Transplant Team

Today we are meeting with the transplant team in Phoenix. It also begins the testing process. James' brother Chris has offered to donate his kidney and is coming to this meeting as well. We are nervous and excited at the same time.
Since I wrote last we have been navigating the correct channels in order to get this transplant lined up. Our first step was finding a Nephrologist in Arizona. We met with Dr. Singh in Flagstaff. He is new to the area, and a good doctor. At first I think he was a bit shocked when we sat down and said, "James needs a transplant, how do we get this going?" He ordered blood work and a CT Scan to see what the kidneys looked like. James has been having weekly to bi-weekly blood work since then. His creatinen levels have stayed about the same for the past few months.
Then we found a surgeon. My mother-in-law was really impressed with her transplant surgeon. Dr. Cashman, in Phoenix, so we wrote him a letter explaining our situation and asked him to take James as a patient. His office called back right away and scheduled an appointment. I wasn't able to go, but James really liked him and Chris even went to his office for a sit-down as well. Dr. Cashman explained to Chris that he would actually be the donor's surgeon and take great care to get his kidney out laproscopically and with as little invasion as possible. He has a funny sense of humour and Chris and James liked him right away.
The third step, and probably the most difficult, is the waiting game. Many things happen behind closed doors that we don't have a hand in. James' case was brought to the hospital transplant committee for approval. A bunch of doctors and administrators sit around and discuss cases to see if the transplant is viable. A lot of prayers went up for that day and when we got the call saying he was approved it was like Christmas morning.
The last thing we have been waiting on is approval from the insurance companies. Transplants can cost anywhere for $200,000 to close to a million dollars. Insurance companies are not thrilled when they have to shell out that kind of cash. They called us, we called them, the hospital put in a good word and finally just a few weeks ago, everyone has finally come on board.
It looks like this is really going to happen. James is finally going to get better!