Things are Looking Brighter

Hi y’all.  Well we went to the wound care doctor today. It was comforting to have Charlie’s regular doctor back.  It’s so hard trying to explain where you have been with a wound to someone brand new.  The doctor took a look at it and said it’s looking good.  He said Charlie could go back to his shoes instead of the air cast.  That made Charlie a very happy man.  Now we just need the other callus to behave.  I think we need to make a trip to the podiatrist and have her take a look at the new shoes and inserts. Perhaps she will have the magic answer for us.  Charlie’s skin on that foot is just so very fragile.

We had good news about my social security claim. We got the letter from the judge today stating that he has approved the disability claim and that I am disabled. They did use the onset date of May 2011.  So now I have to wait for Social Security to contact me.  The letter says that could take up to 60 days. We can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel and it isn’t a train!!!! Praise God.

School in tomorrow. Charlie had to memorize an introduction to a play.  It is a group project. He speaks tomorrow in Introduction to Theatre.  It will be interesting. I am sure he will do just fine.  This is his week to speak.  He will be speaking at the AT&T Center on Sunday for an American Kidney Fund event. It’s a Kidney Action Day.  He will be sharing his story.  That should be a fun day too.

Well, I think that’s it for now. I’ll let you know how the speaking engagements go.  In the meantime pray for him.

Pray for: 1. Kidney.  2. Foot healing.  3. School.  4. Fundraising. 6. Finances. 7. School.

Thanks y’all.  Your prayers and words of encouragement are what gets us through the day.

Blessings to all!

Charlie & Sherrie

The FOOT

Okay, we finally had the foot all healed and Charlie had begun to do some walking.  Well, last Tuesday he was experiencing some pain, so I took a look at the foot.  The top of the sock was wet, as if Charlie had stepped in water.  I took his sock off, and took off the bandage, and the callus had developed a bubble underneath it that had filled with fluid and burst.  I began cleaning the wound and stuff started coming out, there was also a blood blister that had developed above the callus that began draining.  Apparently the whole callus had lifted with whatever this was and now we had a new ulcer to deal with.  I cleaned it all up and put on a new dressing.  Next day we called the wound care doctor and they gave us an appointment for last Friday.  By Friday the wound had again filled and now it was a little pink around the outside and warm, yep, a slight infection.  Off we went to the doctor.  He put him on antibiotics and cut off the callus and debrided the wound.   So here we go again.  Fortunately, the wound is not that deep so it should close back up quickly.  Please pray that this is what happens.  Charlie is back in the air boot and he hates it.  He is kind of down because this seems like a step backwards right now.

We did hear from the lady who wants to donate the kidney.  She called last Friday and we gave her the numbers to the Texas Transplant Institute.  She was going to give them a call and let us know if there were any problems.  We didn’t hear from her so I am hoping the testing is now underway to see if there is a tissue match.  It would be wonderful if he got a kidney before the end of the year.  What a great way it would be to start 2014.  We shall see. It’s really difficult not to get your hopes up.  We are trying to be hopeful but not to get to excited yet.  We just keep praying that if this is the kidney the testing can be done quickly and we can move on.

We are attempting to find venues to do fundraising for the kidney now.  We are trying to connect with one of the groups at school to see if they would be willing to help out and do a small fundraiser on campus.  Please pray that if this is the way we are supposed to be going it will all work out. and if it’s not that God will point us in another direction.

Well, we have homework to do so I had better get going.  Praying that each of you has a blessed week.  Y’all are wonderful!

Charlie & Sherrie

 

The Kidney…

Well here we are again.  Charlie was sick this morning so we didn’t go to school.  He still has to take the Music Appreciation test at 2:00 and we have to review the power point slides for the Theatre quiz on Monday.  He finished his essay and we emailed that to the professor.  I think we have everything under control, for the moment, anyway.

