In some ways this past year feels like it has been an eternity, and in other ways it has flown by! When I think back to the weeks leading up to Clayton’s transplant, and the months following it, it’s incredible to look back and remember how much happened in that short period. While I will never forget the moments and details from that time, it feels like a lifetime ago that we were gearing up for and then recovering from a transplant. 

In these weeks leading up to his one year mark, I have been doing a lot of looking back and realizing how far we have come. One opportunity to reflect came when both sets of grandparents came to town for Adele’s baptism this summer. Having them both here reminded us all of our experience one year ago when they were here to be our transplant support team. During their visit this summer we all reminisced about small moments and detailed memories we had from last summer. It took us all back to that experience and how involved it was for all of us. But it also helped to remind us how far Clayton and Matt have both come since that time. In the year since his transplant, Clayton has truly grown from a boy to a man. He has grown several inches, and filled out to be man-sized! He has a great appetite, lots of energy, and feels so good. Matt is also healthy and well. He has no impact to his kidney function or his energy or well being now that he is down to just one kidney. It truly is a miracle for both of them. 

As part of his one year evaluation, Clayton has had an extensive lab work up and had a one year biopsy to look for any sign of cellular rejection. The biopsy ended up to be more eventful than we had planned. Everything seemed to be going normally—after the procedure he had to lie flat for 4 hours to recover. Then after the 4 hours he needed to get up and use the bathroom. He had quite a bit to drink and it had been 6-7 hours since he had been able to use the bathroom. But when he sat on the toilet he couldn’t even get a drop of urine out. That was a little strange, so they had him sit up in a wheelchair for a while hoping gravity would help him. But when he went back to the bathroom again the same thing happened and he couldn’t get a drop out. So his doctor ordered an ultrasound to check for a potential blood clot or blockage. When we went to the ultrasound it was very clear to see a large blood clot settled down right at the base of the bladder where it should be draining out. Once we could see that, the team decided Clayton needed to stay overnight for additional monitoring. They decided to place a catheter to drain his urine. 

It was interesting when we realized we were getting more out of our hospital stay than we had originally bargained for. I told Clayton I was so sorry than they would have to now place a catheter and I said, “you have been through a lot of things that other kids your age have never experienced.” When I said that, he told me, “well, I would rather me go through these things ten times than have ten of my friends each go through it once.” I thought that was very mature of him and I was so interested in that perspective. I think he feels like for him it’s not that bad because he’s pretty used to going through lab draws and a variety of procedures, and he would hate any of his friends to have to go through something for the first time. What an amazing, brave kid.

So we ended up spending the night in the hospital unexpectedly. That was funny because I had to sleep in the jeans I had worn to the hospital and we had to ask for toothbrushes and toothpaste to use. But we had a pretty good night in the hospital and were well taken care of.  It was definitely surreal being back in the hospital again so close to his one year mark of our hospital stay for his transplant. In some ways it's funny to realize how comfortable and confident we are with hospital life. We know the ins and outs of how to work with nurses, techs, the daily rounds of the doctors and more. We ended up staying for three days in the hospital after the biopsy while they monitored and worked to flush out his blood clot. It was definitely not the way any of us had expected to spend the last week before school started! 

Happily, the three day hospital stay ended up being all worth it!! The biopsy results came back PERFECT! There are no signs of inflammation or rejection at all. We are so thankful for this wonderful outcome, and hope to keep little Chip healthy and happy for many years to come!