I say it often and will once again, how has it been 13 years since Dylan's liver transplant!!! I apologize I haven’t done an update in quite some time, not for lacking in wanting to but just being preoccupied since moving to South Dakota.  When we first arrived here, everything was obviously new and different.  Now, almost 3 years later – which is crazy to even say – I wish we could say we are more settled, but we moved again 8 months ago…crazy to think it’s even been that long too!

We didn’t go too far, just up the road about 10 or so miles, we now live in the town where the kids go to school and my grandma was born/raised in.  It feels like it was a long time coming, like this is “where we are supposed to be”, or just “home”.  We purchased a newer home, it's a touch smaller home but with a bigger lot – which the dogs love!  We don’t get to see our previous neighbors as much as before, which is typical but also a bummer, as although they are also family, they were people we saw and hung out with at min on a weekly basis (if not more).  Since moving to our new home, we have made some new friends, met even more people, and have more acquaintances than before. The kids seem to have made more friends as well, even though they have always gone to this school since we moved to SD.  We live in a very small town, with a total population of 1200 or so and you feel every bit of it.  I always knew coming to a small town would have its ups and downs, its perks, and drawbacks, and I would say in the short time we have been here – we’ve experienced this.  I’m not someone who cares how other people judge me, I know who I am, and I know what my family is about and if others take issue with that – they aren’t people we need in our lives.  But enough about that, it’s just small-town stuff, and albeit here in this “small town” or big city…crummy, unhappy, miserable people live everywhere.  Luckily for the most part, what I can say is, that most are hard-working folks just trying to do a step better than what they had and that is admirable.

Dylan is now a Senior in High School, set to graduate here in a few short months.  As of this moment, I don’t know which path he is going to take – College or Tech/Trade School.  I’m happy for whatever he wants to do if it has a productive outcome in the end.  I will say, and I say this all the time – I just don’t want him to make the mistakes I made.  My folks pushed me hard for a four-year degree and rightfully so but at the same time, being young and not having lived a life of your own, it’s hard to understand this “parents push and telling me what to do”.  I regret, literally daily, not having finished school and getting a degree. Although I don’t feel a degree “makes someone who they are”, it does open many more opportunities, and having more vs. less is important as you get older with the trial and tribulations of life.

Another unexpected but should have been expected is the cost of everything.  Being younger, with younger kids, time feels like it takes forever to raise kids and that time stands still.  Now Amber and I are facing the cost of college and what that cost entails.  I never set up a college fund, or 529 plan, and/or set aside “x amount” for this day.  I know our folks, or so I think, went through all these same things in life. Although I know it was hard for them too, today’s prices for everything are outrageous.  I have never been someone with debt and for the first time in my life I will have to be…we just can’t magically come up with an extra 20-25% post-tax income to fund college, insurance, etc.  That’s not even considering him going away to school, not even on the radar, as that would be even more costly.  I want the best for Dylan, but he also must want it too – he must determine his own path and the upfront sacrifice it takes.

Health-wise, Dylan has been pretty good.  Being that he is now 18 (in June will be 19), he is legally an adult, and this rolls over to his medical care too.  Luckily, we were able to keep the same Dr. as we had before, even though Amber often battles with him from time to time (we call this being your own advocate, and we learned this long ago).  Amber’s work, with whom our medical insurance is through, switched Insurance carriers back in 2023 and this dramatically affected our coverage – what insurance has negotiated as coverage, etc.  With this change, I personally had to put off my own medical needs, so for 2024 we had to switch to a high-deductible plan, which although is harder on the pocketbook upfront, it’s cheaper for the max out-of-pocket.  Still, none of this is “cheap”, between monthly premiums and family max OOP ~ we’ll be approx. $21,000.  The other option is a PPO plan (which is what we typically always have had) which is more costly for premium but has copay visits and coinsurance, etc.  When comparing and budgeting for the max OOP ~ would have been approx. $30,000.  As crazy as it sounds, the $21,000 was more attractive but the cost is all upfront, there are no copays, and there’s no assistance until you reach your deductible.  I personally just had a medical procedure (I had put this off since moving here due to costs), it was $4,000, which was the individual deductible.  Dylan's meds, run around $700-$800 per month without a copay.  So, it’s brutal and brings me back to earlier statements, I don’t want Dylan to make mistakes that I made regarding my education and/or lack thereof.  It’s hard to look past the present and into one’s future, I just hope I can get him to see the light.  It’s no fun struggling in your mid-40s raising kids, etc.  We all have our challenges, but none of them are more important or less than ours…they’re perhaps just a little different scenarios. The one constant, I do believe we all want what’s better for our kids and we are no exception.  We’re doing our best to do our best and we don’t always accomplish this, but we never stop trying.