Charlie had dialysis yesterday and it was okay until the end.  He had some pain in his chest.  Not sure what that was about but he seems okay today, with the exception of his stomach doing flip flops.  He’s napping before we have to do the test, so he doesn’t fall asleep during it.  He didn’t sleep well last night. He had dialysis but felt like he was full of fluid.  He doesn’t look like he is swollen at all so it may just be a little to much fluid last night.  He’s better today. Tomorrow he has dialysis again and he will be fine.  Such is the life of a kidney patient, good one day and maybe bad the next.  It can be rather stressful. Charlie handles it so well.  He is generally a very positive person and that’s what makes him so special.  With all that he has going on, school, movie ministry, health, he just keeps going.  Now don’t get me wrong, he is human and that allows him to have a bad day once in a while, but for the most part he’s positive, even on the bad days.  We will both be very happy when he finally gets his kidney. I can’t believe he has been on the list for 9 years now.  This just has to be the year.  All of the doctors keep saying this will be the year, but they really don’t know that for sure.  We hope and pray that it is and then Charlie can be released from the dialysis routine.  He is very much looking forward to not having to take that ride and sit there for the 3 1/2 hours.  He is looking forward to being able to go places without having to have dialysis scheduled at the destination, getting to go places without having to plan around the dialysis schedule, being able to eat some of the things he really loves without having to worry about it.  It will be strange to him to be able to drink more, he has had to monitor fluid intake for 9 years now.

We now have had calls to do things this year with the Organ Donor  people and the American Kidney Fund Kidney Walk.  This will get the word out so maybe this will help to find the kidney and it really will be the year.  We pray every day that this may be the case, We know that God is in control of this whole thing and that everything happens in His time and that he has the kidney already prepared and waiting for Charlie, we just have to find it.  Sometimes it feels kind of like a scavenger hunt.  We search and search and then nothing, but shortly there comes another lead or another phone call and we begin searching diligently again. Never a dull moment, that’s for sure.

One of the hardest things to deal with is people who are getting kidneys who have not had to wait the length of time Charlie has.  We have met several people lately with family members or friends who are getting transplants, some of them have had hardly any wait.  That is kind of frustrating. We rejoice with them as they are getting a life saving operation, but at the same time we can’t help but wonder why not Charlie?  Guess that’s where the faith in God’s plan really gets tested.

Our big thing now is that we really need to get in fundraising mode.  I need help folks, so if anyone would like to help put together a fundraiser or has any good ideas please contact me.  We have to raise $50,000 minimum.  We are connected with a Non-profit organization called Help Hope Live.  They assist with taking all of the money raised and it will be put in an account at the South Central Kidney Transplant Fund under Charlie’s name.  They hold all of the funds and also disperse them when the time comes.  We submit the bills and they pay them.  By going through Help Hope Live the donations made are tax deductible. The Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital  Kidney people connected us with Help Hope Live after we sat down with the financial counselor.  They are the ones that calculated the figure that we will need to cover the surgery, aftercare (doctor visits and lab work), and immunosuppressant drugs that Charlie will have to take for the rest of his life. .

Some days I look at the figure and just shake my head.  I know that I cannot do this on my own so I need people to volunteer to help me.  There are times when I think about all of this and the stress factor gets a little high.  I so want Charlie to be able to get his kidney and enjoy a more active and fun life, he deserves it.  I also know that the costs are ever present in his mind and that if we could get the fundraising started and going then it wouldn’t be as bad for him.

Please seriously pray about this folks.  We need you.  If you are not here in Texas and want to try and coordinate something please let me know.  I will give you the coordinator’s information at Help Hope Live.  All fundraisers have to go through them so that they are sure they meet the IRS guidelines. .  So, if you have ideas or you feel led to help in someway, please let me know.

Thanks to y’all for reading this blog and for the prayers and positive encouragement.

Blessings to all.

Charlie & Sherrie

Sensory Detail

This week in Charlie’s English Composition class he turned in one Essay Quiz which was on Micheal Montaigne, the person who created the Essay.  Now we know where essays came from and what they are supposed to be used for.  The assignment yesterday was to write using sensory detail.  He has to write two paragraphs, one describing a food he HATES and the other describing a food he LOVES.  I thought it would be fun to share one of the paragraphs today.  The idea is to describe the food using the five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch and Taste.  Here is the paragraph on the food he hates.  Let me know what you think of the description.  🙂

I hate okra.  The solid pods boil in the pot and look all  green and slimy, reminding me of nasty green boogers. It’s nearly impossible to pick it up as the gooey mess slithers out of your fingers and you hear it plop on the plate like a frog flopping on a lily pad.  The smell reminds me of vomit. It tastes like snot running down the back of your throat.  I really hate okra!

