http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI8r0AXSHe0

Hi everybody,Bridgette's best friend made a song for Bridgette, I would love everyone to check it out on you tube. It's the first thing that comes up if you search Bridgettes Song.

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great Christmas!! We finally got home around 4pm on Monday. Since we have been home it has been just like the hospital, a roller coaster everyday. Bridge is good one minute and then the next she is throwing up or with shaking chills and in much more pain it seems like then when she was in the hospital. We went back to Boston on Christmas eve morning. We got there at 8:45 and were completely done with our appointment by 10am. Bridgette's lab work is much better, meaning her renal #'s that deal with the kidney are finally almost normal. The problem still is with getting the right dosing of anti-rejection medication. She is often sick to her stomach and has this all over body tremor like she is cold, but it is the medication. The doctors told us that this was unfortunately one of the side effects. Bridge is also still carrying the extra water weight that is slowly coming off, but she is about 6 pounds over her dry weight. Bridgette's blood pressure is also rising very high, so now she has to take her blood pressure medicine 2x a day. Matthew has been sick, so he has been wearing a mask in the house and I have been making him wash his hands every second, Bridgette has picked up a touch of his cold even though we have been religious with cleaning surfaces and staying away. I have to go back to work on Mon. and Wed. this week. We have blood work again on Monday and Thursday,so Mark will take her on Monday and we will all go to Boston on Thursday. We are glad to be home but still haven't gotten into a normal routine yet, can't wait to the normalcy returns. Christmas eve night was hard, Bridge was up from 1am on, she was so sick. Christmas day though was quiet and nice. We didn't go home because we were all to tired, we made a turkey and relaxed on the cough, the next day, Saturday was again very difficult for Bridge. I had to call Boston due to Bridgette vomiting and high blood pressure, Sunday though is all good, so far that is. Hope everyone enjoyed Christmas day with family and friends, have a great New Year!!! Will update the blog soon. XO Megan

So far so good today, the antibiotics seemed to have finally kicked in. We have had a shower, took nausea medicine to keep medications down. We have walked 5 laps already around the unit and ate a small amount of breakfast. Bridge has also been voiding(pee) and having normal bm's, if she keeps this up, they will let us go tomorrow. We are all very excited!! We checked out of the hotel this morning and both will sleep in her room tonight. We are looking at about 10" of snow here in Boston with a nice view from the 10th floor, but I have to say that snow is so much nicer in Vermont. Tomorrow morning they will give her the last dose of IV antibiotics, draw blood from her central line, give her the morning medications and then remove the central line. I believe once that is done we can finally leave. Like I said earlier though, we will have to be back here at 9am on Christmas eve morning. Thank you to everyone for all the prayers and support you having been giving our family, we really couldn't have done this without everyone of you.

Well back on the roller coaster ride, the infection has spread. It is now on the other side of her groin area and down her left leg. Bridge also has no appetite again, they think she is backed up even though she has had a couple of loose stool. Bridge has thrown up x2 already this morning. They told us definitely not until Monday or Tuesday would we be able to go home. They want to make sure the infection doesn't continue to spread, so they need to keep her on iv antibiotics and if she can not keep anything down then this will be a big problem.( all her anti-rejection medications are by mouth, not iv). Bridgette also still has a lot of fluid on board her body. She is about 6-7 pounds over her dry weight. Her legs look like the Michelin baby. The key is walking. We walked 13 laps around the nurse's station yesterday and plan to do the same today. They also are still pushing the fluids on Bridgette even though she is 3rd spacing with all the other fluid. They won't send her home until she can drink a minimum of 1.5L. The goal is 2L but they will be ok with the 1.5L. They state that the kidney is still asleep and that it needs to stay hydrated, eventually when the kidney is working 100% it will start emptying the water from her body. If we get released Mon or Tue we have to be back here Christmas eve at 9am for our clinic day. They usually are held on Tue/Fri, but due to the holiday, it has been moved. Did I say that Boston is now becoming my least favorite city. We are supposed to get a huge storm today, I'm kind of excited since there is no snow here, but I really wish we were in the comforts of our home watching it from there instead. Hope everyone is doing well. To my clinic girls, I'm sorry I'm not there. I promise next year I will work everyday, every holiday, you name it. Patty hope you are doing ok, I'm thinking of ya. Love to all, Megan

Bridge finally had her surgery yesterday around 5 pm. They were supposed to bring her down at 1pm for surgery at 2 but they were running late, so we didn't get back to our room until around 7:30pm last night. They removed her dialysis catheter as well as her JP drain and took down her bandage over her incision. I have been telling them for 3 days that I thought she had an infection right below her incision. It is warm and pink and shows some streaking into her groin as well as the top of her right leg they have basically looked at it but never did anything, finally I was like, could you please when you are in surgery with her, take a better look. They came back with telling me that she has cellulitis in that area and will need to be on an antibiotic for 5 days. ( the best part is that most people who develop cellulitis get it in the leg and are immunosupressed, just like miss Bridge, so I have no idea why they wouldn't listen to me), mother knows best. 1 step forward and 2 steps back. This morning Bridge woke up and has a small appetite. She ate 1 roll and has asked for more to drink. If she meets her required intact and continues to void and have a BM then they might release her this weekend. We can not wait to get out of here!!!

