They say a picture is worth 1,000 words.  I am not sure if that quip is actually true, but tonight we had the joy of testing it out.  After 15 days of fun with his cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents, Josh returned home.

I met my parents at a local hotel around 4PM today to pick Josh up.  I wanted to take him to get ice cream, just the two of us, to talk about what was going on with Mommy before I brought him home.  For his entire life, Josh has accompanied Kimberly to doctor’s appointments.  Over the past 8 months, especially, Josh knew that Mommy’s kidneys were getting tired, and needed some help.  Before Josh left town, we told him that God had designed our bodies in such a way that someone could give Mommy one of their kidneys to help her’s since they had gotten tired.  When we told him this, Josh’s eyes got huge.  “Not mine!,” he exclaimed.  We reassured him by letting him know that Aunt Angie would be giving Kimberly one of hers.  He cheered.

We had told him that while he was gone, the doctors were going to give Mommy one of Angie’s kidneys, but we were unsure how much of that he really grasped.  Therefore, when he got home, I wanted to take him out and have a little man to man conversation with him to update him on what had happened, and to let him know what we could do to help Mommy.  So, over a cup of Braum’s chocolate ice cream, we started talking.

Me:  “Josh, a lot happened while you were gone.”

Josh:  “Yeah?  What?”

Me:  “Mommy got one of Angie’s kidneys.”  (I figured I should just get it out there.  Seems a bit abrupt in print . . .)

Josh:  “Alright!  Now hers won’t be tired anymore.”

Me:  “That’s right Josh.  Now Mommy is resting a lot as she gets better.”

Josh:  “Yeah, she can rest on the couch or in bed while you and I play Legos.”

Me:  “You bet pal.  The main thing we need to remember is that we need to be very gentle with Mommy.  She has a sore tummy and a sore neck, so we need to be very careful and loving to her, and help her out all we can.”

Josh:  “I can do that.  I can help Mommy out while she gets well.  Maybe we can watch some TV together?  That’s what I like to do when I am resting.”

And with that, we loaded up in the car and headed home.  When Josh got home, we heard all about his two weeks in a minimum of 1,000 words.  It was pretty sweet.  The pic of mom and son is also priceless.  So, at the end of the day, I got both a picture and 1,000 words.  I am just praising God that our family is back together again.  It just feels right.

In a side note, please be in prayer for Angie and her family.  She gets to head home on Tuesday after nearly three weeks to see her family again.  Her sacrifice was not just limited to her kidney, or even to her.  Kevin, Angie and the kids all gave deeply to us this past month, and we are forever thankful.

The past 10 days have been filled with a number of memorable moments for us.  Tonight, I am recording a “Top 10” of these moments for us in the form of memorable quotes from the week that was.  So . . .

From our home office in Norman, Oklahoma, here is tonight’s Top 10 things said concerning Kimberly’s kidney transplant in the past 10 days:

10.  “It just didn’t feel right.”  Dr. Samara, the lead surgeon on Kimberly’s transplant was closing her up when he noticed that the transplanted kidney felt a little limp. He trusted his instincts and redid the connection of the kidney to her artery.  When he did this, his instinct was proven accurate.  There was a small blood clot that had already formed.  If he had not caught this it could have been disastrous.  When Dr. Samara was updating me after the surgery, he said “It just didn’t feel right.”  So thankful to God that He allowed Dr. Samara to catch this complication and fix it!

9.  “I’m so glad we weren’t having this transplant 30 years ago.”  Reflecting on the advances in transplant procedures in recent years, I mentioned to my father-in-law that I was so thankful we were doing this transplant now instead of in the 1970’s or 80’s.  He reminded me that they thought Kimberly would need a transplant in the mid 1980’s.  So thankful to God that her kidneys hung on for 27 years to allow us to benefit from 30 more years of medical advancement.

8.  “I can wear his Captain America shield on my belt for protection.”  Kimberly was thinking about how to protect her surgical site from our very active 5 year old.  She decided that his frisbee like Captain America shield attached to her belt would do the trick.  I reminded her that a Captain America shield to a little boy is a target not a protective pad.

7.  “I was there for her tracheostomy in 2010.”  Dr. Buyten, Kimberly’s ENT acquired special privileges to perform her tracheostomy on the morning of the transplant at Integris Baptist Medical Center.  As the Anesthesiologist was preparing to talk to Kimberly about the plan for sedation during surgery, we overheard him talking to Dr. Buyten just outside our room.  It was so reassuring to us that Dr. Buyten (who really understands Kimberly’s throat) was able to secure her airway and answer relevant questions concerning her anesthesia.