Okay, there is the sensory detail paragraph on the food Charlie hates.  We had a good time writing that paragraph.  Does it create a picture of the food he hates most?  I think we used all 5 senses.  Now we are working on the food he loves – rib eye.  We are stuck at what it smells like.  I’ll post that one when we finish it.

The whole exercise is to get everyone ready to write a narrative essay on “a moment when you truly learned something”.  That one should be interesting too.  There are so many moments that he can choose from.  It has to be 3 to 5 pages long.  It should be an interesting assignment.  The English Professor is the same one that Charlie had last Spring when he had to withdraw from the class because he had been ill and missed too much school.  He loves her and has a great deal of respect for her as she is pushing forward against a second bout of cancer, but she is still teaching and moving on.  She is determined not to let it get her.

This week Charlie also had his first graded assignment in Music Appreciation.  He did well.  He is having a problem with the concepts and definition and listening (okay, no comments from the peanut gallery).  Listening to music for music is not an easy thing if you have never done it before.  He is having to listen to the musical pieces and try to pick out instruments, styles, and textures. I didn’t realize how much I already knew until we started doing homework and I could answer the questions as they printed.  I guess that’s because I started singing in choir when I was in second grade.  I don’t know how to read musical notes as far as their tone but I do know what they are and what the beats are and I do understand the styles and stuff so I feel comfortable trying to help Charlie through this challenge.  He has been able to recognize a few instruments while listening, it’s just going to take some practice.  His Professor for this class is wonderful.  He’s a priest and it was great to talk to him on yesterday and have him use an analogy using God to make a point to Charlie about music.

His first quiz in his introduction to theatre class is next Monday.  This class is his favorite, it is also one from the Spring Semester.  His Professor is amazing.  He takes time with the student and really cares about how they are doing and takes the time to listen to them.  It is impossible to get bored in this class.  The professor is always up and always funny, perhaps it is the actor in him but  the compassion for his students is very real. The class will be doing a project, which I believe that it begins next week.  They have to come up with an idea for a Broadway show and present it to the class.  It will be a group project so we shall see how it goes.  Charlie is the oldest one in the class, we could be parents to everyone in this class.

Charlie has also been in touch with the school newspaper and has a meeting with the Disability counselor next Monday.  I believe I wrote about the giant hill that they want us to climb to get him into the handicapped entrance to the building the Music Appreciation class is in when I last posted.  This has definitely been a challenge.  The first week of school there were tables set up with representatives from different programs and departments at the school.  One of them was the school newspaper.  We talked for about an hour and a half with one of the new editors about all of the access problems we had encountered on just the first day of school.  The issue about the access to that building, the problem with the handicapped doors not working, non-working elevators, cracks and missing bricks from the sidewalks….all of these are real issues to people who are visually impaired and/or in wheel chairs.  The newspaper came to the building and took pictures of me pulling the wheel chair up the 12 stairs to get to the cat walk and then the 5 stairs to get to the classroom.  They wanted people to see what Charlie goes through to get to class.  It really is not right.  There is talk (there has been for several years) of building some kind of ramp but it hasn’t happened yet.  We did see them repairing one of the door openers yesterday and we were told that it would be working when we get there on Friday.  He is meeting with the counselor to discuss creating some kind of a Disability Advocacy group for the campus.  He wants to hold a rally at the flag pole for anyone who would be interested in getting a group together.

