I called KU today and talked with our coordinator to ask if Steve should get an H1N1 vaccination or not. Wendy said we should talk with our kidney doctor about this. She said he would not be able to get if for a while after his transplant at least 90 days.

Steve's status on the list has not changed much. We still send a blood sample at the beginning of each month for tissue matching. He has not come up in the top ten yet and Wendy when he does she will call us.

We are going to have to work out another schedule with dialysis in about a month so he can harvest. We are recruiting my mom, Steve's dad, maybe a brother-in-law and an aunt to hopefully do this. He wants me to put him on before I go to work around 5:30a.m. and have someone else take him off. Technically he is not suppose to do this without someone with him. Of course Blair will be her but, sleeping. I'm not real comfortable about this but we will see how it goes.

Emily has had a dream twice that he got the call that he is getting a kidney, so it must be coming. We need prayers for a kidney.

Help us keep up our faith. Love the Schmitz's

I know it has been a long time since I posted anything. To tell the truth the only thing that is going on is waiting, waiting, waiting...... We try not to dwell on when Steve will get a kidney. July 13th he was number 16 on the list, 15 people above him. The coordinator said she thought it would be this summer. Summer is coming to an end.

They tell us holidays are the busy times for transplants. People do more traveling and have accidents and this is where the kidneys come from. Hard for them also hard for us to think it is someones tragedy that keeps you living.

Steve's monthly visits to the dialysis center are good. All his numbers are good. The dialysis at home has gone pretty well. Our biggest problem now is finding a time to do this. Blair has started softball again and her games start at 5:00pm. We may have to work out something different so we can get to the away games on time. Emily got a new job and will be starting it the first of October. She was working evenings at St. Francis Hospital and was able to get Steve on the dialysis on the days when we have games and I took him off but that is going to change since she will be working days now.

We hope to hear from KU soon.

Steve, Christy & Blair