Dear Friends,
My A2 titer, the measure of my immune system's readiness to receive Molly's kidney, came in at 4! That is beyond excellent. Recall that it started at 128. The immunologist was hoping for 8-16 and lower is better. So that's the last hoop to jump through and it looks like this is really going to happen. I will continue with treatments to lower it more because they are already scheduled and because it lowers the possible need to do more treatments after the transplant. But 4 is really, really great. (For those of you who want a technical explanation, it appears that a cell surface receptor on the Klebsiella bacterium that I contracted before, just happens to accidentally be similar to one on an A blood cell. So getting sick caused an immune reaction to Molly's blood. A2 is a subtype of the A blood type with a lower density of A antigens)
I was also able to get a dialysis appointment early this morning (Saturday), so Mom and I will be driving home to Blacksburg in a few hours. We have no plans, other than laundry, so if you aren't sick and would like to stop by for a visit, we will be home around 4 and be home for about 24 hours. Please no kids though. And if someone in your household is sick, it would be better if you stayed away for now. Thanks for understanding.
One intriguing opportunity that I have after the operation is participation in the Transplant Games of America (http://www.transplantgamesofamerica.org/) for people who have donated or received an organ. It would be great to get well and then to start training. Discus. Perhaps that's my sport. But there are sports that I am already familiar with, including tennis, volleyball and cycling. Perhaps Molly and I can enter the golf together. The games in 2014 are in Houston, TX. In the summer. What are they thinking?
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