Like I said the other day, it is a roller coaster ride. We will not be coming home yet. Bridge has been vomiting since she ate for the last 2 days. They thought possibly the medication could be making her constipated, so they have been giving her medicine to help move things along. She had her catheter out yesterday and we have put her on a toileting schedule as well as a walking schedule to wake things up. Bridge is voiding ok at this point, but now again has gain 6 pounds in 1 day. She had a test called a KUB today to look to see if she has a bowel obstruction or if she has an ileus again like the last surgery. If so, they might have to slip another nasal gastric tube down her nostril into her stomach to decompress all the junk. Let's hope that this is not the case. She goes to the OR today at 2pm to take out her JP drain as well as her dialysis catheter. Unfortunately with this procedure, they have to put her under. Bridge has had a runny nose for days, so now they think that she has caught some type of infection and or cold. We sent nasal sample down to the lab and are awaiting results. Bridge is back on contact precautions as well as airborne precautions. They state that since they have wiped out her immune system it is a delicate balance keeping her from catching something. That is why she will be out of school and why they tell us not to have anyone who has a sore throat, slight cough, etc. to be around Bridge. So I have no idea when we will be home, the team said either if she changes dramatically in the next day or 2 maybe Sunday, but most likely the being of next week. Oh my god, I have to Christmas shop in like 2 days. Will update later today about the OR gig and how that went. Bridgette usually tells me about 20 times a day without exaggeration that she loves me, and since the surgery she hasn't, but today she has told me about 5 times so far, so I know she is getting better. That is the best present I could ever get!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bridge finally had a good night sleep last night. They woke her every 4 hours to keep up with the pain medication, but otherwise she was sleeping. Mark and I are taking turns at the hotel which is right next to the hospital. Last night I slept there and tonight is Mark's turn to sleep there. 1 of us in always in the room with Bridge. Bridge got her epidural out of her back this am and another iv left over in her right arm, so 2 things gone. Bridge still has no desire to eat, but when the dietitian came in and told her she could have anything she wanted, she ordered pizza and salad and ate several bits, finally! She wanted to remind us though, in case we were unclear, that there was no way she was having dinner. Bridge again has walked the circle x2 with much under the breath loathing. (I can sort of laugh now, so this is a good thing.) The surgeon came in this morning and said possibly we could go home Friday or Sat. They will do something called a VCUG test to check the kidney before they take out the catheter tomorrow. Every day we have education about how our lives will change and how to take the medications. Lots of information and learning, but we will do it. They will take out her dialysis catheter on Thursday if all goes well and she can void(pee) on her own. Then either on Friday or Sat they will take out her other central line and off we go, just to turn around and come back Tuesday/Friday. They told us though since Christmas falls on a Friday, they will move it to Tue and Thur that week, Bridge was very very happy. So that is it for now, will update again later.

Good morning everyone, today is Monday post-op day 4. It has been a roller coaster ride, exactly what they said it would be. One day is good, the next day is bad, and that is how it has been. Yesterday it started out good, but by mid-morning it was horrible. Bridgette has stopped eating and has a rash all over her body. They want Bridge to drink a minimum of 2L and she can't even get anything in. She has 8 extra pounds of fluid on her body which means she is very bloated, especially in her right leg. They thought possibly since it came on so fast that she has a clot in that leg, so at 9:45 at night we are down getting an ultrasound on her leg. She is tired, in pain, swollen everywhere, has a full body rash has an epidural still in her back, triple lumen catheter in her left jugular, dual lumen dialysis catheter in her right jugular, a foley catheter, emptying her bladder and sequential stockings on both legs to help pump the blood up and down so she doesn't develop a clot. It is crazy. The nursing staff during the day has been great, but at night they are all new. Residents, which I'm sure are smart, but really have no common sense, are driving us crazy. There are new residents seeing us 6x a day, from the surgical team, the nephrology team, the pain team, etc.(thank god for the good nursing staffing). Don't get us wrong it is a wonderful hospital but it seems that nobody talks with the other teams. You really have to be a big advocate for the patient. Today they have listened, and improvements have been made. Bridge has been up x3 around the nurse's station today which is a huge accomplishment, the next big thing is you guessed it, she had a BM today, everybody is so "happy". The kidney unfortunately is still asleep. They tell us it is called ATN(Acute tuberal necrosis). They are saying that even though this sounds scary and that part of the kidney has died, that it will just take longer to kick in but should be come back. I asked what the % of people who get this and they said 50%. Then I asked is that with living donor or deceased and they said mainly deceased, so hopefully it will work in our favor. The renal #'s are coming down but very slowly, but they state that they are coming down which is a positive sign, just not as fast as they would like it to have come down though. They also stated that 50% of transplants have some type of rejection in the first year so not to be alarmed. If this happens then we have to come back to the hospital for 3-4 days for iv steroid therapy. The medications regimen we choose for Bridge is very scary, but when we asked the doctors what drug regimen they would choose out of the 3 they stated this one. 2 of the medications that Bridge gets are used also in cancer patients. They are toxic, so we have to wear gloves to give them. The # 1 side effect is skin cancer,(what???) The other medications that Bridge has to take now induces, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease, so she has to take medication to offset that. We just have to pray that we made the right choice for her. Everyday they throw new information at us so not to overwhelm us, but I think they succeeded. Just want to give a shout out to Kimmy for such a great dinner, thank you Michelle and Dave for dropping it off. Thank you to the girls at the Clinic for the balloons and activities for Miss Bridge, she loves them. They were a huge hit! Thank you to everyone really for all the prayers and support, we couldn't do it without everyone of you.XXXXXXOOOOOOOOO

