is very mild.  It usually responds to high dose steroids and is not uncommon.  The transplant team even told me to expect it at some point.  My good friend Ashleigh-Anne, who had a liver transplant, had three episodes of it.  The treatment consists of daily infusions of high dose (500 mg) steroids for 3 days, then a taper starting at 60 mg and ending at 20 mg, where I will stay for a while.  I will have a repeat bronchoscopy in 4-6 weeks to ensure the rejection has resolved. Steroids are a double edged sword- they are effective- even life saving, but the side effects are no fun at all.  Bye bye sleep, hello elastic waistbands.

Elizabeth tried to get the infusions set up at the hospital here, but unfortunately they would not do it.  I am driving to Vanderbilt for a 30 minute infusion of a drug that is given in hospitals every day.  

Hello, Vanderbilt!  Hello, transplant floor! 

This is Molly, one of the wonderful nurses who took care of me.

I get to keep the IV in my arm and I am praying it will hold until my last infusion on Monday.  You know how much I love being stuck, and how uncooperative my veins are.

We stopped at my favorite burger joint- Hugh Baby's- for a quick lunch.

Then we drove home so we could attend Anna Kate's party.

Swimming fun!

 Big sister Maggie and her sweet friend Bethany.  Too cool for the little girls, so they are helping with the preparation.

Pizza and swimming- a match made in Heaven!

I'll be your taste tester, Christy!  I'm being so good, and look how cute I am!

     

Lemonade and lots of sweets!  A beautiful and tasty cake with every kind of sprinkle known to man.  Anna Kate's Grammy, Betsy Jones, made it.

 

Henry is taking his place in the line for goodies.

As the day draws to a close, I am thankful that a complete stranger gave me the lungs I needed to experience all of the activities in this jam-packed Saturday.  Six months ago I would have had to choose an activity.  The trip to Vanderbilt would have taken all my energy for the day.  

I honestly am not worried about the outcome; this news was no surprise to God.  He is still in control . He has brought me so far, and performed many miracles in my life.  This rejection is a small thing for him, and he will be glorified regardless of the outcome.  It was found so early- it has not affected my lung function, and I am grateful for that.  Once again, his timing is perfect.  His power will be made perfect in my weakness and I can't wait to see the next page in this story!

This bracelet Ashleigh Anne gave me for my birthday is so appropriate today.
HE makes me brave!

A little more transplant humor to close out this post with a grin!