Doug Bauer

 

Friends and Family, 


Welcome to our CaringBridge site.  Our hope is that this site will help all of our PRAYER WARRIORS stay updated on how Doug is doing and see the fruits of your prayer. We are so thankful that God has surrounded us with the most gracious and faithful family and friends! It brings us great peace.  We are praying for all of you as well.

For some of you who haven't been updated, here is a brief history of the last few months. We are pretty sure most of you know that Doug was hospitalized for pneumonia before Thanksgiving and we are guessing some of you may have noticed he hasn’t been feeling up to par ever since. When he was in the hospital, we received some unexpected, heavy news. When he was admitted, aside from the pneumonia, they found that his kidneys were not working to full function and his numbers were alarmingly low.  He previously had some blood tests during yearly physicals where his kidney function came into question, but at that point they were just monitoring.  Much to our surprise, we were told he is in stage 4 renal failure, which meant that he would need to be put on the transplant list immediately.   

The doctors do not know what exactly caused this, as he is a strong, healthy and fit guy.  However, when he was young, just starting college, he was diagnosed with cancer.  He has been cancer free for 30 years, but there is a strong likelihood that some of the chemo he was given attributed to his kidney failure.  Additionally, high blood pressure can attribute to kidney failure.  He has hereditary high blood pressure from both parents and takes medication for that.  There is likely more than one factor that has caused this, but Doug is a fighter and we are praying that he can win this health battle as well.

In order to be put on the transplant list you have to be evaluated by a transplant team. Doug had his first evaluation at the Presbyterian St Luke’s in January and we sought a second opinion at CU Anschutz Medical Center this month. He has had a battery of tests and we have attended classes on all that is involved in receiving a transplant.  We are going to both transplant programs so that we are sure we are making the right decision and he will get the best care possible.

The kidney transplant waitlist is 5 - 7 years long in Colorado and so some of us in our family/extended family have begun the process to see if we may be a donor match. The doctors’ hope, for patients like Doug, is that they can avoid dialysis as they are predicted to have much better outcomes.  There are many positives on Doug’s side as he is relatively young, healthy, and has a great community. 

With all of that said, we hope you have a good understanding of the medical aspect of the journey that Doug is on. We know that more important than the transplant team, are all of you and your prayers! Doug and I are so grateful that God has surrounded us with all of you!  Please keep Doug in your prayers and know that we will be praying for you. We have total confidence in the miracle that he will healed, and we know God will use this miracle to heal others mind, body and spirit. 

We appreciate your words of hope and encouragement and thank you ahead for your prayers. God bless you all.