Greetings,
Well it is amazing what 24 hours can do for a person. Today, I finally feel like I am getting back to normal. I drove today for the first time in 6 weeks. Wow, what a feeling of control over your life again. So, since I can now drive mom and Deanna said it was time for me to blog.

Yesterday, we had a very busy and exciting day. I went to clinic at 7:30 and had ultimately good results. Most times when I go to clinic the lab results are back by the time the dr. comes in to see be but for some reason that did not happen yesterday. Mom and I waited for 30 mins. for them to get in and then there was a confusion on a level and they had me in the "swing" room for more magnesium fluid then someone realized that there was a confusion on what they were talking about and I was able to go home. Whoo, close call. End result was my labs were good but I still have low blood pressure so they said to eat salt. I have avoided salt for years so bring on the chips! After, a day of salt overload I feel much better today. Also, on the plus side I was able to cut out a few more pills each day.

The second exciting thing for the day was Deanna and I were both up and dressed by 9am that has been a first. Yeah!! Mom decided it was the day to get out and run a round. She is determined to get us walking. Which is good for us but Deanna and I just look at each other and say "ok". We started by going to the mall and doing a little shopping and walking. We were there for a couple of hours then went to Chilli's for lunch. I had the saltiest french fries I think I have ever ate in my life. Boy, they sure were good. Then we came home an Mom decided to go do the laundry. Deanna and I decided to stay home and took a 3 hour nap. That night we went to a cute little place called "Sugar Sister" they serve a light meal and lots of cakes and sugar. Well, on Monday nights they play "Sugar" (Bingo). For prizes they give away little cakes and gift certificates and for the grand prize they gave away a momma cake(white wedding). We did not win anything but had a great time. It was great to spend time like that with Mom and Deanna. We will sure miss her in a few days. But, it is time for her to get back to her boys. I don't know about the others but I slept very good last night for the first time in a long time.

Today was just as exciting. Deanna had her 2 week follow up appointment and she got good results. They also gave her a plaque for being a donor what a great gift. It was pretty chilly this morning so we went back to the mall to walk and do more shopping. Mom bought a great looking purse. We then went to lunch with Jan Kleystuber who came to town. It was great to see her and we had a nice time visiting. Again, we came home and took a nap. Tonight, we think we will stay in and watch "Dancing with the stars".

It will be a sad day to put Deanna on the plane on Thursday, but that just means we are one step closer to getting back to normal. After clinic on Friday Mom and I plan to come home for the weekend. My kids are excited to get to sleep in their own beds. Thanks, for all your continues prays and blessings.

Greetings,
We hope this message finds all of you in Kansas doing well and staying warm in the midst of the spring snow storm. We are hearing updates that southwest Kansas has about a foot of snow. In Wichita at the apartment, we have only seen ice. We are hoping the snow will come in and cover the ice soon. Mom and Danna have spent the day at the hospital. Danna went in for her regular labs and clinic this morning and it was determined she was dehydrated, therefore she had to stay and receive a 6 hour IV treatment to get her back on track. She is very frustrated that this happened , but is trying to keep all in perspective. Since mom and Danna have been at the hospital, today is my first day on my own. Yikes...I had to make my own lunch today. I have so enjoyed being taken care of by mom, that I had to step it up.
Yesterday, mom told us we were going to go do something "fun". So, we went walking at the mall and grocery shopping!! What a great adventure we had. Danna's side effects are getting a little better. Danna and I came back to the apartment feeling like we had run a marathon.
Danna will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow!!!!!! We are hoping to do something special for her, but may have to wait a day or so to let the weather pass. We definitely won't be lighting the town on fire, due to our lack of quick movement. We are going to enjoy the weekend filled with lots of rest and laughter.
God Bless,
Deanna

Greetings All,
God is good. We are trying to keep focused on the big picture. Recovery has been slower than what we had hoped, but is coming along. Today, definitely is the best day so far. Danna is experiencing ugly side effects from the medications she is on. We are praying they will soon subside. Mom has been so wonderful!!! All three of us have been blessed by this time together. We miss dad so much. We never thought we would go through this journey without him, however we continue to feel his love. Having this time together has made many other things easier.
Thank you again for all of your postings of prayers and support. We continue to read them everyday and are uplifted by your words.
God Bless,
Deanna

Today the sun is shinning in Wichita and the wind is down. Yesterday was another day of improvements. Danna went to Lab and Clinic, numbers continue to be excellent. She quit taking one med, decreased a couple of others and increased another. She has a fulltime job just keeping up with her drug regimen. We went to Dr. Smith's office and he removed her port which was put in for dialysis. That was good. She was worn out and rested the rest of the day.

