New year and new beginnings. 

This week Greg and I traveled to Indy to meet his new transplant physician for the first time. To say we were nervous is an understatement. This physician sees his patients that take immunosuppressants first thing in the morning. So Greg and were up and out the door at 5:45 AM. 

We felt indifferent about meeting his new physician. When you have such a critical diagnosis and you put all your trust (and life) into one person it’s a punch to the gut to be so vulnerable with someone else. But we decided going into it we were going to be open and accepting of his new physician and the new point of view he has to bring to the table. 

We had a quiet and easy drive to Indianapolis. Greg got his labs and we waited to meet Dr. Becker. As we waited, we logged into Greg’s digital IU chart eagerly awaiting his CBC (complete blood counts) and liver function results. We were elated to see that his ALT and AST (liver function labs) had decreased and were near normal values. His CBC values continue to be within normal limits. We pray for this daily.

So the big moment finally came when we finally met Dr. Becker. We were pleasantly surprised with his new approach and delightful bedside manner. He walked in tall and energetic. As he entered the room he cracked a joke asking “Which one of you makes all of the decisions?” We all chuckled and agreed that would be me. Dr Becker then sat down and indulged in us. Asking who we are, where we are from, our family, and what we do. It was a relief to not get straight to business right away with a complete stranger. 

Dr. Becker then started reviewing how he does things a little differently. Starting off Dr. Becker is starting Greg on Ursidol to help reduce his liver enzymes. Dr. Becker plans of rechecking Greg’s labs in 3 weeks to see if it has improved his liver function. If so, Dr. Becker plans on reducing his immunosuppressant. 

Dr. Becker does an annual work up 1 year post transplant. He has scheduled Greg to have a lung function test, dexascan (bone density test), TONS of labs, and a bone marrow biopsy. When the words bone marrow biopsy left his lips Greg and I were so EXCITED! Greg has only had one since his transplant and his previous doctor said  there was no need to complete another one until less there were concerns with his labs. That has been something that has continuously made us feel uneasy. Greg will be able to compete the lung function test and dexascan locally. Then at his next appointment he will complete labs and the biopsy. 

Dr. Becker said if all is good we could graduate to seeing him every 3 months! Something we thought we wouldn’t see for a while since he was on immunosuppressants. Dr. Becker also went into detail how Greg would greatly benefit from a Mediterranean diet and 20 minutes of mild exercise daily due to his transplant. I wasn’t sure what Greg would think of a Mediterranean diet once he googled it because he would eat red meat every meal of the day if he could. But to my surprise he has embraced it spending his evenings researching it (typical engineer). 

We left the appointment feeling upbeat with smiles on our faces. We look forward to his next appointment and continue to pray that his brother’s cells continue to protect his body. Greg is preparing to celebrate his 1st birthday on Jan 17th. We are so incredibly grateful and overwhelmed with emotions that we have made it to this point. We have several more years to go before we are in the clear but either way we will celebrate this monumental milestone! 

Thank you for your ongoing thoughts, prayers, positive vibes, and well wishes! 

Love always,

The Gotsch’s