Today we got moved out of the ICU, YEAH!! The team is amazed at how well Bridge is doing. She so far is excepting her anti-rejection medication seemingly well. She has the occasional itching session, but they give her medication for this which helps. Bridge today is extremely tired, more so than yesterday, but states that she has less pain today. Very moist unproductive cough present but this is expected with all the fluid they originally put in her and how long she was under for. The nursing staff at this hospital are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! WE got the smack down from administration though for all the people we had coming to see us, so the head nursing member as well as Bridgette's nurse had a talk with us. We are totally fine with that because we are tired to and don't want to get Bridge or us sick. My parents left today as well as Colleen and Paul. Yes that is right, I said Paul. They released him first thing this am. My sister and Paul went to the hotel, took a shower and then he came waltzing into the ICU like he was out for a leisurely stroll. The man is amazing!!!! Bridge was happy to see him but when they left she said, Uncle Paul gave me a kidney that hurts. I'm sorry but sometimes Bridgette is just to cute. The nursing staff from the ICU also asked Bridge before she left if she was going to miss them and she said nope. Matthew went home with Miss Robin Apps, what an angel! She drove all this way just to pick up Matthew and bring him home. As I stated before we weren't allowed anymore visitors, but in Robin fashion, she texts me and states, "we are on 10 south hiding in the bathroom, where is the room?" How great is that. They snuck in and saw Bridge, she was so happy!!!! A huge thank you and lots of love to all the nurses who take care of Bridge and I at dialysis at Albany Medical Center. Celeste, Denise, Ken, Sue, Alan, Laurie and Kiki, Andrew, Jamie and Shana, we love you but are glad we don't have to be there 3x a week anymore. The doctors said we will probably be here till Friday or Saturday if things continue to go well. We have a lot of education now to be taught to Mark and I about all the medications and timing of all of them. We have to be in Boston every Tuesday and Friday mornings by 9am for testing, I believe for the first 6 months and then if everything goes well we then can move one of the mornings to Albany medical center and the other one back in Boston for the following 12 months. It seems like a long haul, but it will fly by I'm sure of it. Thanks again for all the love and will give another update soon.

Well the day finally came and went, and what a day. Bridge was admitted like I said the night before and had medicine to wipe out her immune system so as to less likely reject the new kidney. There are many side effects unfortunately to this but it seemed that Bridgette wasn't getting any of them. The infusion takes 3 hours and at 2 hours and 45 minutes, Bridgette got all the reactions, fever, pain, flu like symptoms, rigors, chills, etc. It was horrible, this lasted about 2 hours and with time and medication she finally fell asleep. Mark and I stayed in the room with Bridge, and I finally left around 4:30am, showered and then went over to Colleen and Paul's room. I stayed with them until it was time for Paul to be admitted at 5:30am at the Brigham. I came back to Children's and walked back into the room around 5:45 and they came to take Bridgette down to pre-op. Mark had of course finally fell asleep, but quickly awoke. We were in pre-op for 2 1/2hours and then they came and got Bridgette. We didn't get to see her again until around 5pm when they brought her to the ICU. Surgery for both Paul and Bridge were close to 6 hours each. We went and saw Paul when he came into the PACU and it was scary, even for me being a nurse, I was taken aback. Paul is long and lean and he looked like a swollen boxer and as white as could be. But in Paul fashion he was cracking jokes and making us feel good, and of course wanted us to know that he still hadn't wavered in his decision. I felt like passing out at that point, but I never let on to him, but it really was emotional. We then went back over to see if Bridge was out yet and she was still in surgery. It seems like years. We watched all day long as everyone else came, sat down, cried, family coming in and then the doctors talking with the families, and then the people leaving. I think we were like the 3rd family there and were the last family to leave. My good friend Michelle came with her incredible, gorgeous 15 month old daughter, who you could just eat every time you see her, this was a great distraction. Bridge finally arrived with her new kidney and many tubes around 5pm to the ICU. She to was very swollen but seemed to be in good pain control. They gave her an epidural in her back with a continuous medication called fentyal that helps with pain control. Bridge also has the option to push a button if more medication is needed, which she has been doing. The kidney unfortunately did not make urine right away. The doctors stated to us that this was not uncommon but that's not what you want to hear. You want to hear, yes, there is urine and the kidney is functioning great, but that didn't happen. Midnight was the shining hour, she started making real urine, not just serosanguinous drainage. She put out around 550ml from 12am to 7am. Since Bridgette's new kidney wasn't functioning earlier on they needed to give her medication to help with her rising potassium levels.(6.0) This didn't seem to be working and her 12 lead ekg was showing some T wave increases(for all the nurses), so they ended up giving her Kayexcelate which they had to do rectally. It was very uncomfortable, but Bridge did great, good results, the next morning. Today Bridge is in much more pain, understandably. We got her up to a chair and the tube taken out of her nose, she is on a nasal cannula now instead of a mask and the urine is flowing. Paul looks like the good old Paul we know and love. He looks great. Paul of course has already walked the hallway with his gown open in the back and gotten up by himself with all the iv's, off his iv pain medicine, and eating a liquid diet without problems. He really is remarkable! Sorry it took me so long to update everyone but I'm sure you all understand. Thank you so much for all the MMSing and emails and voice mails!!!!!!!! We feel loved.............................................