Deanna spent the day getting more movement and getting on top of her headache. I it is getting better, just seems to be taking a long time. She is healing and getting more limber each day. Both girls walk around the yard at the apartment and today I hope we can go to the park across Webb Road. I told them I would drop them off and pick them up later, Danna looked at Deanna and said, "Don't you just feel the Love?". Humor has been our best medicine.

John and the boys called and they are in Ohio and back in school, work and etc. Seems that Tuck (their dog) is "depressed" without his friend Maddie. I'm sure John will see to him as well as he has the rest of his family in Deanna's absence.

Yesterday I started a puzzle. See, we really are making progress. Thanks for the thoughtful gift of puzzles. The girls stop by the table to put in a piece on their way through the room, but sitting in the chair is still not comfortable. When a piece falls to the floor I am picking it up, they are not up to that, but that day will come, maybe today. I no longer am needed to help them get out of the recliners, progress, progress.

This time together is precious for me. Allie said, "Grandma, you stay as long as you want, if my daughters needed me, I would stay." She has such a good heart. Dylan and Allie are back in school and staying with their grandparents in Deerfield. They have crazy middle school schedules and we really appreciate the help.

I will sign off for now. Soon the girls will be writing. All is well here in Wichita. God Bless, Norma

Today is a "Banner Day" for us, Danna and Deanna are out of the hospital and laying side by side in the loveseat recliners in the apartment. They are not moving too fast, but we are home and happy. Picture this one grandmother, one dad, two mothers and five children in a 12' x 20' room. We are cozy, but so glad to be here.

Deanna is dealing with headaches as well as the surgery pain and Danna is dealing with adjusting to a "super duper" kidney. For those of you that know about numbers her kidney had a BUN of 10 this morning and a Creatine of 1.1, we are thrilled. This kidney loves her!! Not that we ever doubted it...

Last night all of the children spent the night with Joe and Dorothy Dunbar here in Wichita. After a big breakfast Joe took the boys fishing while Allie and Dorothy hung out. They were delivered to the apartment after Mom's arrived home. Since getting home, they have been catering to Mom's with getting them items, going on walks with them and generally loving them.

It has been a long week and tomorrow the rest of the story begins. John and the boys will head back to Ohio in the morning, bright and early. A friend, Mike Howard, will be returning Dylan and Allie to Holcomb and their grandparents in Deerfield. Deanna and Danna will be recovering for two weeks together before Deanna flies home on April 2nd. I will stay with the girls to help with transportation, meals and general caregiving. Danna will be living in Wichita for the next couple of months doing labs and clinics to insure a healthy kidney.

As the days follow, Danna and Deanna will be updating you on their progress. My hope is that it gets very boring with all going well. We do not want any mountains to climb only flatlands to travel.

Again, thank you to all that have prayed for God grace in our lives. God bless all of you. Norma

Today was another day of new experiences!! Guess What Danna said, "I have never felt so wonderful". HE is in charge of our lives.

This being the second day of surgery it wasn't so great for Deanna, she dealt with pain issues all day. I am hoping that tonight goes well for her and for John. I can't stop thinking of how much he is like Duane. Duane was always there when someone needed care. John does not leave Deanna's side and is a real "champion" for her. Doctors and nurses know him.

Danna took eight walks today which was not an easy task (she has several tubes). Three of the visits was to Deanna. Deanna walked four times and plans to walk during the night. Tonight Phyllis Howard is staying with Danna and John with Deanna so I am sure that they will walk.

We had visits from J.B. and Melva Barlow, Delmar, Jackie, Brent, Ericka Robinson, Dylan and Allie today. Good to see friends, thank you for your support.

Hello!! What an exciting, scary, wonderful day!! We started the day very early (leaving the apartment at 4:30am) Deanna checked in on 3rd floor and Danna on 6th floor then before surgery the girls were facing each other in the pre-op, go figure. The thinking is that the donor and recipient may have issues before the event. Well, not the case with my girls, they were both so committed.