6.  “Grandma is still here.”  One of the first things I told Kimberly in post-op was that her nearly 100 year old Grandmother was still in the waiting room.  She had been there all day.  Hulda Atwater is one of the most amazing women we know.  It was a joy to be with her in the waiting room all day.

5.  “Dad, are you missing me on my trip?”  I called to talk to Josh who was staying at my sisters house in Arkansas.  He said exactly one sentence to me . . . he wanted to know if I was missing him.  He did not even wait for an answer to his question . . . he ran off to play more with his cousins.  I was not offended . . . I was so happy he was having a good time.  Thanks Joe, Debbie, Jenna, and Emma!

4.  “I named him Obi Wan Kenobi Dog Robinson.”  My sister’s family totally wined and dined Josh all week.  They even took him to Build a Bear Workshop where he built a dog dressed like the famous Star Wars Jedi master.  He was all too proud to tell me his name.

3.  “You guys have gone viral on Facebook.”  We were totally blown away by the number of people who followed our saga on Facebook, Twitter, and this blog in the past two weeks.  On the morning of surgery a friend mentioned to me that many were talking, following, and praying.  Thank you!

2.  “Your creatinine is .8”  At Kimberly’s 10 day follow-up appointment today, her new kidney seemed to be working perfectly.  One of the key toxins they look for in your blood that determine if your kidneys are working correctly is your level of creatinine.  Today, Kimberly’s creatinine was .8, well within normal levels.  In fact two physician friends today told me that Kimberly’s creatinine is lower than theirs.  Amazing!

1.  “Cookie Cake?”  Before the transplant, Angie spent a few days with us while they were doing pre-op meetings.  One night, Kimberly, Angie, and myself were sitting around talking.  I said, “How do you thank someone for giving you their kidney?”  We all three sat there pondering this question for a few moments.  Kimberly broke the silence by declaring “With a cookie cake.”  We all got a good laugh at that.  Incidentally, we sent Angie a cookie cake yesterday afternoon.

 

There you go!  A Top 10 List.

Here are a few prayer requests tonight:

• Though things are looking very good with Kimberly’s transplant, she still has tenderness at the surgical site.  This most likely is due to the added complications that Kimberly had with the internal bleeding following transplant.  They plan to do a CT scan on Tuesday of next week to see how things look.  Pray that they will find nothing wrong, and Kimberly will heal quickly!  Also pray that we will have wisdom to understand if her recovery process is normal, or if we need to alert the doctors that something is wrong.  In light of this, also pray that we will have peace during this healing process.
• Continue to pray that Kimberly will not have any complications with the trach.  She has had some air that has been trapped under her skin near the trach site.  This is not a major issue, but is a bit uncomfortable.  Pray it does not continue and clears up naturally and quickly.
• Pray that Kimberly does not catch any illness.  She is on heavy immuno-suppression medications, and is always at risk of catching something.
• Pray that the surgical transplant team will be able to understand quickly if further surgery is necessary.  If they can determine that soon, we will be able to remove the trach.
• Continue to pray for Angie’s kids and Joshua as they deal with mom’s who are healing.
• Pray that Angie’s follow-up appointment goes great next Tuesday.

A few days before Kimberly’s transplant, Kimberly, Joshua, and myself had a “family fun day.”  We went swimming, ate ice cream, played video games, mini golf, and more.  It was awesome.  Knowing we had a a few weeks of hard road ahead of us, we wanted to kick-back and enjoy a day as a family before it all began.

One of our last stops on this family fun tour was a place called Andy Alligator’s Fun Park.  If you are not from Norman and have never seen this place, it looks exactly like it sounds:  arcade, mini-golf, bowling, go karts . . . the works.  This place is one country music show away from Branson.  We spent most of our time in the arcade.  We played a bunch of games that Josh really enjoyed.  After a while playing the “kiddie games,” Josh wanted to go for broke and hunt deer on one of the “big boy games.”  Thankfully, there were two guns that came with this game, so we each grabbed one to play together.  When I looked at the cost of the game, however, I saw that it was $1 per game.  Knowing that Josh would not be able to hit the targets, I paid for only one game . . . mine.  I did not tell Josh, though.  When the game started, we both fired our fake weapons at the screen.  Josh (of course) took credit for each big elk shot.  Because I love him, I never told him otherwise.  Someday, when he gets older, he will understand more of what was going on.  For now, I loved watching him enjoy his part in the game.