It's so odd to think back to where we were not only 18 years ago but especially 13 years ago on this day.  So much uncertainty but yet so much hope - that a better day, week, year was ahead for Dylan.  We have an incredible appreciation for how fragile life is and feel so grateful for everyone that has come on this journey with us.  It's always easier to just look away and not be present but so many have been staples in our lives and have always been right there when we needed them,  Thank you all so much for continuing to follow along this journey with Dylan.  

-Noah

​What can I say, what a whirlwind it has been – not only that another year has passed, making it now 11 years post-transplant - but we as a family had a lot of changes in this past year…  As I mentioned in last year’s post, we closed our business due to COVID and my brother’s family had already moved out of CA for Colorado.  With our prospects open to whatever this unknown was, Amber and I decided to pick up and move to South Dakota.  As random as that was, which it still is, we decided to live in the footsteps of my grandma – who was born and raised about 10 miles North of where we now live. 

Our life has changed immensely in the past 9+ months.  For starters, our kids are finally back in school, which has been and was the most difficult thing to witness throughout the “Covid Lockdowns” in CA.  Although we are the kid’s parents, I didn’t go to school to be an educator, let alone a therapist for the harm that has come from all this chaos thrusted upon us, especially someone like Dylan.  But enough about CA living, as we’re no longer in that environment and have started over.  Which brings me to another point – yes it’s different here, yes it’s COLD, yes it can be overwhelming starting over in our 40’s and kids at 10 and 16 years old.  Now having to make new friends and be that “new kid” in school, and in addition, Dylan having to repeat his sophomore year because Zoom isn’t a substitute for in person learning.  He and his sister are now attending a school with only 600 kids vs. thousands, it’s a big difference.  But not financially making ends meet and continuing the unhealthy environment in CA, we simply couldn't make it make sense anymore.  We felt compelled that a drastic change was necessary for our family.

So, as of April 23, 2021, we left the state of CA, never looked back, and started our journey to South Dakota in 2 separate cars, with 2 kids, a dog, and a cat.  It’s been an interesting journey, one that we never would have ever dreamed about had the world around us (and so many others) hadn’t come crashing down.  They say drastic times call for drastic measures; I’m hopeful that in the long run this was the best decision we could have made given our circumstances at the time.  I know everything could always be better or worse, but this is something that we grew sick inside, especially given Dylan’s complex medical situation that forever needs attention.  I can’t even articulate well enough the pros and cons we went through ensuring that we not only have adequate care but superior care for Dylan – we didn’t make it this far in life being lackadaisy about him and his medical team that cared for him.

After getting grounded with our new life, kids somewhat settled in school, both Amber and I with new jobs – Dylan had a setback.  Dylan back in October ended up inpatient for ascending cholangitis…which was extremely difficult to deal with in a new place, new Dr’s, and new ways of doing things that we hadn’t navigated before in this new state.  He is now also due to have a liver biopsy here this month too.  Another hurdle outside of CA, is the medical system.  Almost everywhere else, the medical system has Coinsurance (percentage you pay for the bill) and although we have the best plan and lowest deductible offered, our portion of the hospital bill for 2 days was $4,300+ (this is on-top of the $1,200 monthly premium).  But this isn’t isolated to SD, it’s basically any other state, as SD only has about 900k residents…the cost sharing just isn’t the same among the population as a much larger state.  This was another hurdle we knew coming here, its something we researched before even looking at places to live.  The truth of the matter is, just like before we decided to have another child (Tegan), we looked at how much she would cost per month for insurance, and we came to the realization that it’s just no way to live.  So, we decided, just like with her, we will just have to make it work – for better or worse, I must believe we will continue to do what it takes for Dylan to thrive.

As we continue down this path to our “new beginnings”, we still feel confident that no matter what life throws at Dylan, he will adapt and overcome.  Although I know he likely hates what we’ve done to him here recently with the move – I think we’re still surrounded and guided by a love far bigger then us and for something better in the long run.  Time will tell if I made a bad decision for my family but I have faith that given ample time, an open heart and mind, all good things come to those who embrace it.
 