We heard from Dr. Shields' first saying that Deanna had done well and there were no surprises. He told us that the kidney was spurting a urine stream when he removed it. Deanna then went to recovery after surgery for about 1-2 hours, then to a room on 6th floor.

Next we heard from Dr. Smith saying that all went well with Danna's transplant and that the kidney was working. Danna then went to ICU for the next 24 hours to be sure that all is well.

What great news! The girls had John give me a gift from them after this news. A Celebration Angel that was dancing!! How appropriate!! I must say I had tears. Along with John, his boys, Danna's Dylan and Allie there was Mike & Phyllis Howard and Joe and Dorothy Dunbar and Danna's friend, Jamie Moore cheering with the news...

A big thank you to Phyllis and Mike for getting the kids up, dressed, breakfast and at the hospital by 6:15am this morning.

This afternoon we visited Danna three times and she reports that she has walked 3 times around the ICU and is putting out a liter every 30 minutes. They are giving her fluids to help convinence the kidney to keep preforming. She has eaten and swallowed a ton of pills. She looks very good and says she did not know she would feel this good after surgery. She is on pain meds, but will start weaning off of them in the next few days. Plans are to move to her room on the 6th floor around 1pm tomorrow. Looking good!!!

We visited Deanna this afternoon in her room. She is feeling pain, but is dealing with it and will start the weaning process. She had swelling because of the amount of fluids she received to hydrate the kidney and also from having her head down and feet up during surgery. Best position to retrieve the kidney. She is such a courageous young lady with a great love for her sister. Yes, mom is so proud. Her caregiver is John and he is doing an excellent job. He talks to all the doctors, nurses, techs and etc about what is going on. Since Deanna is such a "note taker" I know when she is feeling better she will quiz him and I am sure he will have all the answers.

All the children are visiting family for a few days. Tavis, Gavin and Maccoy are with Grandpa Gene and Judy, they came to the hospital around 3pm to see Deanna and pick up the boys. Boys will be able to visit with cousins for the next few days. Dylan and Allie were picked up this afternoon to spend the next couple of days at their father's. He lives in Wichita. We do appreciate this offer, as we consentrate on helping the girls recover and get to the appartment as soon as possible.

Jamie and I are not at the hospital, but I will call a couple of times to see that all is well tonight. Even if you are 40 your mother worries!!! I will spend tomorrow morning with Deanna (I can't see Danna until 1pm, ICU rules). My hope is that John will get some rest tonight, but we all know hospitals.

Our love goes out to the doctors who so skillfully did their jobs today, the Transplant Team who showed support, thank you Mark and Beth and to our many, many friends, families and church families who reached out to us with your prayers and love. Today, life is good. Deanna said she felt her father today in the operating room, I would not be surprised. Thank you for letting me get a little long winded. Norma (now let's see if I am smart to get this posted. Ha)

We have heard from both Surgeons, All Is Well!!! We will write more after we have seen the girls. Kidney is working!!! Norma and John

Good Morning and Happy St. Patrick's Day,
Well, the day is finally her!!! We are getting ready to head off to the hospital. Danna had a really hard day yesterday, she ended up having to get off of dialysis 15 minutes early because of nausea and she was running a fever. She also started one of her immune suppressing drugs on Sunday. Please pray for the fever to stay at bay and not an indication of infection. We called the on-call nurse early yesterday evening to see how much of a concern the fever was, but the nurse said not to worry until it gets to 101 for the transplant to be called off. Her fever has never gone above 99.8, so we are relieved. Neither one of us slept that well last night, but are ready to go this morning.
Thank you does not express the deep appreciation all of our family feels for all of your well wishes, prayers, support, and love. Thank you for taking such great care of our family!!! We feel wrapped in your love and prayers.
God Bless,
Deanna and Danna

Hi Friends and Family,
Saturday morning in Wichita is beautiful and not so cold. I was asked at a staff meeting this week, "who is writing the blog next week?". My staff wanted information and knew the girls would not be up to writing, so..... I am getting a lesson on how to do this, now I just need to remember. I have been so pleased and amazed at the interest in using the blog. What a wonderful way to get the news out.