I mention this story tonight because I am having somewhat of a hard day.  We have certainly had a hard week, and that has contributed to my feelings tonight, but my anxiousness tonight goes somewhat deeper.  Like many “type a” people, I revel in getting things done.  I excel in giving my time and energy to accomplishing something.  In many of the key areas of my life, however, I currently feel totally out of control . . . and that is bothersome to me.

On a macro level, Kimberly’s transplant is going great.  The new kidney seems to be working great, every day we see small progress, and we have just spent our first 24 hours out of the hospital.  However, as I have transitioned into the “nurse” role at the Robinson house, I have found myself unable to be able to do what I most want done . . . help my wife feel better.  No matter what I do, I can’t help her sleep, cough, breath, or feel better.  The combo of the trach (which makes her cough) and the incisions (which hurt when she coughs) makes parts of her day miserable . . . and I can do nothing to change that.  Her stomach is rumbly but no food I bring to the table can make her stomach accept it well.  These are normal issues following the kinds of surgeries Kimberly had last week, but it is hard to see those situations play out and not be able to do anything about it.

Also, I am the kind of person who always carries the responsibility I feel given to me, so I have struggled with being gone from my post at the church during the “fall kickoff” that is August.  Especially in a season where we have a lot of things we are trying to launch for this fall, and our staff team has been scattered for most of the summer.  I feel the inner (not external, but internal) pressure to reengage at the church to push things forward.  (Don’t worry . . . I am taking time off, but I still feel the tension.)

As I was getting dinner ready tonight, I found myself tensing up over these feelings of being out of control.  That’s when God reminded me of my time with Josh at Andy Alligator’s two weeks ago.  It was as if God was whispering in my ear, reminding me that in all the areas of my life, he is the One who is always pulling the trigger.  Though I spend much of my time with my “weapon” in hand firing at the screen, ultimately, it is always only God who is hitting the target.  He allows me to stand beside Him and play because He loves the Father/son time it brings . . . however, He does not need me to accomplish His work at home or at church.  I feel as though in this season God has taken the gun out of my hand and asked me to watch Him work . . . in my wife and at church.  These are tough lessons to learn, but important ones nonetheless.  It is a humbling but important reminder . . . a push to trust in Him.  Someday soon, I will be asked to pick the gun back up.  When I do, I need to remember that it is my Father who bought the game, and it is my Father who takes aim and does the work in every area that really matters.  He wants us in the game, but without His work, we can accomplish nothing.  Sometimes, we have to have the gun taken out of hands to remind us of that.  It is a tough, but beautiful reminder.

I don’t know if any of you can relate to this.  The experiences you are going through are probably different . . . but the principle still holds true.  We are all less important than we think . . . but we all get to stand beside our Father who equips us and invites us to watch Him work around us and through us to accomplish His will.

As Jon Bon Jovi says, “Who says you can’t go home?”  The good people at Integris Hospital certainly did not say that today, therefore, we are home sweet home (another 80’s rock anthem for those of you keeping track at home).  Great to be back home tonight.  Kimberly is totally wiped out, but is resting on the couch.  I am trying to organize our new life.  The picture attached to this post shows only the medicines, equipment, etc. that we came home from the hospital with today.  Kimberly has more meds, etc. that she was taking before.  Needless to say, it is a bit overwhelming.  You can pray for us as we transition back home.

One other thing you can pray for concerning Kimberly has to do with her digestive track.  As with many who undergo abdominal surgeries, she is having a little harder time getting back on track.  Please pray that everything starts working normally there.

Angie made it to Darrell and Kaye’s house today without major problems.  Thanks for praying for her!  The text I saw said that her pain was less today.  Praising God for that!

I’ll share some more thoughts later, but wanted to update you on the trip home for those of you who were praying today.  Thanks for lifting us up!  We are truly “livin’ on a prayer” and hope we don’t get any “bad medicine” . . . ok, I’ll stop.  (For those of you who didn’t listen to the hot new Z104.5 in high school in the 80’s, this post probably was a bit confusing.)

This afternoon, Kimberly and I spent some time talking with the head Pharmacist with the transplant program here at the hospital.  It was a very instructive time.  As a transplant recipient, Kimberly will have to take a set of medications twice daily for the rest of her life.  These medications are called “anti-rejection” drugs.  They will suppress Kimberly’s immune system so that it will not attack the “foreign body” in her abdomen, the transplanted kidney.  The medications are necessary, because the natural condition of our body will fight things put inside it that are not “original equipment.”  This is how God designed our bodies to fight off infections and diseases.  In order for the transplanted organ to survive, Kimberly’s body’s defense mechanism must be depressed so the new kidney can survive.