Even if we aren’t close by those that we had before - we sure thank you for all your support through the years.  Here’s to another one and ideally with less hurdles than these past - onward and upward!

​-Noah

​I always say, “how has another year already come and gone” but with that being said, we all know this past year has been exceptionally odd, hard, and scary - especially for those vulnerable people like Dylan - who are the immunosuppressed individuals of the population.  Although we have not been petrified of the “what if Dylan got Covid-19”, we've certainly been mindful of keeping him away from unnecessary grocery store trips, being around folks we do not know, and just paying extra attention to our environmental surroundings.

This past year truly has been exceptionally hard on all levels though.  Dylan (and Tegan) literally have been locked up for 11 months.  For those that do not recall, we live in California and it has been a draconian unbearable experience to say the least.  As adults, both Amber and myself lost our jobs – and my business of 17 years – add in to this stress the kids who have lost all their friends and close connections, as well as school interaction(s)…it is beyond a travesty what has transpired.  Not to get too political on our son’s blog but honestly the worst part about what has been done here is the complete unapologetic ruin of people’s lives for the sake of “saving others lives”, or so they say, but costing your own existence at the same time.  Although we care deeply about others, we also still must put food on the table, pay for life saving meds, outrageous insurance premiums, and when you have had the rug pulled out from under you and you are left to fend for yourself and what little crumbs the .gov says we can have…I have no means but to feel jaded by the way this has all been handled.  It is not right, it is not fair, and lives are forever changed.  In addition, my brother’s family, whom me and him had our 17 yearlong business, working side by side together, have already picked up and moved out of California.  So, the kids have also lost their cousins as well.  And soon enough, our family will be forced to move, as we cannot continue to make ends meet here anymore.  It is an incredibly stressful time, and we feel the weight of the situation on our family.  I honestly fear for the youth and the negative outcomes that will result from this failed experiment they have implemented on us all.
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But let me get back to how this affects these kids, both Dylan and Tegan have anxiety issues far greater than they ever had before.  Although this roller coaster seems to have no end in sight, I wonder what it even looks like once it is “over” and whatever that even means, as I just do not see them magically going back to business as usual, packing Dr. offices, kids playing like normal at school, etc.  Dylan has been feeling awful for some time and most recently has rapidly lost over 20 lbs of weight (he is already skinny and doesn't/didn't even have this kind of weight to lose).  Just the other day, I had to take him to the hospital for labs, EKG, and chest x-ray as Dylan has been having a really hard time (this is a severe understatement) with things as of lately.  The hospital/Dr. offices are basically shutdown, 1 entrance in and out, lines are hours long, and they have closed most all the services like treatment rooms, drop-in appointments, even most the labs are all shuttered.  Meanwhile doing critical face-to-face, hands on appointments via Zoom.  This is just asinine if you ask me – if we are in the midst of a health crisis, why on earth are they limiting services – it should be expanded.  Dylan needs extra support, which we feel is a culmination of everything that has transpired not only from his unique life early on but especially what has transpired over the course of this past year.  This forced Covid isolation is breeding unhealthy antisocial behavior, extreme anxiety, which in turn is having major mental stability repercussions...it's sad to witness, it's sad to not get the support needed, it's sad that there is a large group of people whom enjoy what is transpiring in this country.

As we work through this overwhelmingly stressful time, seek to get more support, and hopefully turn the page for better days ahead – we cannot help but be immensely grateful that today marks a decade, 10 years since Dylan’s rebirth on life.  We are so proud of the young man he is, the strength he continues to muster throughout, and what great things he will accomplish over the next decade.  As always, to those of you who have supported us, albeit lending an ear, financially, or the dedicated team who oversees Dylan; we could not be here without you.  So many take the smallest gestures for granted, just know that we never have and/or do.  Thank you for your love and support.
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​-Noah

Another year has passed, which is another year we give thanks for this day.  Now don't get me wrong, Dylan is a 14 year old teenager, a freshman in high school - we like so many other parents - deal with the "normal" childhood/teenager things but with that being said; we wouldn't want it any other way, as the alternative is unimaginable.

This past year has been one of the most challenging years of our lives personally and emotionally.  We moved our family into my elderly grandma's house to give her a better life.  We were forced into a construction zone fixing a dilapidated house, Dylan and Tegan sharing a bedroom with bunk beds none-the-less, new schools, new family roles, and left a familiar life to better another's (Dylan and Tegan's great-grandma), the process with Hospice, and dealing with the loss of an amazing person.  This past year has been one that I will never forget and more importantly it drives home the importance of family (which I include my closest friends) and how in our darkest days - it's the only thing that matters in the end.