Let’s see, what else has been happening here?  Oh, there is another important thing.  Charlie is an advocate for the American Kidney Fund.  Last month he got an email because they were looking for people willing to share their story for the Annual Kidney Walk, which will be held at the AT&T Center here in San Antonio, on October 6th.  We wrote back to them saying he was willing to help out. I also included a little of his bio and then the address to the blog.  Well, on Monday morning we got a call from the American Kidney Fund in Washington, DC.  They would like to have Charlie share his story.  She said they will send the information to the media and they will be in touch with Charlie.  Could this be a start of his public speaking??  Could this be the time when someone will hear and have that long awaited kidney?  Who knows.  We shall see.

The other thing that is coming up is my Social Security hearing.  Charlie and I will be going on September 19th.  Hopefully this will be it and I will be awarded my Social Security Disability.  The lawyer is very positive and said that we have a nice judge.  We had a meeting with the lawyer last week.  He said that my age, my inability to do a whole lot anymore, and my work history are all pretty positive indicators that I should get it.  We are praying and covet your prayers that this does happen as it will make things much easier, financially.  We have a very hard time right now but God has seen us through these last two years and I know that as long as we remain faithful He will be there for us.

Well folks, I guess that’s about it for now.  As usual, thanks so much for your support and your wonderful words of encouragement.  You all mean a great deal to us.  Please continue to pray for:  Charlie and school (two quizzes on Monday). Charlie’s tooth (still have not been able to get the one that broke fixed.). A Kidney. The success of the Kidney Walk (there are so many people who benefit from it). Finances. Fundraising. Social Security hearing.

Blessings to each and every one of you,

Charlie & Sherrie

Second Week of School – Challenges

Well, last week was interesting.  First it was Charlie’s tooth. It had cracked and the filling fell out.  We went to the dentist and they want $3000 to do work.  He needs to have a deep cleaning of his gums  done and needs a root canal.  They can’t do the root canal until after they do the gums and to do just the gums is $977.  They tried to run a credit check under both of our names but could not get anything to come up, therefore they want $300 for a deposit and then they will be able to work on payments with us.  That all happened on Tuesday so we missed Music Appreciation class on Wednesday.   We left the house at 6:30am that morning and got home at around 7:45pm. It was a very long day.

On Friday we woke up early (me at 4 and Charlie at 4:20).  I noticed a problem hearing but went about making a sour cream coffee cake for Charlie’s Theatre class.  As the morning went on I noticed the hearing was getting worse.  At 5:40 we decided to take me to the Emergency clinic down the street.  They looked in the ears and did a CT Scan. The brain looked good and they didn’t have the equipment to do anything else.  I was told I needed to go to an ENT doctor.  I have an audiologist and called the clinic.  I was referred to the ER at University Hospital and told to ask them for the on call ENT doctor. We did that and they got the doctor.  He checked both ears (the left one is already deaf- I lost hearing in it about 4 years ago – went to bed one night and was fine, then got up and was deaf on the left side.) and then decided to do an MRI.  We did the MRI and then we went to the Audiologist’s office which was across the street.  They did the hearing test and confirmed that there was substantial sudden hearing loss in the right ear.  They set up and appointment with the ENT doctor for Tuesday (Monday was a holiday) where the plan was to inject the ear with steroids.  The injection would either make the ear better, do nothing and it would stay the same, or it could make it worse.  Not exactly what either Charlie or myself wanted to hear.  On an up note, Charlie walked most of that day and did well.  His foot looked great after that.

