Overwhelmed with gratitude and ready for the big day!

Dearest amazing people,

We are at a loss for words at the amazing generosity of so many of our friends, family, and even some friends of friends. Allyson Paige set up the Give Forward site on our behalf, and we've been periodically checking in and are simply in disbelief at the love, community and support that so many of you have given us. Literally everyone we know has continued to ask what else they can do to help; from childcare to shopping and meals, you name it. I knew we had a strong community of friends and family here in the Bay (and beyond) but this is truly breathtaking and we are SO thankful to all of you!!
 
I've been moving at my normal breakneck pace with teaching, performing, some studio work and of course family. Only difference is the fatigue I feel at the end of the day (sometimes during) and occasional pain.

Can't wait to get this process going, I've kinda planned my year around it-and I'll be itching to get back on my feet and get on with it. The expected recovery time is 6-8 weeks; 2 weeks no driving, and 6 weeks no lifting more than 10 lbs (!)

As for nerves, I feel pretty damn good considering. I was way more nervous about the births of the girls than this. Maybe because I've been mentally preparing for this for years, just thought I'd get at least another decade out of these bad boys. Doesn't hurt that the head of surgery at UCSF will be doing my operation so I feel like I'm in good hands. We meet the team tomorrow for the pre-op, and fingers crossed we'll be good to go for the 17th.

Stay tuned and again Thank You!!

With Much Love,

Jess

Counting down the days...

So we've got a date for the transplant! Tuesday, February 17th at UCSF is when it's going down.

This can't come soon enough, as my function has been decreasing fast. My function is at about 12% right now, and I'm really starting to feel it. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not one to sit around, I'm always on the go-I thrive on it. But recently my energy level has taken a serious downward turn, and it's hard to do any activity for any length of time without feeling wiped out. This is in large part due to the fact that loss of kidney function has caused a big dip in my numbers in a lot of important areas with my blood.

I've talked to several transplant recipients who say that they literally woke up in the hospital feeling better immediately. I'm hopeful that'll be the case for me as well, and that my recovery is speedy. I also know from my dad's experience though, that there are so many different ways in which your health can be affected with this disease post-surgery. All of his health problems since his transplant in '02(?) have had nothing to do with his kidneys, but are reactions to the immunosuppressant drugs and other complications. Hopefully that won't be the case for me.

The recovery process is a careful one. Neither of us can drive for the first 2 weeks, and we're not supposed to lift more than 10 lbs. for the first month of so. With a 2 and a 5 yr. old around this will be very difficult, so we've rallied all of the grandparents to lend a hand during the process.

If you want to help, our friend Allyson Paige is heading up a fund-raising campaign to help mitigate our medical bills and me being out of work for an unknown period of time.

Here's to a healthy and happy 2015 everybody!