Hospital Day

Today is the day we left for the hospital. Said goodbye to the kids at the bus stop this morning and gave them all hugs and kisses. They really have been amazing through this whole thing and completely understand what I am doing and why. The next few weeks will certainly be tough as I recover and not be able to do much with them in terms of physical activity, but we'll try to make it work as best as we can so that there is little disruption to their routine. At least I get a nice two week vacation from work.... LOL!

It is amazing how much preparation has gone into all of this. Not just over the past few months with all the tests, but just here at home. The packing, cleaning, organizing, the bills, etc.... so much to take care of.

A lot of people have been asking me if I am nervous. To some degree, I am! But I try to put this whole thing in perspective that I am donating a kidney. It could be worse; I could be having a brain tumor removed, fighting cancer, or something. I'm certainly trying not to make light of the situation or the procedure, but just reminding myself that I'm doing something good here. That helps. I know I will be in great hands with the team of doctors and staff. We have an incredible support system surrounding us and I couldn't be more grateful than I am right now.

I have only been admitted since 12:00 and it is now almost 6pm. In these short 6 hours, I feel like I have been here for days..... I don't know how Stacey did it for 63 days on bedrest. Those who know me know that I am not one for sitting down; I feel like I always need to be doing something. Jello, Italian Ice, and Broth have become my new main food group! LOL.... Had it for lunch and then again for dinner. All I can have is liquid, no solids. Just found out today that I won't be able to eat solids until maybe late Thursday or Friday. I am going to wither!!!!! I usually have at least 4-5 meals a day! This whole not being able to eat is pure torture! LOL.... Who knows, I may surprise myself and the doctors and recover faster than expected. I look forward to eating something of real substance soon.

Tomorrow is the big day and I will try to post late in the evening after I have gone through recovery and am somewhat cognisant of what I am typing. Please continue to pray for me, Gigi and the family.

Below is a picture of the two of us pre-surgery/check-in:

Last Chance Workout!

Today was my official last day of working out before the surgery. I have been doing the P90X program for some time now (mostly for toning purposes) and most recently incorporated more of the strength training to it. I absolutely love the P90X program! I have been working out off and on for a number of years, with very little consistency over a set routine; but the P90X program has changed all that and I enjoy each and every workout they do. I know I get a great workout each time! I hope to be able to get back into it when my body is ready. I have been trying to get myself as physically fit as possible in an effort to improve my recovery time. Although the Doctors say that I am in good shape now and have no doubt that I will recover just fine, I still wanted to exercise as much as possible because I won't be able to do so for at least six weeks.

Now I will be resting up and taking it easy over the next few days to get myself physically, emotionally and mentally prepared. Overall, I think I am ready to do this, I have no second thoughts at all, I just want the day to come now! Looks like we are all set though.

As long as I do what the Doctors say during my recovery, I should be fine. My goal is to be back to my normal routine by March 1st. I have a list of races I want to do in the coming months along with a couple of triathlons I want to try this summer. I know that I not push myself, but allow my body enough time to heal properly. The next few weeks will certainly dictate what I can/cannot do.

There is still lots to do before Tuesday, so this weekend will be busy for sure. So many preparations to take care of. Everyone has been great and I thank everyone enough for all the love, support and prayers that have been offered. It truly has been overwhelming and I feel so blessed.

6 Days To Go!

Went to LabCorp this morning to have some additional blood work taken care of. Just final routine stuff I guess.... Then headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some supplies, snacks, etc to have onhand with me at the hospital while I recover. Trying to get things in order before the surgery so we don't have to worry about anything when we get home. My parents arrive next Friday thankfully! My Dad will be a great help with keeping the kids busy, while my Mom can help with laundry, cooking and cleaning. With her blindness, unfortunately, she is limited to what she can do, especially in our house, since she isn't as familiar with the layout as she is with her own home.
This weekend, we will work to get the house cleaned and ready.

Today, I was given a nice surprise from two great friends of mine. They arranged to get 3 tickets to this Saturday's Broncos vs Patriots game in Boston. Road Trip!!! While I immediately wanted to jump at the opportunity to go, I did have to sit back and rationalize it. Although I GREATLY appreciated the gesture these two friends made, I had to turn down the offer. While talking it over with Stacey, the trip, as fun as it may be, would be too risky to take. I would not only be risking myself getting into an accident, getting stuck in Boston due to weather, or coming home sick, but I have to factor Gigi in all of this as well. Ultimately, this affects her too.

The nights continue to be a bit restless.... for some reason I am literally waking up every hour. I know some of it has to do with the upcoming surgery, but I find myself lying in bed thinking about Stacey and kids through all of this. Also worrying about my parents and making sure they get here safely next week. Of course, the natural fear of not making it through the surgery! I know I will be fine, but hey, I think it's normal for anyone to think they may not make it out of surgery. It's a natural emotion.... Honestly though, I know things will be fine and both Gigi and I will make it through this. We have received so many prayers and well wishes already and have a tremendous support system around us. God has blessed us in so many ways.

Our Kidney Transplant Journey

I held off on blogging about this chapter in our lives for a number of reasons, but mainly because I wanted to respect Gigi's privacy. Last summer, Gigi informed us that she was going to need another transplant within a year. She had her first transplant a little over 14 years ago and according to medical experts, a kidney transplant can last anywhere between 15-20 years. When we found out the news, Gigi's sister, Stacey's brother Scott, and I all volunteered to get tested to see if we were matches. Miraculously, all three of us were! However, I was deemed to be the most healthy, so the specialists chose me to be the desired donor.