Well we are finally here in Boston. We got here on Tuesday evening before the storm, thank god. Bridge, Matthew, Mark and I had a nice little dinner across the street from the hospital on
Tuesday and were here bright and early Wed for dialysis at 8:30am. Dialysis went great which was another blessing because the team in Albany, who are so amazing, said it was a good thing that she was receiving her transplant because the central line they were using was clearly at its end. Colleen and Paul also came last night and beat the storm. Paul had to get the final ok from the doctors and then the team had to check Bridge before they would start the iv infusion that runs about 3 hours. This medication basically wipes out a special type of white blood cell in the body, actually giving her flu like systems. Prior to infusion they gave her Tylenol and benadryl as well as a type of predisone drug, all iv, so as not to have a reaction when they infuse the big gun drug called "campath". Paul has to be at the hospital tomorrow at 5:30 and I believe they will start his procedure which should take 6 hours around 7am. They will come for Bridge around 7am and get her all ready for the delivery of her new kidney. The doctors all coordinate via phone every step of the way so they will know when to take out and put in. Bridge is currently sleeping which is a good thing. Bridge of course got very anxious about the iv going in, but they promised they would put all the other tubes and drains going in after they put her under tomorrow. They explained to us that she will be intubated, have a new central line, have mostly likely an epidural for pain control, a foley catheter to drain her bladder(yeah) and most likely 2 JP drains, which actually look like little grenades.(These help drain any excess fluid build up). She will be automatically going to the ICU after surgery. The team stated that they usually go to the transplant floor, but with what happened last time post-op they want to be extra cautious with her respiratory status and pain control. We are very happy with this decision!!! Afterwards Bridge will be sent back up to 10South which is the transplant floor. Paul they said should be out of here in 2-3 days, for Bridge they are talking 1-2 weeks. We are all praying we will be home for Christmas. Bridgette will have another infusion of the big drug "campath" the day after surgery to make sure they have the best possible chance for her body keeping the new kidney. Bridge will also start taking all her new medicines that she will need for the rest of her life. They went over them last night with us, it really is overwhelming. Bridge was like, no problem, I can swallow 3 pills at a time now, she is so amazing. We want to thank everyone for all your love and prayers, it means soooo much to both Mark and I and to our families. Will post another blog tomorrow most likely late in the day. Mrs. P good to see you the other day, Laur send me your email. Jack glad you are doing better, we love ya! Thanks to all our friends in VT who are looking after the animals and the house for us, have fun snowmobiling in all the new snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope everyone had a great Turkey day. I ran the turkey trot at Stratton in the morning with the girls, yes they kicked butt, I finished, but I realized quickly how out of shape I am. Back to the gym I go. Bridge had a good time with all her cousins on Thanksgiving. We stayed at my mom's house and now are in dialysis early Friday morning. Colleen and Paul leave for Disney in a couple of days and will be back on the 6th, the day before we have to go to Boston for more testing. Then Bridge and Mark and I go again on the 9th to be admitted. Colleen and Paul also come this day for more testing, and then Paul gets admitted first thing Thursday am for surgery. Bridge seems to be doing well. She is retaining more fluid it seems in between dialysis even though she is not gaining much weight so we really need this transplant to work. I want to say hi to all my nursing buddies at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, I miss everyone so much, hope all is well and I will be back come April. Sue and Laur, save me a spot!!! Tell Meg V. I have been praying for her, and Nicole call me, congradulations on your new baby girl!!!

Hi everyone, last time I wrote I told you about the swelling in Bridgette's neck, well we went for an ultrasound to check if there were any clots or if there was a mass and they found nothing so that is good news. Bridge still has some swelling but no respiratory compromise, so we are leaving well enough alone. If she still has some swelling post transplant then we will pursue it further. The transplant is still set for the 10th of December, we are so very happy. We are spending Thanksgiving at my mom's house in Delmar and I think I will run the turkey trot again up at Stratton before we leave. We are also getting our Christmas tree this weekend due to the fact that we really won't get to enjoy a tree this year, so even it is for only 1 week, it will still be festive. Stratton is not opening until the 4th of December it looks like, so no worries with work. I probably will start after we get back from the hospital. We will have to travel to Boston 2x a week after the transplant for testing so we will see how that is going to pan out, I still don't know the schedule for that yet, but I'm sure it will all work out. I miss work but life is getting in the way. We want everyone to know that the National Kidney Foundation has moved the drawing for the 1 week Naples trip with round trip tickets, courtesy of my Uncle Craig and Aunt Phyllis, forward a week or 2. The drawing will be held in mid December. They have sold 82 tickets so far. If you want a chance to win you can go to the National Kidney Foundation of Northeast NY page or you can go to www.firstgiving.com/bridgethegap and look it up and print a ticket. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone, and will update as soon as there are any changes. Love to all, Megan

Good morning to everyone, today we are at dialysis early this morning due to the fact that Bridge has some more noticable swelling in her neck. She has 3 distinct symetrical rolls that are fluid filled looking that wrap around her neck. The pediatric nephrologist took a look at Bridge and now has set her up with an appointment with an ENT doctor. The nephrologist states that this is very unusual and hasn't seen this before. Bridge tends to drift her head back somewhat to get a better airway. Her oxygen levels are good and she has no respiratory problems, but still very concerning(wondering with the last surgery if there were any more complications with the intubation other than we were told?) Everyone cross your fingers that nothing is wrong. The weekend was good, I took the kids to see the movie "A Christmas Carol "with Jim Carey and it was good, somewhat scary at times for the kids but they had fun. Sunday got in the back hoe, yes you heard it right, the back hoe, and picked up huge logs on our property while Mark used the chain saw and cut them up, oh my god how fun was that!!! Now I'm hooked, what a fun toy. Well we have 24 days left until the surgery, coming fast. The surgeon called Paul to see if he had changed his mind or not and of course it was a big NO. The surgeon also told Paul that after review of the CT scan that they would be taking his right kidney for Bridgette. There was also a boy this week who we have met since coming to Albany Medical Center for dialysis, who was put on the list on Monday and received a kidney on Thursday, we are so happy for his family, congradulations!!! Once again thank you to everyone for all your continued love and support, we couldn't do this without everyone of you. Will give updates when there is anything new. Much love, Megan

