Home Again

Dad was released from Cleveland today. The doctors changed one of the drugs and took a couple others away. Mom says he is looking and feeling well. I just spoke with them and they are only about 15 minutes away from home. It is a beautiful snowy day here. The snow is sticking to the grass but not the streets so far. It will be a busy week ahead for us with visits from both Sarah's boyfriend and Nathan's girlfriend and our annual New Year's Eve party.

Christmas at Cleveland Clinic

Well, unfortunately Dad had another bout with his kidneys and ended up in Cleveland on Christmas Eve. We were hoping that he would be able to come home after receiving some IV fluids in the ER and go up there after the holiday but the doctor didn't want to take any chances. He was transported and Mom drove up this morning. We know that the anti-rejection meds are hard on the kidneys but he is also still experiencing nausea on an almost daily basis. We hope that the doctor can figure out just exactly what is continuing to cause this problem.

The kids have all taken turns talking with him today and telling him about their Christmas gifts. He seems to be in pretty good spirits despite having to be in the hospital over Christmas.

Sunday

Just a quick update to let you all know that Dad and Mom made it home safely from Tennessee. Tomorrow will be another round of the usual blood work and then doctor appointments for both Mom and Dad.

Out and About

Dad was released from Vanderbilt yesterday. He is feeling much better and sounds good. They are planning on staying in Nashville for a couple more days and then heading back to Findlay, probably on Sunday. In the meantime they will just play with the granddaughters and their cousins - it is a rough job but someone has to do it ;)

A Trip to Vandy

Unfortunately Dad hasn't felt too well the last couple of days and his blood work came back with an elevated number for kidney function. So he is visiting Vanderbilt Medical Center. It appears to be a medicine issue again and he needs to be rehydrated. He went in last night (due to the fact that Vandy is also a transplant center they knew just how to deal with him) and was told he may be out by later today. Any further treatment should be able to be done outpatient. Mom was still thinking that they would head home this weekend.

Christmas in Ohio and a trip to Tennessee

We had a great time with Bill, Amanda and the girls visiting. Dad spent a lot of time at our house this week sitting in front of the fire. He travelled with Jared, Isaac and me to Marion for the boys games on Friday evening. Isaac's team played the first game (and won!) and Jared's team played the last game of the night (and won!). We sat through four games in all. It was a long night!

We had Christmas with Bill and his family on Sunday. The family photo is all of us except Nathan, who isn't home yet. His finals are this week.

Dad decided that he and Mom would drive all the presents down rather than have Bill have to ship them or try to squeeze them in luggage for the plane trip. Then Bill decided to go in the car with them. So early Monday morning the three of them hit the road for Tennessee. We got to enjoy having Amanda and the girls for most of the day and then took them to the airport. All arrived safely in Tennessee. Dad and Mom plan on driving back to Ohio on Saturday.

Here are a couple of pictures from Sunday. Mom and Dad enjoying watching the girls open presents and Ellery Grace "helping" Poppy open his present.

A Quick Update

Wow, I can't believe it's been 9 days since I'e updated! I guess that is a good thing. It means Dad is doing well and keeps on improving. This past week has been a busy one. First of all Dad got the okay to drive again and has been transporting himself to rehab. and occasionally grandkids to activities in town. The rehab. nurses keep increasing the resistance on his exercises so he is getting stronger too. My brother, who is in town this week visiting, went with him today and said he does very well. Sarah arrived home from her semester in London on Tuesday. Bill, Amanda and the girls flew up on Wednesday to celebrate an early Christmas with us. I hope to post some pictures soon. Emery Cate climbed up on Poppy's lap today to "share" his french fries. He is still having some problems with his stomach and anxiety but they seen to be improving.

Out and About -It's Basketball Season!

Dad is feeling some better and getting a little tired of sitting around the house so we have gone to some basketball games. Last night we went to watch a young lady from church who is on an 8th grade team. She is an awesome defensive player!

Tonight Dad and Mom joined us to watch Jared's first basketball game of his Senior year. Here are a couple of photos. If you look closely you will see them in the crowd. Dad has on his favorite hat. Oh, and in case you didn't guess Jared is #14 just like Nathan before him - his poppy's favorite number.