04.04.2008 - Update From Stacy

Originally sent as an email from Stacy

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Hi everyone! Just a quick update:

Julian and I are traveling to Palo Alto (San Fransisco Bay Area) on Sunday, with a one-day stop at Disneyland. Julian has his Bladder Surgery scheduled for Thursday the 10th of April. The doctors at Stanford have agreed that it is best to address Julian's bladder issues prior to having his transplant, because they want to create the optimal environment for Julian's new kidney to thrive. If we wait until after the transplant to do the bladder surgery, the transplanted kidney may incur some damage if the bladder surgery is either unsuccessful in whole or in part, or if there is more work than we realize that needs to be done for him to have a working bladder.

If the initial bladder surgery is successful and does everything we need it to do, (ie get the posterior urethral valve working again), Julian will only need to heal from the surgery (about 3 weeks healing time) to be ready to receive his new Kidney. My friend Cheryl Humble just completed a battery of testing in California to see if she is a suitable donor. We already know she matches in blood-type and necessary antigens, but she needed a few kidney function tests in order to determine if she could give one up without a problem.

If Cheryl is suitable, we will simply schedule the transplant and know exactly when it will happen. If she is not suitable, Julian will be placed at the top of the transplant list (as he has waited 11 months already, and kids in Palo Alto rarely wait even a year), and we will hang out in Palo Alto waiting for them to call us with a cadaveric kidney.

We will be temporary residents at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, here is their address if any of you wish to write to us; Dave and Stacy Phillips, C/O The Ronald McDonald House, 520 Sand Hill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-2001 otherwise you can e-mail or call my cell (303)335-8753 or Dave's cell (303)579-7227. Dave will be commuting during the wait times between surgeries, and for the 100 days of follow-up after the transplant, spending Sundays-Wednesdays in Colorado and Thursdays-Sundays in Palo Alto.

We want to thank you all for your continued prayer support as we enter this crucial time. Sometimes I'm not even sure what to pray for, but the Lord's Prayer comes to mind in those times when I have no words, and I always know that His Holy Spirit intercedes with prayer where my words fail.

Stacy