Good morning everyone, today is the 9th of November, 1 month to go. Bridgette and Paul have to go to the hospital on the 7th of December for more testing and blood work. Then on the 9th if everything goes fine with the new testing, Bridgette gets admitted and starts the process for transplant. We have chosen a drug regimen that wipes out all her white blood cells so she has no immune system. We sat down with the team and discussed the 3 options for medications that she will need for the rest of her life and this 3rd regimen is the newest and most advanced. We asked every imaginable question and then asked if it was their child which would they use, and they chose the one we decided on. It is a little scary in the fact that we have to wipe out her entire immune system, but there is less chance that she will then reject Paul's kidney. One thing that we are crossing our fingers with is that when they wipe out her immune system, if she wakes up the next morning, the day of transplant and has a slight fever, they will cancel the transplant. The team stated that this has happened in other cases, but out of the 5 year study, only 1 kidney has ever rejected. So if she has a fever, they will postpone the surgery for probably a week. Scary stuff, but we are very positive, and as we all know the mind is a powerful thing, so hopefully if we all think positive thoughts it will happen the right way this time. Bridgette is still going to dialysis 3x week in Albany. It is so much harder without her kidneys. We really are on top of whatever she eats and drinks, which is not much anymore. Bridge has grown about about 1.5 inches since July, the growth hormone as well as the filtering of her blood has helped immensely. Since her last surgery though Bridgette has slight tremors now, hopefully with the new kidney these will go away. Bridgette still has some bruising to her left groin area from the first surgery, but her incisions in her abdomen look good. The only complaint still is just the groin area. So some good news, Bridgette has been skyping with school. It is a way that she can keep in contact with her classmates, it is so cool. She can actually see and speak to them through the computer. If anyone wants to join it is free and easy, just sign up under skype.com and type in Bridgette Eichhorn, under I believe, the directory section and she should come up, if we are on the computer we will see that someone is trying to contact us. I want to send out best wishes to my new friend Tracy Black and her family. Her sister-in-law is going through the same thing as Bridgette and I believe that she is having her transplant this week(Tracy's brother is able to give his kidney to his wife). It is so strange, it is like when you are pregnant, everyone around you is pregnant. Since this has happened to Bridgette, we are meeting many people who have had transplants or have some family member going through the same thing. It is amazing how there are over 100,000 people out there who need a kidney transplant. Best of luck Tracy!!!! Hope to be back at yoga soon. Love to everyone, Megan

Good Morning everyone, good news, Boston called last night to let us know that they did move the surgery to the 10th of December instead of the 17th. We are so glad, hopefully now we will be able to be home for Christmas. The surgeon said that Bridge would probably be in the hospital for 1-2 weeks if no complications with the surgery and if no complications with the immunosuppression medication that she will need to take, otherwise it might be a little longer. This works out for Colleen and Paul, they get to still go on there planned disney vacation, yeah! I keep reminding them whenever I can to all wear a mask on the plane! Bridge started school again. She now goes Tues/Thurs and loves it. Her first day was this Tuesday and she came home so excited about seeing her friends, getting homework and of course doing attendance. We have set up a skype account and will be able to communicate with school, via camera, while at dialysis, she is excited about that. Bridge and Matthew have a halloween parade and dance on Friday. The bus takes the kids into Bondville and drops them off at the bank, then they go to the area businesses, this takes about 1 hour. Bridge and I will then go to Albany for her treatment and be back home around 7pm, just in time for the dance. Matthew will be hooked together with Sean Apps, going as a chain gang, and Bridgette, you guessed it is going to be a High School Cheeleader, with pom poms and all the garb. Hope everyone has a safe halloween, will give updates if anything new changes. Once again thank you to everyone who has supported us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love Megan

Hi everyone, I am so sorry but I haven't been caught up with writing the blog. I know that it is an excuse , but I actually do have a good one, I am writing so many thank you cards that I can not keep up. Really on a true honest note, thank you so much to everyone that has contributed to Bridgette. Words can't express how much Mark and I feel. It truly is a feeling both of us have never felt before, it really is a true testimony of how Bridge has impacted all of our lives, thank you!!!!!!!!!!! The fund raiser was such a success, thank you so much to everyone who made the trek up to Cold Vermont. We heard it was actually 29 degrees that day. Mark and I received the disc from Brynn, I'm sure Wayne's world had a spin on it, and I know that Kelly, the amazing photographer had her eye on it. Thanks again you guys. You have your own family issues going on and you still took the time for us, we won't forget that one.(Laura and Jim, you are in our prayers) But to get back on track to let you know how it has been going. We were both so happy to come home with our girl, but that quickly turned around, because on Sunday, we returned to the hospital, only this time it was the ER at Albany Med. Thank you Celeste(One of Bridge's amazing dialysis nurses) and to Brynn, our own ER nurse at Albany Med who thankfully got us in right away. Bridge woke up Sunday morning looking like she stepped out of the pages of the Willy Wonka movie. She looked liked the girl who blew up like a balloon. I can use this analogy now, but at the time I was a basket case. We immediately left everything behind and went to the hospital. Half way in route the nurse in me came out and went, oh my god her airway. I really should have called an ambulance but I was caught up in the moment, so for the next hour I asked every 2 minutes, can you breath ok. Needless to say once again my daughter was the teacher, "mom I"m fine, would you leave me alone". Bridge had 1 liter pulled off of her and then we turned around and came back the next morning at 8:30 to have 2 more liters pulled off of her. The doctors stated that this is somewhat normal after having both of your kidneys removed. To me it is not normal, but I'm only a nurse. Bridge had 5 shots today and will return to school next week, I would milk it for all I could if I where her, but she is ready. Boston emailed to let us know that the transplant will possibly be moved up 1 week earlier, so maybe we won't have to spend Christmas in the hospital. Paul where a mask on the plane!!!!!!!!!! Everyone keep your fingers crossed, it could be the 10th of December now instead of the 17th. Will let everyone know the minute I find out. Thank you again for all the love and support, we absolutely could not do this without everyone of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Megan and Mark

