Sandra's Results - Part 2

We finally got Sandra's results today and it was bad news :'(

Sandra's kidney has blood vessels that would make it too difficult to remove and the hospital rightly have to consider her health as a priority. An operation to remove her kidney could be dangerous for her.

We are obviously gutted and so too is Sandra.

We've put forward five potential donors and none of them have been able to progress to donation.

It's hard to find words to express our disappointment after a whole year of testing it feels like we've not made any progress.

But it begs the question WHY. Why have none of the donors been successful? Why have we made no progress? Why have we gone through this? Why do we believe in a God who has the power to heal in an instant and yet not seen healing?

And if we've made no progress in terms of health what progress have we made in other areas of life as a result of our journey so far?

We have a good understanding of kidney disease. We understand better the impact of a disease on life - and I hope as a result we will be more sympathetic and supportive to people we meet in the future. No one asks to be ill or have the physical, psychological and practical impact on their lives.

In comparative terms kidney disease is not the worst illness to have to deal with - it is treatable with dialysis and (hopefully) transplant.

We are both independent people who don't like to have to 'need' others - so one thing we've learnt is to ask for help, to depend on our friends and family more.

Joy was healed by God a few years ago so she is helping keep us strong and reminds us regularly that God loves us and has a plan for us.

Our faith is challenged some days but as we push through each day we draw strength from God's promises that he will be our provider.

Genesis 22:14 (NLT)
Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means "the Lord will provide"). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."

The next step is to get onto dialysis and wait for a kidney from the national transplant waiting list which could take a number of years.

Joy is convinced that God wants me to have a better matched kidney. Sandra was only 1 match - Joy believes I will end up with 5/6 matches when I eventually get a kidney. I'm living off Joys faith some days. I am still working through the why questions?

Our Connect group at church are great in their support - they are all praying and fasting this week. It means so much to have their support.

The hospital are now planning a scan of my arm so they can decide on the best place to put a fistula. An operation to put in a fistula will then be scheduled. The fistula takes 6 weeks post operation before it can be used for dialysis.

If I need dialysis before my fistula is ready the hospital will install a temporary access line into my neck.

Dialysis will be three days per week once I begin. It should give me some of my energy back and help me feel better.

Thank you everyone for your love and support - we couldn't get through this without your support.

Rob & Joy