The gravity of what Dylan has been through and has overcome to this point can never be understated.  Like all the years before it, we're so blessed to continue on this journey and always feel so thankful...all too often kids whom grow up like him will struggle, turn inward, and face serious depression.  We will never be able to accurately express to Dylan how strong and amazing he is - for it's his relentless perseverance that drives his success, not us.

-Noah

In the past 5-6 years we have consistently written a lot about Dylan, his roller coaster labs, and us feeling that something was amiss and that the underlining culprit has yet to be figured out.  Amber and I have gone in circles with Dylan’s medical professionals and it has always been – to no fault of their own – no one thing to pinpoint what’s going on. The issue is he will have great labs, and then bad labs, then the next set of labs will come down and/or be good labs again.  In addition Dylan has had this odd rash like look on his face, although he is a teenager (which sounds odd to say) and zits/pimples is expected, this doesn’t represent as typical “teen zits”.

Over the course of the last year or so, we have pushed for autoimmune testing.  Which Dylan completed and his markers all came back within “normal range”. But yet again, Dylan had bad labs, we tested again and his bilirubin was up (both his direct and indirect but it’s his total bilirubin that is alarming), we tested yet again and it was even higher…this is completely abnormal for Dylan, all through his life (ever since his post first surgery at 9 weeks old) he has had rock solid bilirubin; even during Cirrhosis/End Stage Liver Disease.   For those that don’t know what bilirubin is, “bilirubin is formed by the breakdown of red blood cells in the body”. High levels are an indicator of liver damage and higher than normal direct bilirubin indicates the liver isn’t clearing the bilirubin properly. Although Dylan’s direct bilirubin is elevated, it’s the total bilirubin that has us concerned – as this can indicate additional issues going on.

We contacted Dr. Edward Rich, Dylan’s GI doc since 6 weeks old.  He is not only responsive to us but early on he gave us his personal cell phone (which we DO NOT abuse) but he is someone we regard as family to us – he cares deeply about Dylan and is always there for us in helping trying to figure out something that doesn’t have a clear cut path.  After Amber did a bunch of research and reading medical journals after medical journals, she requested Dr. Rich order some more tests. This time he ordered a Haptoglobin test – which is a protein marker to test for Hemolytic Anemia. This test has a range of 30-220 and Dylan’s came back at 15: this result indicates he has abnormal Hemolysis taking place.  Hemolysis is the breakdown of red blood cells and although this is normal for everybody, his is happening faster than normal – which is destroying red blood cells faster than his bone marrow can produce. Hemolytic Anemia can take place in tissue/organ or in the bloodstream. This answers why his total bilirubin is high and his direct isn’t concerning - excess broken down red blood cells bind with bilirubin, hence more red blood cells = higher bilirubin.

Now that we know he has Hemolytic Anemia, this may answer why he has constant stomach pains, cold urticaria, headaches/dizziness, and as of recently chest pains too.  We need to figure out if this is coming from his tissues/organs or from his bloodstream. In addition, it’s sadly possible that we could be dealing with an even scarier possibility, that this is PTLD (Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder, which is cancer), which is presenting as Hemolytic Anemia.  Although we don’t know where this is happening, we suspect it's happening in his liver and its drug induced, which would attribute to his fluctuating liver labs. You see, being that Dylan is on an immunosuppressive medicine (Tacrolimus aka Prograf), it’s possible albeit extremely rare that anti-rejection drug(s) can cause Hemolytic Anemia.  The fix, if this is the reason, is to switch his anti-rejection med. The idea of switching is a terrifying thought as we attempted to switch Dylan off Prograf to Rapamune - literally 6 years ago to the month. That process ended badly and put him in a downward spiral for nearly 2 years of chaos. After speaking to Dr. Rich about this, he said although it’s possible for drug induced Hemolytic Anemia in transplant patients, he has personally never seen it.  This is nerve racking and hopefully not wishful thinking on our end, as its the best case scenario we could ask for.