Today is Wed the 14th of October and we only have 2 more days left until we can go home, YEAH!!!!!! Bridge finally got moved at 10pm last night to a transplant floor, she is out of the ICU. WE are so happy. Bridgette had her central line pulled but unfortunately meant that she would then need a peripheral line placed which she was not to pleased about, that was a little traumatic, but she got over it quickly. I am having them do an ultrasound today on her left leg since there were 2 major lines so close and does complain on and off of pain in that leg only, not the stomach where she had surgery but her leg, I want to make sure that she doesn't have a clot, so that will be done after dialysis today. Bridgette got up and walked the hallway today and felt good, a little weak, but good. She is completely off of oxygen this am and they have stopped her antibotics. The whole team came in this am and told us that she definetely aspirated during intubation and had her lung collasped but they are comfortable with taking her off of all antibotics at this point which is great. She currently is receiving dialysis and her blood pressure, her oxygen and her heart rate are fabulous. blood presure is 114/60 with a pulse of 123 and an oxygen level of 97%. Bridge was able to receive sips of liquid last night and did very well, they have switched her to a soft diet today. It will be very strict fluid restriction again, 1 liter a day only and everything has to be measured, not guessed. Mark and I actually slept in the hotel together last night(no nothing happened) since Nana is here and Bridge is stable, but we were back in first thing this am before rounds. The team also this morning told us that they are putting of the transplant. They feel that her lungs need 7-8 weeks of healing time before they will do the surgery again and this time they already have a different plan of action. Bridge will immediately go to ICU after transplant, not all transplant patients do, they came come to the transplant floot, but they feel that with what has taken place, that she needs closer monitoring. They also said that the pain control issue will be addressed in a different fashion. They feel that she didn't have adequate pain control(enough to deep breath and cough which contributed to her lung filling up) so they will be giving her an epideral as well as mostly likely a pca pump that will automatically give her medication. The other news which we are bummed about is that the transplant now is the 17th of December and most likely will be in the hospital for 2 weeks. They assured us that there are more santa claus's here than anywhere else in the world. They also said we could bring a small artfical tree in, oh yeah, but we will make the best of it. The main focus is Bridge and her health, nothing else. We were told by one of the doctors that at one point he didn't know how the situation would go, it was so touch and go.(blood pressure 50/27, heart rate 207 and oxygen level of 72). I am glad he told me that because I felt the same way, and I didn't know if it was because I am a nurse, or if it was my fear as a mom, so I never verbally said it out loud, but when he did, I just broke down, like holy crap, it was a make or break situation at one point. But my fighter is still here, I mean Bridgette means "The Strong" so what else can I say. Thank you everyone and I mean everyone, don't think we don't know what is going on since we are not home, we get updates all the time and are so thankful to have such a great community filled with friends and family. Love to all, Megan and Mark and Miss Bridge, Matthew also gives his love and thanks, I can't wait to get home and see my boy!

What can I say but ooh my god!! You guys are so amazing, everyone one of you. Mark and I, Bridgette and Matthew thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We heard that the event yesterday for Bridge was amazing. We heard that there was this huge energy, postive energy everywhere. Well that postive engery has found its way here because we moved 2 steps forward yesterday instead of 2 steps back. Bridgette has had such a rough recovery. We already explained that after surgery early the next morning she developed an ileus(bowels asleep, gas in the stomach), she had a tube placed from her nostril down into her stomach. With this tube in, Bridgette has been unable to eat or drink anything, so she hasn't had anything since Wed evening, at this point she has no appetite, we will find out later today if that tube can be pulled. Unfortunately also her right lung has partially collasped due to aspiration pneumonia, she was put on biPap which helps her breath and keep pressure in the lung to keep it open. They believe that she aspirated during intubation. For this they have put her on 3 anitobotics, vanco, clindaymycin and cipro. Because of this you guessed it, she has developed a yeast infection. They also had to put a central line in, which they placed in her femoral vein(right groin area). The first try they actual put it her artery so they decided since they were in the wrong spot, they would put in a aterial pressure line where they could continuously monitor her blood pressure. This was a very traumatic experience for all of us, we were right there in the room and had to help hold down, even with medications on board, she still knew what was going on>>>PAIN. Needless to say that we went from thinking that possibly we could go home on Saturday to thinking when or if she would come home it was so scary. Today, Monday the 12th she has turned a corner. One of her lines was taken out and she was taken off of the biPap. She is now currently on a nasal canula and oxygen level is good. Her blood pressure is still low, she is off the dopamine drip but is still on the noriephrine drip which helps increase her blood pressure which is running very low. Instead of receiving dilaysis 3x a week, she was started on Sunday and will be getting gentle dialyis everyday, so as to not upset her hemostasis. They currently have her in a good place, meaning that she is moving in the forward direction. Bridgette is also receiving physical therapy where they come and pound on her chest and back(literally) to help loosen the consoldation in her right lung, this has helped a lot. Everyone is amazing here. They really are caring and know their stuff, this is the place to be for kids. We got Bridge up to a chair today for 30 minutes which was great, but his completely wiped her out. I think we will be in ICU for 1 more night and if things go well they will move us to a regular floor tommorrow, where I believe we will be there for 2-3 days, so hopefully we will be home by Friday. Thank you again everyone for all the love and good vibes we are feeling here in Boston.
Love to all, Megan, Mark and Miss Bridge
P.S. Since of the complications, the transplant is no longer the 22nd of this month, hopefully it will happen possibly the 3rd of November, and we don't even know if we have a match yet, if we don't then I don't know what we will do next, we'll cross that another day
XO

