Gwen and Barry

[Sonny]

Good news Barry. Best wishes.

[CanuckHoss]

Today is 3 weeks post transplant and Gwen is doing very very well according to all the nurses and doctors we see 3 mornings a week. Gwen and I feel it is going great too.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for her recovery..they help a lot.

[CanuckHoss]

5 weeks post transplant yesterday...everything going totally according to plan or a bit better....love it

Still not spending much time at work...just enjoying Gwen...

[Iron Maiden]

Life is good !

[V-MAN]

GREAT NEWS!! Very much deserved for you both, glad to hear progression better then expected!

[CanuckHoss]

Yesterday was 6 weeks....6 awesome weeks other than Gwen wrenching her back 2 weeks ago getting out of bed...crappy....oh well...at least the Kidney is 100% and her back is healing....

I am still mostly at home doing stuff...running errands...shopping etc...actually quite enjoying the semi-retirement..just miss riding but there are 3 decent months left here for me to enjoy the 502...

ALL IS WELL!!

[Iron Maiden]

so glad to hear Gwen is doing well and that you are able to be home with her during the recovery!

[CanuckHoss]

Since my last update August 1st....shit has gone sideways for us.

Her Kidney is a non-issue..THANK GOD.

BUT her back...holy moly!! it has gone out another 3 times since Aug 1...mostly Sciatic pain in her back and right leg...when it goes out she can hardly walk or get out of bed.

Last Wednesday she took an Ambulance ride to the ER at 4am due to a severe migraine...most likely due to her back. She spent 8 hours at a that hospital and I brought her home pretty drugged up but very sick to her stomach. 2 hours later another Ambulance ride to a different hospital..the one she had her transplant at as requested but the transplant staff in case it was her Kidney.

She was there for 8 hours...CT Scan...probed and prodded and sent home before midnight with more drugs and really no answers. She woke up better the next day.

Her issue now is spasms...not back pain...that come on wildly when she moves in bed. She is getting so weak from the pain and not being able to be mobile from the back issue.

It literally takes her 3 to 4 minutes to sit up in bed from a lying down position. This prompted us yesterday to get a medi-bed to the house so that she can elevate her upper body from the lay down position and the bed itself will set her up.

We thought that 3 weeks into the transplant we had it made...not quite as the last 4 have been hell on both of us. I am not able to go to work much as she even needs help to get up the stairs to bed. When she gets up and standing she is kind of Ok and can function somewhat. She can't hardly lift a quart of water so I am doing pretty much everything for her..I am her go-for-boy...not a problem.

Today they did ultrasound on her native kidneys to see if they were maybe causing pressure on her back somewhere...will find out in a bit. At some point down the road those old kidneys will come out..not sure when.

I thought before that I might do the Oslo rally in Norway that is on this week and it is an obvious no go.

I am starting to even question Biketoberfest in October as that is not that far away and Gwen needs to be to the point of being self sufficient and be able to get groceries..I don't see her lifting a grocery bag any time soon.

So please keep her in your prayers and thoughts.

[mmaupin]

Barry,

Sciatica is terrible on top of everything else she has gone through. I use an inversion table to keep my vertebrae stretched out. It is not for everyone, but it sure helps me. Chiropractors can help a bunch too when you get a good one.

Sciatica is almost like a light switch, on or off. Hopefully, hers will turn off right away.

Best wishes!

[petitemoose]

Since my Involuntary Dismount, I have been having an issue with Moderate to Severe pain in my lower legs and feet. Never really tied the two together because for the first month I was on meds to stop pain then inflammation.
Moderate times it was just an annoying pain easily dealt with. When it flared up nasty, it would keep me up until all hours of the morning. Doctors were no help, basically told me that it is what it is and I had to deal with it. While in Germany, it bothered me none. Now I know it was because of my mode of transportation.
Long story Short, Finally met a Chiropractor that is worth his weight in Gold IMO. He spent an hour with me and deduced that my hips were off by about 1/2' to 3/4". This was the source of the issue. he adjusted this, pulled that, twisted this and popped that for about 20 minutes going from top to bottom then back to top then bottom again until everything was where he wanted it to be. That was a week ago and I have had very few moderate pain spells since. I have another Appointment today and will see just how much of the adjustments stayed where he put them.
Happily, I have had a full week of painless Sleep filled nights. Perhaps there is a Chiropractor in your area that can help. I know traditional medical Dr's like to treat symptoms with pills. You need to find a Dr. that will find the source of the problem and I would HIGHLY recommend a good Chiropractor.
When she is laying down in bed tonight, go to the end of the bed and see if her Heels line up evenly next to one another when she is laying on her back.

[Buck]

"I would HIGHLY recommend a good Chiropractor"
in there lies a problem, finding a good one, do your proper research and not go with what one patient recommends.
Buck

[GordonBH]

Hi there both,

My wife had severe sciatica when he was pregnant with our lovely daughter (a Doctor now). And despite the procedure making her pass out (yes! in the chair) her back was sorted. We believe the 8 mnths pregnant situation was the cause of the passing out not the manipulation. Since then (24yrs) all has been good. Well worth the bucks!

My best wishes to Gwen

[mmaupin]

Barry,

I have also used a TENS device that is very gentle and does allot of good. Sure you have seen the ads on TV:

http://www.smartrelief.com/?gclid=CL_Mi ... gQodfyAAcw

[Ponch]

Barry you and Gwen are in our prayers. May God bless Gwen with a swift and complete recovery.

Thank you for sharing with us so that we can share this with you.

[CanuckHoss]

I have not updated for a lot of months so here is a shorter version.

it is only the past 4 weeks that Gwen has not HAD to use a walker to even walk around the house..so July to January with a walker.

Today..the sweetheart got talked into going for a "real" walk outside on our walking path that I use and generally get in about 3 to 4 miles.

She did 3 blocks or so...for her that is a record...and an awesome uplifting of her spirit....we both thought that even a few houses each direction would be good for her but once she started walking...albeit fairly slow...she said "let's go a bit further"

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and feel free to keep them coming...thank you

[Oldun]

Great news, all the best for further improvement!!!

[Iron Maiden]

That's GREAT news!!!

[CanuckHoss]

She is going a bit further all the time...she did 1 1/3 miles a few days ago...I honestly thought it would be April or May before she did that...prayers are being answered...

[GordonBH]

This is all great news, best wishes Gwen, it can't be easy pushing into the pain right to the limit.

If you were a bloke I'd say you had big ...... well, let's settle for "GRIT"