We got up on Tuesday and I went to Dialysis with Charlie.  We left the house at 5:50am.  We were picked up from dialysis at 11:15am and they took us to to the clinic. Now any other time they would have other pick ups and drop offs but we went directly to the clinic.  The paper that was given to us at the ER said the appointment was for 1:30, we got there at about 11:45.  When I registered at the clinic they told me that the ER scheduled the appointment without calling to see if there was an opening and that the actual appointment was scheduled for 2:30 but they would see us as soon as they could. We went to the cafe and got a sandwich then back to the clinic.  At 1:00 they took me back, Charlie decided to stay in the waiting room (after about 20 minutes he changed his mind and he was escorted to the room I was in).  We were in that room from 1- 2:30.  At 2:30 they took us to the Ear room.  Kind of a scary looking place with all the surgical stuff in it. We waited until 3 and then I went out to the front office and asked if anyone knew how much longer it was going to be.  The nurse was surprised I hadn’t had the injection done yet. Charlie and I were really tired of waiting – Charlie especially as he had had dialysis and had not been able to rest yet. The nurse came in and said the doctor would be in in about 20 minutes and that the procedure would last about an hour, including the recovery time.  That didn’t make either of us happy.  We then asked for the clinic director.  She came in and then low and behold, so did the doctor.  She told us what was going to happen then she disappeared for another 10 minutes.  We lodged the complaint with the director who is following up with the ER and the clinic to see where the problem started.  I did have the procedure and we finally got out of the clinic at 5:30 with a prescription that was to have prevented blood from crusting at the injection site. I called the pharmacy to find out how much the prescription was and was told $164.00. Needless to say that wasn’t going to happen.  The pharmacy said they would contact the doctor int he morning to see if there is anything else I could use.  We left the clinic and then we called for the ride and were on hold for about 15 minutes.  The ride showed up and we were on the way home when the cab company called (the Via Trans people called them) and said they were waiting for us at the clinic.  Was a VERY LONG day!!!!   Both of us were exhausted by the time we made it home (7:15pm).

We went to school yesterday.  I got up at 4 again and made the cake and we took it to the Theatre class where it was eaten up.  It did come out good if I say so myself!  Made it through all of our classes and were heading out to the pick up area when we realized that we didn’t cancel the Transportation people when the Wound Care clinic cancelled Charlie’s foot appointment.  They never come on time when they come so Charlie called them as I was walking him to the pick up spot.  We had arranged with a person from Church to pick us up so we could go get my hearing aid from the Via Trans lost and found.  He was going to call us at 2 so we could give him directions.  The van was already there to pick us up and they said they would take us over to get the hearing aid and then take us to church.  Charlie had the phone and was on hold with the transportation company and the friend from church called.  Charlie felt so bad about him coming our  way because the van was there.  He explained what was happening and thought it would be easier to take the van because we had the wheelchair and he thought the friend didn’t know how to get to us.  He is concerned that the friend is now upset with him.  It wasn’t his intent to do that.  Sometimes life is kind of hard and it’s hard to know what to do in situations like this.  God blessed us with this friend and his wonderful wife.  They have both been a great blessing to us.  We sincerely hope and pray that the friendship has not been damaged by this.

So now we are waiting until next week for another appointment at the Audiologist and then with the ENT doctor. I have already decided Charlie will not be going with me.  He will go to dialysis and I will go to the doctor.  Just got to find a ride there now.  I think the plan is for them to make the appointment for Thursday so that I only have to go to one building.  We will update when we have more hearing information.

Today was dialysis again Charlie had a good session and then went in for a nap.  I, for one, am very glad that this week is almost over, it’s been a very long one.  School tomorrow and then on Sunday Charlie and I are responsible for the donut social at church.  We are not having donuts as it is less expensive for me to bake a couple of sour cream coffee cakes and some Kolaches.  It will be different but it will be good.  🙂 Charlie will start choir again this Sunday and has a Deacon’s meeting so Sunday morning will be busy.

All I can say is thank God for being there with us through all of life’s challenges.  He is the only way we both keep going. He gives us challenges so that we can overcome them and use them as a testimony for Him and all He can do for us.  Thank you God.

Praying a good weekend for all of you.  Thanks for the prayers and words of encouragement, please keep them coming.

Pray for the following:  1. Charlie at school. 2. Charlie’s walking.  3. A Kidney.  4. Finances.  5. Fundraising.

Blessings to all.

Charlie and Sherrie

Really???

So, we made it through the first day of school.  It hasn’t rained all summer but yesterday we had to have an umbrella to start the day off with!  I have really gotten good at driving the wheel chair one handed.  I was able to maneuver it with one hand as I held the umbrella trying to keep myself and Charlie dry.  Worked okay until we got onto the sidewalk.  You would think with all the money they are collecting from the new parking fee at the school that they would have enough money to replace the cement and the bricks at the handicapped drop off but apparently not because we made a complaint about it back in May and it still hasn’t been fixed.  It’s probably going to take one of the blind students to trip, fall and get hurt before something will be done.  So sad.