Hi everyone, sorry it has taken so long to write another blog, but it has been a rollercoaster ride. For the last several weeks we have been working with our 2nd donor(Wendy) and going to Boston as well as her having appointments in Albany to determine if she is a continued match. Our last appointment was Monday the 5th of October in Boston where Wendy underwent series of exams. We left at 5 am and were back in Albany around 5:30pm, feeling very excited from the feedback we had received from everyone. Tuesday night brought about a different emotion, we got the call that Wendy at this time would not be able to be the donor due to some lab work. We all were devasted once again, this is such a emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved, it is hard to describe the feeling but I think the closest would be powerless, we have no control, and just when we think we have a little back, it gets ripped right away again. So that was Tuesday the 6th, now Wed the 7th we were admitted to Children's in Boston to get ready for her double nephrectomy which is the removal of both of her kidneys. Surgery per the surgeon takes 4 hours and would be done laparscopically, but if complications arised it would turn into an open surgery with large incision. Good news it turned into a 2 1/2 hour surgery only and she did great!! She has 4 tiny stab wounds to her abdomen with stitches inside her so nothing to take out later. I had her up walking within 4 hours after the surgery and taking deep breaths and splinting her abdomen and coughing. The nursing staff was like, that is incredible, I haven't told anyone that I am a nurse. This morning the 9th brings a different day. Bridgette had a horible night with pain never seemly getting her under control. Her blood pressure has been very low and her heart rate has been very high with a low oxygen saturation. They did a portable chest xray this am to see if possibly during surgery they nicked her lung or if she could possible have what they call an ileus which is where her stomach is full of air and her intestines are asleep so to speak. Unfortuantely she does have an ileus. They had to drop a nasal gastric tube down her nostril into her abdomen to decompress the stomach, so far that seems to be working but she is completely out of it now, they gave her ativan and her pressure is 60/30 with a heart rate of 145 for all my medical friends out there, and she is currently on her way to having dialysis in 1 hour. During the surgery yesterday, our brother-in-law, Paul who was also a match had further testing done. He drove to Boston and completed the testing, after Paul left and he was here all day, the renal coordinator called and told us that the donor advocate doctor wants more testing. I can only say that both donors have been perfect with all of there #'s and tests, we just don't get it? On top of all this, while we were waiting for Bridgette to get out of surgery yesterday, we had a immunosupression meeting, which is where the doctors discuss the medications Bridge will need to be on the rest of her life. There are 3 regimens to choose from, and we found out that all 3 regimens could bring on high cholesterol, high blood pressure and cancer. Bridgette will need to be on the multiple drugs to keep the kidney from rejection as well as blood pressure medicine, cholesterol medication , antiviral medication for 1 year as well as an antibotic for 1 year, the rest of the medication is for life. Each regimen has a different degree of obtaining cancer, so we have to way that in also. It is so overwhelming, but I know with all the love and support we have been shown by everyone through all of this that we will get through this. Bridge is here for a special reason and she is teaching Mark and I everyday, and we are so lucky to be in her life. We love her so much!!!!! I will let everyone know to what the rest of the day brings. Thank you to everyone who will be participating in the Bridge The Gap race this weekend, have a great time and take lots of pictures.
Love to all, Megan and Mark

Hi everyone, it has been a busy couple of days. I went to Albany on Wed with Bridge and my friend Keelin. I had to leave during dialysis because my sister was in the hospital having surgery on her knee again, so Keelin stayed with Bridge and then took her home. Before dialysis started though, one of the ports that she receives dialysis through was sticking somewhat. So what does this mean? They put a clot busting agent in (tpa) it and will check it today at dialysis, but if it is still meeting resistance, they might need to take out her central line and replace it on her left side. This can not be happening!! we'll see today. I then went to Boston with the 2 possible donors on Thursday, we left around 4:30 in the morning and were at Children's hospital first thing for lots of testing. We will not know the results for about a week. Even with those results, they told us that it can change even the day of surgery that the potential donor could not work, so it is a weird numb feeling being in limbo so to speak. Everyone asks how we are doing and I really can't explain it, never before have we felt so powerless. I want to thank everyone for all their love and support. The fundraiser coming together for October 11th sounds like it is going to be a blast, I just wish we could be there. I want to remind everyone that registration for this event is not through Stratton, it is through Megan and Robin at Stratton rentals(802-297-3078)
you can also register online at www.firstgiving.com/bridgethegap . Hope everyone has a great fall weekend!!
Take care, love Megan and Mark

Hi everyone, it is getting closer. We have decided on one of our generous donors and moving forward with all the testing, we will be back and forth to Boston several times in the next 2 weeks, for all the same testing that I went through, and will know on Monday, the 5th of October. We actually have 3 appointments that day in Boston and are hoping that by the time we get back to Vermont will know the results. If all the tests come back good then we will turn around and come back on Wed the 7th of October for dialysis and then the next morning will have surgery at 7:30am at Children's in Boston. They told us to expect to be in the hospital for 4-5 days, so unfortunately we will not be able to be at the event, but will have many family and friends to help support this amazing young lady we have. I want to thank the National Kidney Foundation as well as Tracy Metzger for helping support us and setting up a website that has Bridgette's picture as well as blog site and even her 2008 first place lip sync video attached. You can reach this site at www.firstgiving.com/bridgethegap I also want to thank MaryBeth Hand for helping set up a page about Bridgette to all the doctors that we work with during the winter months. Thank you to Stratton Mountain for generously letting us help fund raise for Bridge at the Northface event on October the 11th. Thank you Michelle and Dave for donating all your time as well as all the Bridge The Gap t-shirts. Thank you Megan McMahon for coordinating and putting everything together with Stratton. Thank you Casey Apps and Hannah Giannoti for making the Bridge the Gap bracelets, they are so cool. Thank you to the Mountain School for continuously supporting our family. Thank you to Russell Sage College for the Dunk Tank!!! We have so many amazing friends/family!!! I know you know that I can not list them all, but please know that Mark and I love and greatly appreciate each and everyone of you.
Love, Megan and Mark