We contacted Stanford and they agreed that something is amiss and are putting in a referral to Stanford Hematology/Oncology Dept.  Our next weeks/months are going to be incredibly stressful and we’re doing the best we can to be as positive as possible. This is made even more complicated as we now care for my 96 year old grandmother, who is requiring more and more care as days go on.  Although at times it’s hard to not be flustered and/or jaded - it just seems like never ending hurdles - and it makes us incredibly sad for Dylan and how hard this is for him.

Thank you to all whom still follow Dylan and our lives, we truly appreciate it.

-Noah and Amber

Its that time of year again...which is always a great reminder for us to give thanks and be appreciative - although not everything is "perfect", we know all to well how much worse things can always be. 

I vividly recall when Dylan was born, before we knew anything was wrong, just how stressed I felt.  I used to say to folks that "nobody gave me a book on how to be a parent and I'm just doing the best I can", I changed this to "nobody gave me a book on how to raise a chronically ill child", as it became more fitting.  As time has passed and with all the up's and down's in this life - one thing has remained constant and that's Dylan's resolve.  He has always been a trooper through it all, he has never given up, he has never refused to continue marching forward, and he has remained steadfast on his pursuit of being just another "normal kid".  

Dylan over the course of the next month or so will be redoing some testing at Stanford, which may lead to more testing (depending on results).  Although its frustrating we didn't get the answers or clarity we were hoping for with the last test a few months back, we're grateful there was not further negative news based on what they could see from those results. 

Often its during the most difficult times that we reflect just how much it all means to be offered or lent a helping hand, to get a few words of encouragement, and/or those whom truly show there true colors of who they are.  But through that, we're always reminding ourselves that without the doctors who cared for, operated on, and got Dylan to this point - that this yearly anniversary wouldn't be possible.  They say "it takes an army to raise a child" but what they don't mention is what it takes to raise a chronically ill child from birth. I know parenting is hard for most everyone, we are no exception to this but raising a child with extra ordinary circumstances - whatever that may be - does take a toll on everyone involved but we feel so fortunate/blessed for the love and support of those whom have gone out of their way for Dylan and us.

A few quotes that seemed very fitting...

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life, not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."
-Khalil Gibran

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."
-Edwin Hubbell Chapin


​Happy 8 year Transplant Anniversary to Dylan, to us, this date is forever in his honor!


-Noah

In November, Dylan suddenly woke up vomiting and soon developed a 102* fever but had not other signs of being "sick", this wasn't the flu or cold.  He had multiple sets of labs but his liver enzymes showed they were in normal range except for his bilirubin was on the higher end for him - in the past, only time this scenario had happened was when he had Ascending Cholangitis (which he had often pre-transpant, as its a bacterial infection of the biliary area) in addition to this his WBC was indicating he had a major bacterial infection brewing.  We were convinced he had Cholangitis and wanting to avoid the petri dish of the hospital, we were able to do 2 doses of IV antibiotics 2 separate days at a outpatient  treatment center.

First set of follow up labs were good, then the next set had his liver enzymes elevated again - back onto the roller coaster we went and again with no rhyme or reason to it.  This roller coaster of hepatitis his been ongoing, we have mentioned it over and over on here.  In addition, Dylan has been suffering from severe stomach pains when he eats, which has also been ongoing. 

Dylan had an ultrasound at Kaiser - and no issues were located or notated.  Being as this has been ongoing, we pushed for more answers, which finally had gotten to a point where the powers that be at Stanford were finally willing to attempt to see if they could track down the source of this.  

Amber and I's initial thoughts over the years were:  1- Eo's are rampant in his body and perhaps this is causing issues in his liver/gut making his stomach hurt and liver enzymes to go haywire with no other obvious symptoms.  2- Other thought was perhaps he has a stricture at his bile duct and its causing pooling.  3- Last thought and one we've gravitated to more and more as of lately is that his connection from his transplant (roux-limb) is either stretched or kinked - which could just be from growing but if this was the case, it would require a revision surgery to correct it.  At this point, we just want to know what's causing it and how to fix it - as the constant up and down of liver labs (hepatitis) is not good for long term and at this point its been going on for a very long time.

Clearly its been a year since I've done an update, its not for lack of wanting to - seems in the past I've only done trying posts, when we are battling this or that and I wanted to do an uplifting post and a progress of where things were at but just never actually got around to finishing it and posting it up.  Which I regret but part of it or likely most of it - I'm sure - is I didn't want to jinx ourselves and the other part was just focusing on the here and now.  I promise I will do more updates in the future, as I feel its important to reflect on the hard times and the easier times. 

