So Far So Good

I just returned from visiting my Mother and Janice and they are doing well. Mom’s hurting a little and her room is like a Suana. Janice is doing REALLY well, she was quite alert when I was there and looked better than I’ve seen her in a while. They both are expected to be eating solid food and walking a little by tonight or tomorrow.

Some of you have been wondering where to send flowers since its kinda hard to get all the way to UCSF to visit. Once again if you want to send flowers Email me and I will be glad to give you the information on where to send them.

SUCCESS!!

Well everyone I am pleased to announce that today’s operation was a huge success! Not only does Janice have a new kidney, she has been given a second chance for life! And we are all very grateful for that.

It has been a very long day for all of us, but it was well worth it. We were all up and ready at 6am, an arrived at UCSF Medical at 8:30am for check in. Janice and Mom were moved into there rooms at 10:00 am. After a prayer they were quickly moved into the Pre-Op area. Through out the time before the operation they were both very excited and ready to go. In all honesty, I think the rest of us were the nervous ones.

Shortly after 1:30pm the doctors got
everything started. Finally at about 7pm we were informed by the surgeon that the removal on Lorene’s kidney was a success, they were in the process of setting her up for the recovery room. News on Janice was good too! The new kidney was a perfect match and her body was responding to it wonderfully. After a very long wait we were able to talk to them sometime after 8pm, and they were both doing great.

Lorene, Janice and all of us would like to thank you all for you’re prayers and blessings over the last few days. If they recover well, they are both looking at coming home on Sunday October 2nd, so we’ll see how it goes. If you would like information on visiting or to maybe send them flowers and get well cards feel free to email me. I would be honored to give you the information.

A Message to you all from Lorene

So I have something that Mom would like you all to read. Here is goes:

Friends and Family
I just want to tell you all that I feel very good doing this for Janice. I am not too afraid because we have a lot
of people praying for us. We wanted to document this entire process so others will not be afraid to do the same
for someone they love. I don’t think I am anymore “special” than someone else who loves their family.
I know a lot of times people question the decisions I make, but I usually make my decisions out of love and understanding.
So here I go, ready to go to the hospital tomorrow. I am a little hungry because I wasn’t allowed any sold food after 12:00
pm today (Wednesday) and I am also not real happy with the laxitive I had to drink, but I am okay.
I love you all and I am sure me and Janice have made the right decision.
Talk to you soon,
Love Lorene

thanks Rich

My Mother

I have basically got my blog up and going again for the purpose of blogging my mother and my sister in-laws operations. Over the next few weeks I will have daily updates on both of their progress after the surgery. As you all know my sister in-law Janice Benavidez has been struggling with Kidney Disease for about four years now. In May of this year her health began to get worse. Her failing kidneys were now giving off a hormone that was poisoning her body, causing her to be in and out of the hospital for just about a month. After a while the doctors over at UCSF had determined that it be best that the failed kidneys be removed from her completely and they were – Janice has been doing good since. Even though she Janice has been feeling much better, she now has NO kidneys at all and the need for a donor was even bigger than it had been before. The only problem was that Janice was one of thousands of Americans that need a kidney donor, and the wait was very long- years to be exact. Long story short, my mother was a match and she is now proceeding to do the most courageous thing anyone I know has done for someone and decided to donate her kidney to Janice. On Thursday September 29, 2005 Lorene Rodriguez Hernandez is not only donating her kidney to Janice Benavidez, but she is making it possible for Janice and Sonny along with their children Serena and Isaac to have a quality of life that they have not been able to enjoy. She is doing her part in making sure that those children have their mother there for them for years to come. Those of you that know my mother, know that she is a woman with a HUGE heart and our whole family, both immediate and extended all are very proud her and touched by her bravery.

The surgery takes place on 9/29/2005, 12pm at UCSF Medical Center. Please check back for information on visiting, sending flowers or cards, or just to see how they are doing. I have added an RSS feed for the super geeks that like real time updates, so by all means subscribe to the RSS feed!

Remember to keep our family in your prayers the next few days. Thank you.

-Richie