Anxiety inducing

Al and I went yesterday for our 2 year post op visit. I got a glowing report, I am now a "grad" I don't need to go for post op check ups anymore. :)

Al on the other hand...as they put it, he's "high risk for rejection". This isn't supposed to be a surprise to us, apparently they've been saying that all along. Makes sense, it's a non genetic kidney. Of course his body will want to fight it. His body seems to be a little more diligent in fighting his new kidney, so there are some minor signs of rejection creeping in. That is a scary and daunting thought. It's easy to focus on the word "rejection" and not allow God to keep peace in our souls. It's easy to get anxious about this and let gloom and doom take over. I had a lot of praying to do on the way home from our appointment. We were deflated and I can't speak for Al but from where I was sitting, he had a lot on his mind on the way home. It was that awkward silence, don't quite know what to say, don't quite know if you should joke about it to keep the mood light or fall into a grief mentality. The bottom line is, transplanted kidney's do not last for ever. It was never a matter of "if" it would reject, it was always a matter of "when". I pray that "when" is not ANYTIME soon! You have no idea how much I pray about that, but the fact is, the time will come and these signs are just reminders that we need to stay ahead of the game and stay on top of his monitoring. He gets labs done regularly to check his kidney function and he takes a slew of medication to suppress his immunity to keep his body from making antibodies that will think the kidney is a foreign body that needs to be fought. The meds he takes have been increased now, and he may need a biopsy on the kidney in the next week, but the doctor says we are not to "worry" just yet. I am holding on to those words, and increasing my prayer and asking anyone else that can and will to pray with me. Specifically that his creatinine levels go DOWN. At the current moment they are creeping up and have been over the past year. At the time of transplant his creatinine was 1.3. Perfect match to where my creatinine is today, 1.3 and that's technically where he should stay at! He is not though, he is at 2.1. It can fluctuate slightly based on how well hydrated a person is, but it needs to stay down. His kidney function needs to be saved and there needs to be no more damage done to it.