This morning Deanna left early to watch Micheal and Angie's children to 4H demonstrations and project talks in Eldorado. Great that she is close enought to do this, living in Ohio much is missed. The Stika boys will go to John's family for a couple of days after the surgery. I will admit that I am nervous about next week, but my girls are so confident that all will go well that I feel the same. Their father is so proud of them!

We are all looking forward to being together this weekend, I am sure we will have several "kodak" moments.

Thank you too all of your prayers and love, without them this would be a very lonely time. This morning three boxes arrived from John & Deanna's church in Orriville, Ohi0 filled with items that will be used in the next couple of months. With 5 kids the snacks will come in handy. We are all great readers and now we have many books and magazines to choose from. I play alot of solitaire and there is a deck of cards. What a wonderful church family they have, I appreciated the many notes that was sent. So thoughtful, thank you. With all of you praying, the time will pass quickly and soon we will be back home with healthy lives.

I will write Tuesday and until the girls can write. Again, thank you and love, Norma (mom)

Hello Friends and Family,
We have had a couple of exciting days. Thursday we went to the hospital to complete the final phase of testing and evaluation for the transplant. We received the final, final, final approval!! As we were leaving the Transplant Institute they said "we will see you on Tuesday morning". We have been waiting to hear those words for so long. Danna is doing well, but very ready to begin the next step in the journey toward a healthier life. I think it is fair to say we are both a little scared and freaked out, but are reassured this is the path to be on. We do have faith that all will be well.
After we got back to the apartment early Thursday afternoon, we thought we would go do laundry, but we both ended up taking a nap. We could get used to napping every afternoon. Then Thursday evening, we went out to dinner with four aunts from John's side of the family. Aunts Mary, Carol, Helen, and Lauri came to Wichita and we went out to eat at Chili's. We had a "girls night out". We had such a great time and it truly broke up our evening routine.
Today, we slept in and had our last quite morning until after the transplant. It was so great. Danna had her second to last dialysis this afternoon and did very well. She got very cold once again, but we crank the heater on in her car. Mom and Danna's kids came to Wichita this evening. It is so good to see them! My kiddoes and hubby will arrive in Wichita tomorrow evening, so we all will be able to have Sunday and Monday together. The little apartment will be bursting at the seams. We are just hoping we don't annoy each other to much and no two people need the bathroom at the same time. Thank you again for taking such good care of us.
God Bless,
Deanna

Greetings,
We had a great day today. We went to the lab at Via Christie St. Francis this morning where the transplant will take place for the final blood cross matching. We received the results this afternoon and ALL IS WELL. Yea - you know in your mind that it will be fine, because it was before. However, hearing the results were just as relieving as they were the first time around. After the blood tests this morning, we walked at the mall then came back to the apartment, had lunch, took a nap, and then headed off to Danna's afternoon of dialysis. She had another good go around at dialysis. She came out very cold to the bone, which has been her primary side affect. She only has two more rounds of dialysis! Dylan has continued to not feel well and that is a worry for Danna and him. Dylan needs to be in good health to be able to be around her. Please pray for his good health for this next week. We head back to the hospital tomorrow morning bright and early for all of the final pre-admission testing. The countdown continues as we approach the last days of preparation. We are both very excited and happy the days are dwindling down. We have been blessed with many great moments together and are very thankful for this time and for our families and friends.
God Bless,
Deanna

Greetings Family and Friends,
We got back to the apartment yesterday after Danna's dialysis. She did feel kind of crummy all day, but the trip back was uneventful. We got to Wichita with plenty of time to spare to have a little lunch and ate at a nice little deli named Cinnamon's. Danna noticed that there were only boy waiters, how nice! Today was colder, so we decided to walk at the mall. We ran into our cousin, Nicole, at the mall. It was so wonderful to see a familiar face. It is a wonderful small world.
We go to the hospital in the morning to complete the final blood crossmatching test to verify our compatibility. This is a formality that all transplant participants have to complete. It is just a final assurance that all is well. Then tomorrow afternoon, Danna will have dialysis again. We have also received surgery times for next Tuesday. Danna and I have to be at the hospital at 5:00am, my surgery starts at 7:30am, and Danna's surgery starts at 8:30am. We both should be in a recovery mode by noon. Danna's comment was "why do they have to schedule things so early, why can't the surgery start around 9am". The countdown to "kidney switch day" has officially began. Thanks again for all of your prayers. We can feel the support and love.
God's Blessing,
Deanna