We got to school and went to the student center.  Charlie loves the Mexican hot chocolate so we got some of that and a breakfast taco and waited for the bookstore to open so he could get his books.  It was due to open at 7:45 so we got on the elevator at 7:40 and went down stairs.  Well, 7:45 came and went….and so did 8:00 and 8:10.  Apparently the manager was stuck in traffic (People here haven’t seen rain in so long that they just forgot how to drive in it) and there was no one else with a key.   They finally opened and I went to the office to pick up the books.  We had placed the order online so it would be ready for us to pick up when we got there, of course no one could find his books and they weren’t in the alphabetical notebook of all of the orders pending pick-up.  Someone finally arrived and was able to find them in a pile on the counter.

Once we were done there we went over to Disability Services to see them and pick up the paperwork that had to be signed by each instructor so that they knew I was officially Charlie’s note taker.  We had a good visit and then we looked at Charlie’s schedule again before leaving.  It was then that we realized that the Music Appreciation class was not in the same building as the Theatre class.  I wasn’t sure how to get to the other building.  I knew that there was a catwalk between them but wasn’t sure how to get the wheelchair over it.  I asked about an elevator and was then told there was only one way to get to the handicapped ramp for that building.  I would have to walk down a street and up a steep hill (pushing the wheelchair).  I thought about it and talked to Charlie about it and we decided that we didn’t want me in the hospital on the first day of school.  So, Charlie walked up 12 stairs and God provided two absolutely wonderful people who took the time to carry the wheelchair up.  We got to the top and put Charlie back in the wheelchair to walk across the catwalk, got in the door and there were 5 MORE stairs.  Charlie walked those also and those wonderful people carried the chair up them too.  Luckily the class was right there.  So we got into the class and all was well.  Then we had to get back over the catwalk.  This time Charlie walked down the 5 stairs and I rolled the wheelchair down them, put him in it and walked across the catwalk and then…….Charlie did the 12 stairs and I SLOWLY wheeled the chair down them.  Narrow stairs, not easy to do a wheelchair on, but MUCH BETTER than the down the street and up the hill thing.

So we also encountered an elevator closed for PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE (seriously…on the first day of school?????), and every Handicapped automatic door that we had to use did not work.  Between that and the poor condition of the sidewalks I definitely got my cardio workout for the day.  My feet were really tender this morning but it was okay.  I am very pleased to announce that Charlie wasn’t hurting at all after his exercise!!!  Maybe that will be his PT.  🙂

The classes seem like they are going to be fun.  The only one he is really concerned about is his English class.  LOTS of reading and writing in this class.  Drama will be fun, he has a great professor.  Music Appreciation seems like it will be interesting. His Professor is a priest.  He told the class they could call him Father or Brother or Professor.

All in all things went pretty well.  Today he had dialysis, no bleeding, thank goodness.  They decreased his heprin and that seems to have stopped the bleeding problem  He bled for  full hour last week and they decided perhaps his blood was too thin.  Hopefully this will be a permanent fix.  Other than that no real excitement today.  He is napping right now and we will do homework after dinner.

Praying that all have a blessed week.

Please pray for:  School.  Charlie’s tooth (it cracked and the filling is falling out.  He is going to the dentist tomorrow). Kidney.  Finances.  Fundraising. Movie Ministry.

Blessings to all.

Charlie & Sherrie

What More?