Hearing about these medications made me think about a deeper spiritual reality.  As believers in Jesus Christ, our spiritual bodies are equipped with a sin fighting defense system . . . the Holy Spirit.  God placed His Spirit inside His children to “guide them to all truth” and to equip and empower them to overcome sin and live a righteous life.  For the believer in Christ walking daily in the power of the Holy Spirit, sin is not very palatable.  I do not mean that sin is not tempting, or momentarily enjoyable, but for the one who is trusting in Christ, sin ultimately over-promises and under-delivers.  It leaves us with regret, disappointment, and disgust.  When we experience these emotions regarding our sin, we are experiencing God’s spiritual immune system, fighting off the foreign body of sin.

However, at different times in our spiritual lives, believers can experience a suppression of the power of God’s sin fighting Spirit.  This spiritual suppression is best diagnosed when sin no longer bothers the Christian . . . i.e the Christian deliberately and intentionally sins, yet no longer feels bad about doing it.  The Bible has a phrase for this anti-spirit rejection: hardness of heart.  In Hebrews 3:13 God speaks of the “hardness of heart” that His children can possess when He says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”  This passage informs the Christian that sometimes if we sin too much, our heart will no longer be disturbed by sin because it is hardened to it . . . no longer softly receiving its direction from the Lord.  In a very real way, persistent sin serves as the anti-rejection drug of your spiritual life. . . it causes your body to tolerate a foreign object of affection.

For Kimberly, she takes the anti-rejection drugs so that the kidney (which was invited in and freely given) will bring life.  However, for the Christian who persists in rebellious sin, the hard heart takes root and leads to a deadening of one’s relationship with Christ.

My encouragement to all is to pursue life . . . for Kimberly, that will mean taking a handful of pills each day . . . for the Christian, that means keeping short accounts with God concerning our sin that we would not find our hearts hardened to its deadly effects.

Fellow believers, we are to exhort one another to live a life of godliness that sin would not harden our hearts.  This is one truth we should not reject.

Today has been an interesting day to say the least.  As I wrote earlier, the news this morning concerning Kimberly’s kidney function was quite positive.  The rest of the day, however, was a mixed bag.  For the most part, medical news was positive, but the day was long and tiring.  We had a parade of people training us throughout the day for what life will be like after transplant.  This was encouraging, tiring, and most everything in between.  I think the emotion of the last few days finally caught up with us today . . . After all that, however, the day ended with a very positive thing: Kimberly’s ENT was able to downsize her trach and put a cap on it, so she can now talk!  It was truly awesome to hear her voice.  Brought tears to my eyes.  Thanks for praying for us today!

Angie was released from the hospital about an hour ago.  She will be resting up in the area for the next several days.  Continue to pray for quick recovery and no complications.

Tomorrow afternoon they are going to do an ultrasound guided “aspiration” to clean the excess blood out of Kimberly’s abdomen from the earlier bleed.  They think this will help with the pain.

Again, thanks for all the support, prayers, and love you have shown us.  We so appreciate it.  More later.

Two days before Kimberly and Angie came to the hospital for the kidney transplant, they were presented a gift by Linda Befort, a long-time friend of the family.  Linda’s prayer group at church had quilted together blankets for Kimberly and Angie while they prayed for them.  The backs of the quilts are covered in Bible verses written out by hand.  In a very real way, the girls were to be covered in prayer and surrounded by God’s promises as they recovered from surgery.  The quilt is a great reminder of those realities.

As we have lived through the past few days, we have been so blessed to have been surrounded by so many prayers and reminders of God’s Word.  So many people, connected by a web that is truly world wide, have joined together to lift this situation up before the Lord.  Literally thousands of people have been praying for this event in many states, and even many countries around the world.  Not only have we had a physical quilt to keep us warm inside the air-conditioned spaces of the hospital, but we have also had a patchwork of friends from every phase of our lives bringing us regularly before His throne of grace.  We have felt those prayers, and are deeply encouraged by each of you.  Like the fabric squares that make up a quilt, many of you reading this never knew you would end up connected in purpose and voice with so many others trusting God for something together.  It has been beautiful and wonderful to be covered by you this week.

Thanks so much for standing in the gap with us.  God is so, so good, and He is hearing your prayers and answering them here in big, small, and meaningful ways.  Thanks for allowing our pain to stitch you together for something noble and necessary.