Greetings,
We arrived in southwest Kansas last night around 10:45pm!!!!! It is so good to be back at home. Danna had another good day on dialysis yesterday. There was an issue that came up with the transplant team of doctors and nurses, but Danna quickly clarified reality for them, so all is well. We have learned that when you go through any medical process, you are your best advocate. Danna has had to experience "doctor drama" a couple of times, it just shouldn't happen, but she is staying the course and keeping her eye on the plan. I completed my last test on Thursday and received the "final" approval from the transplant board on Friday. We will head back to Wichita on Monday morning to get back in time for her to have dialysis. Next Wednesday, both of us will have another blood test completed for a final cross matching to ensure and verify our compatibility. Then on Thursday, both of us will go into the hospital for a morning of re-testing, evaluations, and histories. All of the pre-admission testing will also be completed. We will keep you posted on all our activities for next week in preparation for March 17th!!
God Bless,
Deanna

Count down is on!

The count down is on!! As of yesterday we are officially two weeks out from transplant. YEAH!! Everyday I have been feeling better but today marks the best yet. I had my second dialysis today and they draw 10 lbs. of fluid off. That is pretty aggressive and not real normal. I felt really lightheaded afterwards but that has now gone away. With that amount of swelling off I can now see veins in my feet and can almost bend over to put my shoes on. I know Deanna will be happy with that. It took her lots of years to get everyone in her house to be able to do that and now she is back to tying mine. But she has been a trooper and not complained once. We had a big adventure today after dialysis. We went to the grocery store. Yahoo. Let me tell you even the little things in life are good.
Deanna is almost done with her last 24 hour pee collection. We will go to the hospital tomorrow morning and turn that in bright and early like 8:30 (don't laugh this week that has been early for us).
It was not quite as nice of weather here today as some of you in western Ks had. It only got up to 68 here. But they say it might reach 80 here tomorrow so we plan to walk. There is a nice park by our apartment we thought we would go for a stroll in. After that we don't really have any plans but will be getting ready to go home to Holcomb on Friday after dialysis. We figure we will probably get home around 9 or 10. We both are looking forward to the trip. I just wish Deanna could see her boys like I will be able to see my kiddos. But we are both happy to be going home to see mom and just be at home.
Thanks for all your well wishes.
Love Danna and Deanna

Greetings,
Danna and I were just sitting here wondering what we did today that was exciting..... I asked her "what should be put on the blog"? We both determined that it was note worthy to let you all know that she slept completely through the entire night, without anyone waking her up. Also, she got to sleep in until 9:00am!!! Wow, life looks good with a good nights sleep. She went to her first out-patient dialysis at 12:45pm. She did dialysis from 1:30 - 5:30pm and ended almost 10 lbs. lighter. When we got back to the apartment, she went for a long walk around the complex. Tomorrow is going to be a quite day. We will be staying close to the apartment and will have a visit from Phyllis (mom's friend).

I just spoke with my husband John and he let me know that it is about 10 degrees in Ohio. There are definitely many benefits with being in Kansas right now. It is supposed to be 78 degrees in Wichita on Thursday. I am so looking forward to the warm weather all this week. I will be soaking in the warmth and trying to send it back to my boys in wintry Ohio.

May all of you have warm hearts and spirits where ever you are.
God Bless,
Deanna

Hello from the Apartment!!!! Yea, Danna got "bounced" from the hospital this morning at about 9:00am. Dr. Shield came in early at 7:50am and said she could be dismissed and gave her marching orders for a speedy recovery. She is now settled into the apartment and resting. She is able to eat a little better, with less stomach problems. She will go to dialysis tomorrow early afternoon and then Wednesday and Friday. Danna hopes to feel well enough to travel home Friday afternoon and spend the weekend with the kids. She is just taking one day at a time. We will keep you posted on life in the apartment and the two of us living together......should be very interesting. Hope you have a great day enjoying the sunshine. We are looking forward to the warm weather coming this week!!
God Bless,
Deanna