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Did you ever feel like you just needed to do more? There are days that I really feel like I just am not doing enough in this search for a kidney for Charlie.  I try to find venues where I can share his information with others and also get the word out about organ donation and live donor programs. I like talking to people about it and I love sharing Charlie’s story.  His is an inspiring tale.  He has done so much in his life time, now he sits and only thinks about it all.  He can’t go do the white water rapids, he would love to go fishing, but has no one to take him and no where to go.  It’s hard.  He thinks about his grandchildren and tries to imagine what they look like. Not a day goes by where he doesn’t talk about his daughters and how he would love to be able to see them.  He recants stories of when they were little and the things they did.  He remembers a video tape that he has of them when they were little but that is it. He says it’s getting hard to remember what they look like and that is very hard for him.  He will never see the grandchildren, he has a memory of what the oldest looked like when she was little but that is it.   He also thinks about his days as a firefighter/paramedic.  He remembers the accidents he went to, the fires he was at.  When he has trouble with his feet at night it wakes him and he can’t go back to sleep and these are some of the things that run through his mind.  His ears perk right up when he hears the sirens outside, it’s in his blood and you can’t get rid of that. My heart breaks for him when he starts roaming through his mind and talking about all of these things. I suppose that is because there is nothing that I can do to fix it.  I can listen and I can try to tell him what things look like now but I know that’s not quite the same.

We have contacted the American Diabetes Association and they are interested in talking with him about joining with them as a volunteer who can speak to people who are diabetic, with an emphasis on those that are newly diagnosed.  He wants them to know it’s not the end of their lives, unless they make it that way.  He wants them to know that if they take care of themselves they can live long and productive lives.  He wants them to see what the disease can and has done to him so that they will take it seriously.  So this week I intend to contact the local office (that’s what the national office asked us to do) and see what we have to do to get this going.  He needs to share, he needs to get out with people.

So, right now I am asking for prayer for the following:  1. Charlie’s health.  2. Charlie’s kidney. 3. Finances.  4. Fundraising. 5. Public speaking.

We love each of you and appreciate all of the comments, encouraging words and most importantly the prayers.  Thanks for your support.

We are looking for a kidney – are you our HERO? Please pass on this URL and information to family and friends.  Someone out there has the kidney we are looking for and the only way we are going to find it is to get the word out to people that we are looking.  Charlie is registered with the Texas Transplant Institute at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, TX.  To contact them call the Live Donor Program and let them know that you are interested in being tested to donate a kidney for Charlie Shivley.  They will talk to you about testing and about coming in for an “interview”.  You can also do that over the phone.  There is no charge to the person donating the organ.  You won’t have to pay for testing, surgery, hospital stay it’s all paid for.  IF you live outside of San Antonio or Texas for that matter you can do the preliminary testing where you live.  At one point you would have to come here, and there is assistance for transportation if –there is a financial need.  If you are interested contact the Living Kidney Donor Clinic at Texas Transplant Institute (210)575-4483.

Blessings to all.

Charlie & Sherrie

Shopping…

Yesterday was a partial grocery day. Charlie went shopping with me.  It was an adventure for sure.  He was in the wheelchair with the basket on the front of it.  It’s a wonderful thing if you are just getting a few groceries and don’t have any bags with you.  Once the bags and the purse get put in you don’t have a lot of room for groceries.  It calls for some real creativity when packing that little basket full.  Wouldn’t be bad if you the package of toilet paper and napkins weren’t so big and bulky.  We came out with quite a few items and we save almost $20 in coupons, all in all a pretty successful venture. It was good to have Charlie go along with me, will be even better when we can do it without the wheelchair!  🙂 Soon….very soon.  We weren’t able to find a ride so we had to take VIA Trans to get there and back.  Another adventure as we are never sure when they are going to be on time or just be incredibly late.  Today was a blessing as both trips were on time and the trip home we were blessed with a driver that was willing to help us with the groceries!

Today Charlie had dialysis.  Was a good session.  Kimberly and Dalton came down and took me to Walmart to get socks for Charlie (now he has to wear two so we needed new ones).  We got lunch from Wendy’s for him and then came on home.  Was fun to have Dalton around.  He always makes us smile. Dalton shared his new shark hat with Papa and he and Kim showed me how to make an oragami butterfly.  Everyone is gone now and Charlie has settled in for his nap time.  I am going to go for now, have laundry and dishes to do.  Then prep-time for Sunday School and for the Donor Awareness event on Wednesday. I will write more tonight.

Blessings to all.

Charlie & Sherrie

Reservations….