We do not take your time for granted and are humbled and blessed by the attention you have shown us.  Let’s keep trusting God together!

On a practical note, we have not heard back from the CT scan yet . . . we hope to hear back from the docs in the morning.  Thanks for continuing to pray with us on that.  One good thing, though, is that Kimberly has been moved up to the “Kidney Transplant Floor” and out of ICU.  This is progress!  I’ll update more tomorrow as I hear things.  Thank you all so much.  We love you, and are honored to be covered by you this week.

 

Well, it is 5 PM on Tuesday.  Though my last update was only two hours ago, I wanted to share a few highlights in bullet form so that my friend Courtney might read it and enjoy it 🙂  :

• Kimberly passed her swallow test and has been cleared to take oral pain medication (which should help) and eat dinner.  The dinner she got to eat was her first that was not a part of a “renal diet” in over six months!  Potato soup and chocolate pudding never tasted so good.
• Kimberly’s doc got to look at the results of the ultrasound and blood work and feels that the bleeding has not gotten worse today and is not obstructing the new kidney in any way.  The new kidney is doing great!  Praise God.
• Please also pray that Kimberly can take good deep breaths.  This will help with her lungs post-surgery, but it is painful and tough with the trach and the incision.
• Angie got to come down to visit Kimberly this afternoon in a wheel chair.  This was the first time they had seen each other since just before they wheeled  Angie back for surgery yesterday morning.  It was simply awesome to see them talking together.  Made my heart leap.
• Angie is experiencing more pain and nausea.  Please pray that she gets to feeling better soon.  Also pray that all her body systems will begin to work normally again after surgery.
• Kimberly is still in pain also, and both she and Angie need some rest.  Please pray that they would both get good rest tonight.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.  God is good and He is at work in our neck of the woods.

More updates as things develop. . .

You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger

Your name is great and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing

10,000 reasons for my heart to find . . .

Bless the Lord Oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship His holy Name

Sing like never before, Oh my soul

Worship His holy Name!

As we are now just about 24 hours out of transplant, I find myself singing the song lyrics above.  I find so much encouragement in the goodness of God in the midst of difficult times.  He is worthy to be praised when everything is going well and when everything is hard.  His praise worthiness is not dependent on our circumstances, so would you join me in praising Him now?

Kimberly just finished her ultrasound to check the internal bleeding.  We will know more about the situation after talking to a doctor later.  She is in pain . . . probably normal levels of pain and discomfort for someone who had a tracheostomy and a kidney transplant yesterday.  Her trach is a source of frustration because it keeps her from talking and adds anxiety to breathing.  In spite of these things, I would say that she is probably doing better now than she was at 8 AM this morning.  Her vital signs are stable and they are hopeful she will be able to begin drinking fluids again this afternoon.  The new kidney seems to be working well!

I have not seen Angie today, but have talked to her husband and her doctor.  She seems to be doing better as the day goes on.  Normal post-surgical pain and nausea.  I understand she has started to eat some and is progressing nicely.  Please pray for a quick, complication free recovery for her!

Again, we are so thankful for your partnership with us in this.  Many hands help to lift the load and place it squarely on the shoulders of our Savior.  He is worthy to be trusted with all things, including this.

;

;

Just a few minutes ago, I left Angie’s room. Seeing her smiling face was such a huge encouragement to me. I asked her how she was. She said she was “great.” I said, “Liar.” To which she responded, “I am mostly full of joy (and pain medication)!” What an amazing person. We are praising God that she is out of surgery and doing well.

Kimberly’s surgery finished with a sovereign and skillful flurry. After completing the transplant process, the surgeon noticed that the new kidney did not “look quite right.” He checked a few things, then decided to redo the attachment to the artery. When he did this, he noticed that Kimberly had a blood clot in the vein. Praise God, the doctor caught it when he did, and was able to fix the problem. I am so thankful for a very skilled and experienced surgeon and a God who always sees and hears our prayers. Everything looks good now, and she is in the recovery room. She will be on a blood thinner for the next while, so they are putting her in ICU here. All in all, though, we are very grateful and thankful for how the day went. I hope to see Kimberly soon when she gets out of recovery.

I’ll update more when I get a chance. Join me in praising God for His provision, protection, and peace. It was a long day, but God was with us all the while. We had a full room of friends and family in the waiting room with us all day, and I know there were hundreds more of you joining us in prayer from (literally) around the world. Know this: God hears and God was here.