I haven't had any second thoughts whatsoever about this whole thing. I have been a registered organ donor since I turned 18, try to give blood regularly, and just felt like this is the right thing to do. After all, this is my mother in law, my wife's mother, my kids' grandmother! I would do this for any one of my family members.

Over the past several months, I have literally had a $1 million medical workup (LOL!) from blood work, to MRIs, Cat Scans, you name it. Honestly, it's all been pretty interesting and I am fortunate to be able to be in this position where I am ALIVE to help someone like this!

With a week out, I admit that I have some anxiety, who wouldn't?!..... mostly because of the fact that I have never broken a bone nor ever had surgery. My anxiety stems from the fear of the unknown and not knowing what to expect post surgery. I am confident things will go smoothly, but as with any surgery, there are risks. I am not really worried about any of those because based on all the tests, there shouldn't really be any risks. It also gives me some peace of mind that we will be at a special transplant center, so we know that this is all they do day in and day out! VTC is a well respected transplant facility and my surgeon has told me that he has no doubts that I will recover just fine. One of our neighbors is a nurse anesthetist and I have asked her to be in the OR and administer the anesthesia, which I believe will help calm any fears I may have. Although I wish Stacey could be there to hold my hand, I know I will be in good hands throughout the process.

We've talked to the kids about all of this as well and they seem fine about the whole thing. They know what is going on and what I am doing and what Gigi needs. They seem to understand it all. I wish they would be able to come down and be there, but no kids under 11 are allowed. They will be in great hands with our neighbors and friends who have graciously offered to care for them during this time.

I couldn't have gone through all of this without not only the support of Stacey and the kids, but all of our friends and family. They have been amazing through all of this and definitely gives me peace of mind that they will all be praying for us next week. After all, we all know what the power of prayer does!! God has definitely had a hand in this and brought me into this family for a reason. Please continue to pray for us through this journey and I pray God watches over both Gigi and I during the surgery and heals us quickly for a speedy recovery.

New Year's Resolutions

As with each year, we find ourselves making resolutions that at times seem nearly impossible to keep. The intention is there, but never seem to last as long as one would hope. Aside from the eating healthier and exercising more, I am going to try to do a better job at holding onto my resolutions this year. Some that have come to mind include:

Paying it Forward

Focusing more on the positive

Reading the Bible/Daily Devotionals with the family each night

Doing at least one family getaway a month

Working on being more patient

Volunteering with the kids - Read to kids at the HOPE House, sign up to serve dinner at the local Homeless Shelter, Help with the River Clean Up, are a few that we can do this year.

Today I downloaded "One Year of Dinner Table Devotions" that we will begin reading together. I am excited about doing this as a family. Tonight at the dinner table, we will have 3 days to catch up on, but that should be okay. Hopefully the kids will get some value out of it. We'll see....

Next will be to come up with a fun family activity to do either this weekend or next. After that, the rest of January will be booked.

To those out there who make New Years Resolutions, good luck and I hope you are able to stick with them this year, whatever they are!

Great Grandma's 89th Birthday

Happy 89th Birthday to Grandma/Great Grandma Utz!!! We spent most of the day with Pops, Gigi, and Grandma, as well as some extended family today to celebrate Grandma's birthday. Grandma's nephew, Scott and his wife, who are from Australia and have been here in the U.S for 2 years for work, also came down from DC to visit and celebrate her birthday. Scott's 2-yr tenure for his job is up soon and they will actually be heading back to Australia in a few weeks. We've had the opportunity to visit with them a few times during these 2 years and it's been nice getting to know them.

We all went to Mimi's Cafe for Grandma's birthday dinner and headed back to Pops & Gigi's house for cake. We also took the opportunity to update pictures of Grandma with the kids as well as take a snapshot of 4 Generations! (Grandma, Gigi, Stacey, Caroline and Lauren!).... Wow, what a picture!

FOUR GENERATIONS:


GREAT GRANDMA & KIDS

Happy New Year 2012

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012! Hard to believe another year has gone by just as quickly as the next. It seems like the years are going faster and faster as we get older and I hate that! I wish life would just slow down a bit. We juggle too many things each day from work, kids, school, family, etc.... there has to be a better way to balance all of this at times. I just don't like how fast time is going; I don't want to look back and wonder about the 'what ifs' or the would have, could have, and should have's....

Overall 2011 was a great year for us; no complaints here. We all remained healthy and happy. We got to do quite a bit as a family, and the kids continue to grow up too fast. Stacey went back to work full time after 8 years of being a 'stay at home Mom" Although let's face it, she really wasn't a stay at home mom with all the juggling she did these 8 years (LOL). She certainly kept herself busy with the Mom's groups, the twins club, Baby Signs, Stroller Strides, etc.... She seemed to manage it all very well though and still keep the family in tact. Anyway, I digress..... We continued to be blessed in 2011. To ring in 2012, we had a rather low key New Years; we hung out with 4 of our closest friends and went to a local restaurant for dinner then headed back to one of their houses to ring in the new year. We always have fun hanging with them!

This week has certainly been busy though. Off of the heels of Christmas, we dove into a house project of painting each of the kids' rooms. After four days of priming and painting and recoating, the rooms look new and they all turned out great. Our next step will be to put crown molding in each of the rooms, add chair rail in Caroline's, and also change out the curtains to match the new colors. Then the rooms will be complete. Here is how the rooms look now.

Caroline's Room:


Jack's Room:


Lauren's Room:



A New Year’s Prayer

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;

Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.

God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

- Author Unknown