Triathlon Thom!

In celebration of a successful year post kidney transplant Thom and his donor twin brother, Chris competed in the Tri for Fun Triathlon in Pleasanton, CA. They crossed the finish line after a 400 meter swim, 11.5 bike ride (on a tandem bike!) and 3 mile run. We are so proud of them and all that they have been able to accomplish over the last year.


Check out the article on KSL.com written about them. (*please note a typo halfway down the article. It should read It is not protocol instead of It is protocol)


Congrats to Thom and Chris!

It's a Miracle!

Stanford's new definition of a "twin bed"!

It was an early start for rooms C107 and C108 at Stanford Medical Center. At 6:30 am PST Chris was transported to Pre-Op, but not before the twins could wreak havoc on their nurses. Both insisted on including hand written post-it notes to the surgeon on their charts and bodies. These stated their requests:

Chris:

Dr. Busque - While you're at it, can you please do a tummy tuck.

Thanks, Chris

ps No catheter please!

Thom (for Chris' chart):

Please perform the following:

1) Breast Augmentation

2) Brain Transplant

Our family would really appreciate it.

Needless to say the nurses and surgeon were kept entertained.

Chris on his way to surgery

At 12:30 pm, Thom was transported to Pre-Op. En route, the surgeon, Dr. Busque, informed us that Chris' surgery went really well and everything looked good. The anesthesiologist, Dr. Fink, explained the operating procedure and after a blood test they were ready to wheel Thom into surgery.

Thom on his way to surgery (with Melissa and Annette)

Around 4:00 pm Dr. Busque came out to inform us that Thom's surgery was successful and that the kidney was working PERFECTLY! It is a modern miracle and we are SO grateful for the positive outcome.

The man of the hour, Dr. Busque!

Hey Guys,

Transplant postponed for the third time...but only for 24 hours. We have an OR scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 am. Wish you could all be here!

After surgery you will get the Red Hot Juice (all the details.)

California Dreamin'

I'm headed to Modesto tomorrow for the big day! I'm pretty excited to be there with Dad, Mom and Uncle Chris on such an important day.

The things I am looking forward to:

- Eating good/authentic mexican food! (it does not exist on the East Coast)
- Spending some quality time with my parents (they are the best as far as I am concerned)
- Meeting my Dad's doctors (they have been so amazing)
- Having an In-N-Out burger!
- Enjoying the beautiful California weather

Thanks again to all who have kept our family in their prayers. We will keep you posted on how things go. Only a few more days!

Melissa

Third Time is a Charm....

No surgery today, May26! It turns out I have an intestinal infection that my body is trying to fight off, and true to form, Stanford says no surgery until we have perfect conditions.

As I have mentioned before, Stanford takes high-risk cases and combines that with an ultra-conservative approach and treatment. Of course, we appreciate their standard of excellence.

We believe the third time is a charm and....surgery is only two weeks away on Wedenesday, June 9th!

Just a personal note: Thank you for your support, thoughts, prayers, phone calls and concern for all of the Stevenson Family.

We sincerely thank you!

Dear Generous Friends and Family,

Thank you for all your amazing support. It has been a very moving experience to see how you all have rallied around our family in these last few months. We are continually impressed by your generosity and hope that in some way we can show that same love in return. Each day brings us closer to a transplant and a brighter future.

Thank you for your positive thoughts, well wishes and prayers. We feel them each day!

FINAL COUNTDOWN TO SURGERY.......POSTPONED A FEW WEEKS!

Some of you may be thinking that we are counting the days until surgery .... you are right, BUT it looks like we will be counting a little longer!

My brother Chris came into town on Wednesday, April 7th to complete some final testing and get ready for our hospital admittance on Tuesday, April 13th.

The good news is that Chris survived a detailed ultrasound procedure on his kidneys, circulatory system and bladder. The bad news is that the expert radiologist needed to read the MRI is out of the country for another full week. Our surgical team feels they cannot move forward until they have the final opinion and reading from this physician.

Our best guess: another 3-4 weeks before the actual transplant proceedure. While disappointed, we value the conservative approach, skills and perfect record of our surgeons.

Thanks for your love, support and prayers. Please keep checking the blog for the latest and greatest!