Well, we are almost to the Donor Awareness event at the San Antonio College (April 17th) and today I called just to make sure everything was on track on the college side.  I got hold of the young lady who I talked to on March 12th at which time we reserved the Fiesta Room at the Loftin Student Center.  Great venue as everyone has to walk right by to get to the cafeteria, so it’s really high volume traffic.  Well, today when I spoke to the young lady she acted as if she didn’t know who I was or what I was talking about.  I refreshed her memory and then she said “I need to make sure the room is available.”  Now, if we hadn’t have spent about 20 minutes on the phone, on March 12th, nailing down the time and date that would have been one thing but we did.  I mentioned that to her and she said, “I have to check on the date.  I will call you back shortly.”  She then hung up and called back in about 10 minutes.  When she called back she informed me that the event was all set in the Health Promotions Office.  This was not what I had booked and I told her that.  She then said that it was in just about the same area.  It’s not.  It doesn’t have the same traffic flow because it is a closed room.  The original room was an open room that you have to walk by to get to the cafeteria.  It gives people holding an event a flow of traffic that will stop and check things out.  I was very disappointed.  During our conversation back in March she had also said she would contact the school newspaper as she had a connection, I told her we did too and if she had a problem to please call and let me know.  I asked her if she had contacted her connection and she said no.  She said she would do it as soon as we hung up the phone and she will also contact the PR people for the school.

I know people make mistakes and I know it’s embarrassing, but don’t lie to me and tell me that other people booked the room before we did.  We spent all that time going through our calendar and the school calendar to set the date for this function.  I explained to her that it was good customer service to tell the truth and she would find that people would respond better if she just admitted she made an error.

It’s very frustrating to have everything planned and then have the plans change dramatically based on the lack of participation from the people you are working with to plan the event.  It’s okay though, we will hold this event and it will go well.   God will bring in the people that need to come there and we WILL get this information out to the community!!

Okay, I think I am done venting now.  Please pray that this event is successful and that we can get the information about donor programs out to the people on the San Antonio College Campus.  People need to know this information!  I think if they did, and were willing to talk to other people about it we would have a bunch more live donors and a live donation lasts longer than a donation that is received from a cadaver.

Blessings to each of you.

Sherrie

 

No School

Well, today was the first Monday that we have no school but were not sick.  Seems strange not to have to worry about the homework side of things or going to class.  I kind of miss it. We will try again in August for the fall semester.  In the meantime we are contemplating accepting an offer to come volunteer with the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance.  When I contacted them regarding coming to our event on the 17th they sent us all of the information that they needed pertaining to the event and they also sent us an invitation to fill out an application to volunteer with their organization by advocating and speaking for organ donation.  I told them that we would need to pray on this because of our schedule and all.  Well, now we have a free schedule.  Could this be God answering Charlie’s prayer about speaking?  We shall see.  We are going to fill out the application and schedule a time to go and talk to them.  We are also going to contact the Diabetes Association and the Federation for the Blind to see how one would go about speaking to people through these organizations as well.  There is so much that Charlie has that he can share from the disability perspective, and I can share with those who are family members and caretakers.  Perhaps this really is something that we can do.  Please pray with us as we explore the possibilities!

Life is funny isn’t it.  Truly where God closes a door he does open windows.  Perhaps, for now, school is a closed door and this other is an open window. Praying that He will show us for sure and give us the wisdom and discernment to know our course.

Tomorrow I will be traveling with Charlie to dialysis so that we can go from there to his podiatrist. We have not seen her in quite a while.  We are both looking forward to the visit.  His doctor is wonderful. She is so compassionate and makes every effort to work with us when we have difficulty. That is what a doctor is supposed to be like!  If there is anyone in San Antonio that needs a good podiatrist let us know, we will be glad to share the contact information with you.

So today we have prayer requests for Charlie’s foot, Charlie’s health, A kidney, Finances, Fundraising, Decisions about speaking, Donor Awareness Events this month.

Blessings to each of you and thank you for visiting here and praying for/with us.  Each of you are a blessing to us and we cannot tell you how much your prayers are appreciated.

Charlie & Sherrie