Transplant Update

Yesterday was the "big day". Cleo met with the transplant team at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. Our day started very early...left the house at 5:20 am in order to be at the hospital promptly at 6:30. You never know what traffice will be like in Atlanta even that early in the morning, and we definately didn't want to be late. Anyhow, we made it in plenty of time and got started immediately. They had sent all the paperwork ahead of time, which cut down on a lot of time and then took him back to a room. There a nurse gathered the paperwork, gave him a name band and got the ball rolling. From there we went to the radiology dept. and they did an abdominal ultrasound...sent us to the cafeteria to get breakfast and whisked us to the education class which was a mass of organized information, literature, etc. explaining the whole transplant process. We went back to the clinic, where they drew at least 15 (yup, you read that right, 15!) vials of blood. After that we met with a social worker, a psychiatrist, one of the transplant surgeons, the head of the transplant dept. who is also a nephrologist, a dietician and were then introduced to the lady who will be Cleos' transplant coordinator. Now this may not seem so daunting to some, but we met with each of these professionals one at a time and they each had their own agenda. After that was done, they sent him back to radiology for a chest xray and then off to pulmonary for a PFT test. The whole process took 8 hours and we were both exhausted and ready to be home.

The whole goal of the transplant team is to find a suitable living donor so that when the time comes (and hopefully before Cleo goes on dialysis) the transplant can be done right away. The odds are so much better for organ longevity with a living donor and if he doesn't have to be on dialysis he will be stronger for the surgery. We must now wait for 3 weeks until the transplant committee meets again and they go over all the test results and evaluations done yesterday. According to the head of the transplant team, Cleo should be an excellent candidate and he feels very confidant that they will put him on the list at that time. Once we receive the call from our transplant coordinator letting us know their decision...then it's out of our hands. Any person wishing to be tested as a potential donor will then have to contact her personally expressing their desire to be tested. We cannot be involved in that for ethical reasons and the transplant team cannot contact a potential donor as that's considered "soliciting" and is illegal. Some of the initial tests could be done locally (where a donor may live) but if they were a blood match and the other tests looked good, then that person would have to come to Atlanta for 2 days of intense testing with the transplant team. The ONLY person who knows the outcome of the donor testing is the donor. We are not allowed to know unless that person wishes to tell us and the transplant team cannot divulge that info to us. If a match is found then the surgery would also be done here in Atlanta in adjoining operation rooms. They will test as many candidates as needed to find a match, but will only do one at a time due to the high cost of testing. Our insurance does pay for the donor testing and the Georgia Transplant Foundation could help with transportation costs for donors as well.

Cleo and I just want to say that we feel so blessed to have so many family and friends who have and continue to pray for his health and a positive outcome from this ordeal. This is all somewhat overwhelming to think that anyone would be willing to donate their kidney and go through this grueling process with us. It is not something that we would EVER ask any of you to do, nor could the gift ever be repayed, but since so many of you have expressed an interest in getting tested we wanted to pass this information on to you. As soon as we hear from the transplant team, I will update again and post the coordinators name and phone number.

Once again, we are extremely grateful for the gift of each of you in our lives. This road is much easier to travel with you by our sides. We love each of you.....

Megs' Visit

We had a surprise visitor last night for dinner---Megs (Cleos' niece). She came to Atlanta for business and drove down here to see our house. We enjoyed a nice dinner with her and Jarod and Lindsey were able to come down as well to see her. We really enjoyed our visit (even though it was too short!). These "kids" have just grown into the greatest adults and are just a hoot to be around. We sure appreciate you stopping in to see us Megan and only wish you could've stayed longer. We love you and have a safe trip to Florida and New York.

Lindsey, Megan and Jarod

Uncle Kevin (aka Cleo), Megan and Marcy

Transplant Appt.

Just a quick update to let y'all know that Cleo has an appt. with the Transplant Team at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta on Jan. 28th. He has to be there at 6:00 am and will be there all day. It's our understanding they will run a battery of tests that day, but we don't have any specifics right now. A nurse will be calling before that day to give us more information and we really hope to have answers to a lot of our questions at that appt. NOTHING has changed as far as his health---he is still feeling good and in stage 4, but inching closer to stage 5. I will update after that appt with more information.

Thank you to everyone for thinking of Cleo and praying for him. He will beat this thing and be around for many years to come. We sure love everyone of you!!!

Fun weekend with Extended Family

Stacie, Whit and their 4 beautiful little girls came down this past weekend from NC to visit us and we had a wonderful time. It meant a lot to both Cleo and I that they would make that 6 hour drive (especially with 4 little ones!) and just "hang out" with us. We really didn't do much, except go bowling on Saturday afternoon which was a hoot. I did post some pics of that fun, but I purposely left out the pics of our scores!!! That's because little Eliza beat us all!!! We decided that the next time we go, the adults need the ramps and bumpers and maybe, just maybe, that would increase our scores as well!!!

Stacie and I were able to get away for about an hour that morning to run over to a little consignment store that I just love and we both found some incredible bargains. I think she ended up with an LL Bean (I think that was the brand) down vest for around $7 or $8 bucks and it looked like brand new. I found a pair of jeans and some cords that were also like brand new and looked as if they'd never been worn. I really love a bargain. And you know what they say, "one mans trash is another mans treasure". So true.

Once again, I just want to say "Thank You" to Stacie and Whit for making the trip down here. We love you guys and you have a beautiful family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

Okay, so this might not be your "typical" ringing in the New Year blog, but I gotta say it was rather peaceful at the Cheney home last night! We did go to some friends for food and fun last night and made it all the way to midnight (maybe the first time to be awake in years!) and watched the ball drop in Times Square. It was a lot of fun to get together with good friends to ring in a new year. But, the best part of the whole night was when we got home and went to bed(get your minds out of the gutters!). You see, Cleo had developed a nasty habit of snoring so loud that it kept me awake---but the kicker was when he woke himself up. So, in Cleo fashion, he surfed the net and found this awesome RipSnore mouth guard and ordered it. I was leary at first thinking there's no way this will work and absolutely no way he'll keep it in all night. Well, much to my surprise...IT WORKS!!! No more snoring and he says he actually feels rested in the mornings again. Of course I'm a much happier camper now that I can sleep thru the night as well. So I guess we rang in the New Year in peace and lets just hope it stays peaceful all year long!

I also wanted to show this really cool sign that Jarod and Lindsey had made for Cleo for Christmas. He hung it the other day above the shed door and it looks really nice. He really loves our "little piece of heaven" out here in the beautiful Georgia country and loves tinkering in his yard and the woods behind. Thanks Jarod and Lindsey for the awesome gift!

I hope that each of you have a happy and healthy 2009. We are looking forward to the new year and all the blessings it will bring our way.