Merry Christmas!

 Psalm 46 : 7

The Lord of hosts is with us
The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Life has been so busy lately and sometimes it is hard to know whether we are coming or going! We have definitely been feeling the effects of the last 8 weeks, feeling exhausted emotionally, mentally and physically. This time of holidays has been nice to slow down, just a little bit, and spend time together as a family.
We pray that you have had a restful, joyful Christmas with family and friends.

We didn't have a chance to send out Christmas cards this year. Here is a family picture, along with our wish for you all to have a Blessed New Year!

On Tuesday Noah finished his IV treatments! These treatments went well and the nursing staff were amazing. We were not sure that Noah's IV would last for the 5 rounds of treatment and we thought he was going to need a new one for his last treatment. His nurse worked hard and was able to make it last for both bloodwork and meds, which was amazing!

These treatments did their job and helped to lower Noah's creatinine levels.
This indicates that this was indeed a mild rejection, and we are so thankful that they caught this early and it was treated so quickly.

After the IV came out, Noah was officially tube free for the first time since the transplant and he was very happy about this!

We enjoyed 2 days at home this week with no appointments, spending time with family, braving Boxing Day shopping since we had not gift shopped yet, and then doing gifts as a family.

Noah had an appointment on Friday with bloodwork and an ultrasound.
For the ultrasound, the doctors are certainly trying to cover everything. They were concerned that Noah's ureter is getting kinked when he is in different positions, so he needed to stand for this ultrasound. This was something new for us, as well as for the ultrasound technician! We don't have the results of this yet.
For the bloodwork, Noah's creatinine levels were higher than normal again, but this time they think it is due to the levels of one of his anti-rejection meds being too high. They have lowered his dose of this medication and we pray that Tuesday's appointment shows a drop in levels again.
A side effect of this particular med being too high is shakiness. Noah has had shaky hands for the past week and he is really hoping that with a lower dose of meds this goes away.

Noah's constant changes in med doses keep me on my toes! I am very grateful for hospital staff who keep things up to date with a med calendar for me to follow! (Although I have made a few changes to it as well!)

Jordan is currently enjoying time at a cousin's house and we are looking forward to watching Curtis play in a hockey tournament next week, having family over, Danielle is looking forward to a ski trip, and Noah is really looking forward to skating on ice at a family reunion!

Danielle and an aunt put together this amazing gift for Noah!

Grandpa and Grandma came for a visit!