Over the last year, lots has transpired but mainly just daily living and doing our best to get by and be as productive with our time as possible.  Dylan turned 12 years old (about to be 13 in June, which is just hard to believe that we're going to have a teenager).  His sister turned 6 but thinks she's going on 15 - ugh but that's a whole other story, ha ha.

Dylan got to attend transplant camp again this past year and actually said he had "fun" and even made a mention if someday he'll be able to be a counselor to kids like him.  Not sure if anyone recalls but this is a big step, him being away from us and actually stating he had a good time - yes he still missed us but I think he had less anxiety and more fun this go around. 

Christmas was good to him, he got what he wanted and begged for.  We got him the new Xbox One S.  His last game system he got was while he was in the hospital recovering after transplant, of which it was from a group of friends that bought him an Xbox 360...so this was a big deal, big for us as it was expensive and big accomplishment that he's come this far and had outgrew the old generation game system.  It was bittersweet to be honest. In addition, being it was the holiday season and Dylan was in good health, we took the family to "A Christmas Story" musical in San Francisco, it was just nice to get out and be as a family and enjoy this time of year and most importantly not be in a hospital or sick for once.  

Winter is typically brutal on Dylan, between asthma and sickness...but honestly this past year was the best year Dylan had ever had in regards to sickness and being hospitalized.  Although he had his bouts like anyone else, it was just that - like anyone else.  I gauge how he did by how much money we spend on medical co-pays and last year was the least out of pocket we have ever spent in 12 years...I can only hope this past year's trend continues.  As I write this, his sister just got over 4 days of that nasty flu that's going around and Dylan to date hasn't gotten it and we're hoping it skips him all together.  Its crazy how the normal things like colds and the flu are what keep us regimented and always on high alert.  Being immunosuppressed requires this though, you can never let your guard fully down. 

2 days ago Dylan was at Stanford for his clinic checkup appointment.  His labs were spot on and being that they've been so stable over the course of the last 6 months, they've dropped his Actigal medication completely (which he has been on this med for 12 years of his life) and they've moved his lab draws from every 4-6 weeks to every 3 months - also moved his in office visit at Stanford to once yearly!  This is a huge milestone and its one we welcome for him. I knew someday we would get here but when you're in the trenches and trying to dig your way out, its hard to focus on when that day will/might come.  Although Dylan will never be completely cured, med free, or out of the woods when it comes to his condition, we appreciate this pinnacle time in his life - where he's just starting to come into his own, that he has less stress associated with persistent lab draws, Dr. visits, and hospitalization. 

We have never looked to erase Dylan's past and what he has endured and overcome but we are certainly grateful for this past year and this weeks good news from his transplant team...we can only hope it continues for the foreseeable future - he deserves it, especially as today marks his 7 year Transplant Anniversary. 

-Noah

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Slideshow:
***The images below are in a slideshow format, you can hit the "Play" button on main image or click on individual images to have them enlarge.  To get more images put your cursor over the last picture shown on the right, it will scroll to more images***

It's official, Dylan has officially gone longer post-transplant vs. his pre-transplant life.  

Although he always has challenges and big swings of ups/downs, one thing we know for sure is how hard Dylan tries to always give his best shot that he knows how to give.  It's not easy, imagine being in his skin...he knows nothing other than fighting and being afraid of not only  what every normal kid faces but his is coupled with the reality of his situation that can change on a whim (I think this is probably the hardest for any of us, so unpredictable).

Today marks 6 years since we made our trek to this side of things.  I remember this day like it was yesterday, and to be honest its mind boggling to think that 6 years has already passed.  I will say that with passing time comes reflection, with reflection comes appreciation, with appreciation comes gratitude...and I feel very gracious and blessed for all we have overcome thus far and how much others have helped us be here today.  I think back often on right before this day, all the good people whom surrounded us, did fundraisers for us, offered a lending hand, or simply a prayer to keep us in good spirits.  I haven't and will never forget what everyone has done for our family.  In our time of need, business professionals, personal friends, and perfect strangers banded together around a common purpose; to see Dylan have the opportunity to live some form of normalcy.   

Its been a whirlwind, its been enlightening, its been beyond challenging, its come with good times as well as bad, but in the end....its never broken us as a family.  Today I give thanks, just having the ability to write something positive and congratulate Dylan on being on this side of life, its worth all the pain that has come before it.

