Nothing says ‘Welcome to Monday morning’ like an 8am run to Lehigh Valley Hospital for bloodwork and chest x-rays!  Andrew and Rachelle met us at the hospital at 7:45am this morning where Matt and Andrew checked in to Diagnostic Center and got worked up again.  Andrew had blood work, and EKG and a chest x-ray.  Matt just had blood and urine done.  Apparently the surgical team was satisfied with the litany of tests Matt has had in the last 4 months!  They were both done by about 9am so we headed to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat, refuel on coffee and try the hospitals’ ‘free wireless connection’. 

 Food was good.  Coffee was caffeinated.  Internet was NOT WORKING!  I was sitting directly under the router in the cafeteria and had no luck getting myself connected.  We finally surrendered and went for help.  Come to fond out, wireless access is no longer free and will cost me five bucks a day.  Que sera sera!

Ok, so now for the information that you really want.  Matt’s surgeon is Dr. Moritz, head of the Transplant department.  Andrew’s surgeon is Dr. Checkavarti (spelled all kinds of wrong!).  Matt and I met with Dr. Moritz and got the skinny on Wednesday’s big event.  We all have to be at the hospital at 5am.  Matt will be in surgery at 7:10 am.  He will have a vertical incision on the left side of his belly button that runs approximately 3 inches long.  Additionally, there will be two smaller holes for the camera and instruments on his left side.  The procedure is known as a left nephrectomy.  When Matt has been in surgery for about an hour, they will wheel Andrew in and open him up.  They have quite a bit to do with Andrew.  Disconnect the bad kidneys and prepare his body for the new kidneys.  When Matt’s kidney is removed, it will be completely drained of all blood and fluids and walked over to Andrews’ surgical suite.  They will put the new kidney into Andrew and clamp off the connections to the bladder and the arteries.  One by one, they will remove the clamps to ensure that the kidney is doing what it ought to do.

Matt will then be closed up and sent on his merry way.  They will be starting the procedure lapriscopically and have a 99% chance of following through on that procedure.  It is only the slightest possibility that he will have to be “cut open” for this.

 Andrew will have a more sizable scar on this belly.  They will be filling him up with 20 pounds of liquid before they close him up.  Did ya get that.  Go back and read it again.  Did ya?  20 LBS. OF FLUID.  In Andrew.  Wednesday.  Crazy.  The kidney is meant to be put to the test right away.  The goal is that he passes all of that fluid as urine. 

WHEN all of this goes as we all KNOW that it will, Matt should be out of surgery by Noon, Andrew by 2pm and if all goes exactly as planned, Andrew should have completely normal kidney function by 11pm Wednesday night.  AMAZING.

There is a more information that I will post tomorrow.  Chris got here this evening and we are all going to the Dialysis Center tomorrow for Andrews LAST Dialysis ever (we hope).  I will post more when the dialysis is all wrapped up.

Keep good thoughts!