December 21 - 27 - Christmas

We had our first transplant clinic this week which went well. For the fist 2-3 months we have to go every week but then it decreases to every other week, then once a month. Daddy is very happy that we don’t have to get up early in the morning for dialysis anymore. We didn’t have a lot of time this year to bake cookies for everyone but we did make some for Santa. Christmas was awesome one again. We visited Grandpa and Grandma Marino on Christmas Eve and on Christmas. Grandpa and Grandma Troxtel were in town for the weekend and stopped by for a visit. Aunt Rachel also stopped by as well. Aidan got tons of stuff for Christmas; clothes, books, money, toys. All the things a young boy would want.

Happy little boy.

Making Christmas cookies for Santa.

Grandpa Marino, Aidan and Toula on Christmas Eve

Milk and Cookies for Santa

Santa really liked the cookies and left Aidan a note.

Christmas Tree after Santa stopped by

December 14 - 20 - Aidan's Coming Home

Aidan was able to come home from the PICU on December 18. What a happy little boy he was when we finally arrived home. We were all very happy to have him home before Christmas.

So happy to have a new kidney and to be home.

December 7 - 13 - Hospital Stay

Aidan spent the next 2 weeks in the PICU at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan. Mommy and Daddy went to see him everyday. Aidan was kind of out of it for the first 3 days but after about 1 week he was ready to come home but the doctors wanted to keep him for a little longer.

Recovering in the PICU.

December 1 - 6 - Kidney Transplant

This week we started of with hemodialysis, an ENT appointment, a visit by Early-On, and an ESRD clinic visit. All went well especially the clinic visit since we got some of the greatest news we could have ever hoped for. We were told that there might be a potential donor for Aidan. Daddy told mommy as soon as we got home and she was very excited. She couldn’t believe it. I think she was in shock that it actually could happen. We waited all day and night until about 5PM when we got the call to bring Aidan in and get him prepped for the kidney transplant surgery the next day. Mommy and daddy never left the house so fast. We got Aidan to the hospital, signed paperwork, asked questions, and did not get any sleep. The surgery took place at 10AM the next morning on December 4; which also happens to be Grandpa Troxtel’s birthday. Happy Birthday Grandpa!!! Grandpa and Grandma Marino came to visit Aidan before the surgery. By the looks of him you would never know he was getting surgery, Grandma Lee and Ray came to the hospital later that afternoon to support us. The surgery was about 6 hours long. What a relief it was to hear that the surgery went well and while it was more complicated then they originally thought all was successful and working properly. He has about an 8 inch scar on his belly.

Aidan with Grandma and Grandpa Marino before surgery.

Aidan is so happy that this day finally came.

Being taken to the ER for kidney transplant surgery.

November 23- 30 - Visit with Santa and Thanksgiving

What a busy week Aidan had. We started off by visiting Santa at the mall and wishing for a kidney for Christmas. We then had family pictures taken at Sears to keep Grandma Troxtel working. Mommy and Daddy met with the lawyer to set up Aidan’s special needs trust. We had hemodialysis 3 times this week with no issues. We had our last PT appointment for the calendar year and paid a visit to ENT to remove some granulation tissue around the trach. They also decided to downsize his trach from 4.5 to 4.0 due to Aidan having issues with his speaking valve. Mommy and Daddy were able to spend a little time together and went on a day date for lunch and a movie. We celebrated Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Grandma Marino’s. Unfortunately we had to watch the Lions lose another game. Grandpa and Grandma Troxtel were in town for the weekend and stopped by for a visit. Aunt Rachel also stopped by as well. Aidan has learned a couple of new things this week. He is learning how to play peek-a-boo. He has really enjoyed discovering his pee-pee. He plays with it ALL of the time. Daddy caught him one night where he undid his diaper and had his hand all the way down there playing with himself. Aidan has also become a very squirmy-wormy. The boy does not want to sit still for one second. It makes it hard to do some of his care, but he is anxiously exploring his world.

Aidan with Santa

Family picture from Sears

Aidan in his pimp hat (1 of the many pictures from Sears photo shoot)

November 16-22

Hemodialysis runs went fine this week. Thankfully Saturday is the last home UofM game we have to deal with. What a nightmare traffic can be on game day. We did not go to speech therapy this week but have been practicing with Aidan’s speaking valve all week. He seems to be tolerating it a little better each day. Early on made another weekly visit; nothing new to report there again. We started OT again this week. We visited the ARC again this week to get some new toys to play with. Next week will be busy. Mommy has the entire week off. We are finally getting family pictures and Aidan will be visiting Santa as well. We will be having Thanksgiving over at Grandpa and Grandma Marino’s. Also, Grandpa and Grandma Troxtel will be coming in for a visit as well. We hope everybody has a Happy Thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble!!!

November 9-15 - Daddy almost got into a fight

Daddy almost got into a fight with some lady at Speech Therapy. Long story but needless to say the cops were called because daddy was threatened with bodily harm. Some crazy lady threatened to “punch him in the face”. Hemodialysis runs went fine this week. Early on made another weekly visit; nothing really new to report there. The foot doctors did add about an inch to Aidan’s prosthetic foot because he has grown so much.