-Noah

 Our lead up to this day started 36 hours prior to this photo...anyone who has done a colon prep knows the process isn't glamorous and/or enjoyable.  Unfortunately for Dylan he was doing both ends of his body, he was prepping for a upper Endoscopy, lower colonoscopy, and both being with biopsies throughout.

We left our house by 5:45 am, traffic was typical so we didn't end up at Kaiser Oakland until 7:30 am, which was plenty of time given we didn't need to be there until 8 am (1 hour prior to procedure time).  As 8:30 am rolled around, here comes Dr. Rich strolling through, he stopped and asked why we were still sitting in the waiting room.  Of course our answer is, "perhaps you should ask that of them".  Dylan was swiftly taken back and prepped for "The Dylan Way" of going to sleep.  You see in the past, when Dylan was really young, he was traumatized by gas induction for another Endoscopy, so we don't do gas...he does it his way, which is harder but it includes: oral versed, IV, and sleepy meds.  This is something we chat with anesthesia with prior to his appointment, like I did this time and they were very understanding and we left our conversation on the same page.  But low an behold when we arrive, they front desk person, back office nurses, and everyone in-between all have no clue.  I've given up on being frustrated about it, as its just simple...its going to be done this way or its not getting done.  If Dylan wants to endure an IV vs. breathing medicine that makes you unconscious, then so be it...he's earned that right to go out how he pleases. 

Things took longer than expected but Amber made her  way back with Dylan (they don't allow siblings so I stayed with Tegan in the waiting area).  Amber spoke to both the Anesthesiologists and things were a go.  The only thing left for us was to wait until they were done and hope all was uneventful.  I know in the back of our mind, we know things typically aren't just so cut and dry and that easy going.  We were about to find out that this day was no exception.

After a little over 1.25 hrs, Dr. Rich and the Anesthesiologists came and talked to us in the waiting room.  At first notice I thought it was odd that the male Anesthesiologist had blood on his pants but I was more interested in what Dr. Rich had to say.  It was in this moment we could tell by his face mannerisms that he was surprised in what he saw.  

He was talking about how is Esophagus looked decent but he could see pinkish rings in it.  He said he made his way through his stomach and out to his duodenum (this is the sharp turn off the stomach that connects to the small intestine), he said the outlet of his stomach was thickened, he said the Duodenum was thickened and he hard a really hard time, almost impossible time, getting through it.  He then mentioned his colon is thickened too.  This is about the time the female Anesthesiologist mentioned that Dylan had a little complication during the procedure.  She mentioned that Dylan started throwing up, she had to do an emergency intubation and she didn't think he aspirated anything but couldn't be 100% sure, that we needed to watch him very closely over the next 24-48 hrs for signs of wheezing, difficulty breathing, fever (Pneumonia is the fear from this).  As we were trying to figure out why or how this happened, she then mentioned that his IV blew as well and they had to place a new one in his other hand.  Dr. Rich then advised he wants a Barium Study done on Dylan, to take a closer look on how his food is processing through his GI tract.  All this was just too much to take in, literally nothing had gone smoothly from the sounds of it. 

It was surprising to hear these things, shocking actually.  But mostly, this is what Amber and I have been fighting about for Dylan.  Every time his labs go haywire, liver numbers jump up, EOS showing as high as they are...we know its an immune response, which just means inflammation.  I have asked his doctors over and over and made statements to the affect of, "if his numbers jump up, we know this affects his organ/tissues, and this constant back and forth has to have a negative effect".  They always respond with the same thing, "little bumps like this don't cause long term damage".

I literally can't even keep my mind clear, I'm so upset, mostly I'm hurt for Dylan.  Thickening of tissues, especially in your GI tract is never a good thing and for the most part its NOT reversible.  Terms like Chron's was tossed into our conversation, Eosinophilia, non specific tissue inflammation, etc...the bottom line is this, although we certainly hope Dylan doesn't have another terrible disease like Chron's, him being diagnosed with Eosinophilia is borderline very similar in maintenance....it means repeat procedures like this for life and lifelong need to be on steroids.

We have been pleading and begging with Dylan's caregivers to do more, to listen to our concern's on his constant state of up/down labs, and his always high state of Eosinophils in his system.  I understand Dylan isn't bed ridden and dieing in the hospital but dare I say brushing off his conditions, symptoms, concerns has now only complicated things and you don't get to undo that, no sorry's can fix it. 

​-Noah