September 11, 2009

Hi everyone, just want to start out with a reflection and a remembrance of all those that were lost on this day in 2001. Mark and I, as I'm sure you all will never forget it. We finally have heard from Boston in an unoffical way. The chief nephrologist is in Korea and will be back this weekend and he gives the final ok, but it looks like the 3 other possible donors are all a match per the attending nephrologist. We are so very happy, but at the same time are not getting ourselves to excited because of what happened with me, we were so close and then got the rug taken out from under us, so we are moving forward with hope. We won't know offically until next week, and then the process starts of all the tests that need to be passsed and completed before the first surgery which is on the 8th of October. This surgery is to remove her native kidneys, and the transplant if all is well will happen on the 22nd of October. We have started the compute from school every M/W/F which is a little more draining than I thought. The time we leave school is 11:30am and it brings us back to Vermont around 6:40pm, which is hard, but with that glimmer of hope ahead, hopefully this will only be for 7 weeks. Bridge is still amazing and actually growing. We started the growth hormone shots, now I know they don't work that fast but she has actuall gone from 132 centimeters to 135 which we are excited about. When she actuall gets a kidney that works, look out!!!! Just wanted to let everyone know that Megan McMahon and her posse have done amazing work for the fund raiser they are putting together on the 11th of Ocotber in Stratton Mountain Vermont. The fund raiser is called "Bridge The Gap". They have worked with Stratton Mountain and attached this event onto another event(The Northface Challenge). You have to register before October 9th in order to be able to receive T-shirt. I will have this link hopefully by Monday the 14th. The most important thing to remember is that even though this event is at Stratton, it is not connected with them. We have to have our own registration form and checks have to be made out to The National Kidney Foundation/Bridgette Eichhorn Fund. If it doesn't state this than it will go to the National Kidney Foundation general fund. I also wanted to let everyone know that if they needed lodging, Stratton has deals right now at The Inn at Stratton for $79 and $99 dollar a night. The # is 1-800-Stratton. I will give everyone updates on Monday, have a great weekend and as Bridgette would say, "Be Safe"
Megan

September 1, 2009

Boston called last night about 6pm to let me know that they have pushed the transplant off until the 22nd of October. They also don't have a date for the first surgery but they think it will be around the 6/7/8/9 of October. They think that they won't have results from the new blood tests until September the 8th or 9th due to the upcoming holiday and they don't want to take Bridgette's kidneys out on the 10th since she is still making urine. They say that if they take them out and have no match then hemodialysis will be that much harder on her and her fluid intake as well as dietary intake will become much more strict. I have to look at it in a positive way, this way now she will be able to go to school for 1 month. She will go every M/W/F from 8:30-11:30, then we will drive to Albany for dialysis and on T/Th she will have full days in school, so in her mind this is better and she is happier now, and that's all I can ask for.
Enjoy the beautiful weather, Love Megan

August 31, 2009

I can't believe that summer is over, did we even have a summer? The news as of today, as we know it can change hourly, but as of right now at 9:30am we are waiting for Boston to send new blood vials too the 3 remaining that are a potential match for Bridge. They will have their blood drawn again and send it via fedx back to Boston. They are going to do the sensitive testing automatically so the potential donors do not have to go through all the testing that I went through. Once we know either yes or no we can go from there. If no one is a match than we either put it out there again or we put her on the waiting list. I don't know as far as school goes what will happen. It is day by day at this point. Even if we have a match we don't know if they will have enough time to get all of the appropriate tests that are needed done before the scheduled surgeries, so what does this mean? Do we get pushed to October since they reserve only 1 live transplant surgery a month, or does someone already have that slot since we orginially were in September. Does this mean then if she gets pushed back to Ocotober or November for the transplant will she have to wait for the first surgery or will that still be done next week? I just wish everything was in order, it is driving me crazy not knowing. Dialysis is going well and Bridgette is eating like a horse now, even though she is not gaining weight, hopefully she will have a growth spurt. That is a whole other subject. We saw the ped. ortho doctor and he wants to start growth hormone therapy, just waiting as usual to hear from Boston before I start administering that daily shot. Thanks again for all the support everyone. We love you guys.
Megan and Mark

Hi everybody, some bad news, Boston called and told me that I am not the match. Further testing that just became available the last 2 years showed that Bridgette has this antigen in her blood that they don't know where it came from, when mixed with mine, bridgette's body will eventualy reject it. They did repeat testing to make sure, but unfortunately the results came back where I am not the match. Prior to this new testing I would have been the match. I am absolutely devatasted. I can't believe this is happening. How much more can our family take? Bridge is beside herself. I quickly stopped crying and put a whole new spin on it, telling Bridgette that now I would be able to be with her when she went under and that I would be with her when she woke up. I also said that now I would be able to sleep in her room with her every night. This made her happy. We are supposed to have a conference call with Boston tommorrow about our options. So many questions, does this postpone the surgeries? I have no idea. We will hopefully find out as soon as possible if we are going to be able to stay on the targeted dates of the 10th for the first sugery and then the 24th for the transplant. I can't believe the road that God has taken us on, there has to be a reason why, but so far I don't know why. I don't know what else to say.
Megan

August 24th, 2009

Hi, we are in Boston today. We had to meet with the chief of nephrology, due to the fact that with more sensitive testing, they found an anitgen in Bridgette's blood that could possibly not work with mine. We came in today to discuss our options. They stated that before this test which became available 2 years, they would have automatically still gone with me as the donor, but this more sensitive test raises questions as to whether I am the perfect match for her. Bridge and I had to have blood drawn again today for even more sensitive testing, and this is either yes or no answer. We should know in about 1-2 days if I will continue on to be the donor. In the mean time I still had to meet with my adult nephrologist and they went over all my testing. They stated that they wanted to do an echocardiogram due to my chest xray showing a slighty enlarged aorta. They also wanted to due a fasting blood sugar as well as for me to monitor my blood pressure 2x a day for 1 week. My pressure is slighty high, 133/82 and they won't even consider me if they suspect high blood pressure. They want me in the 120/70 range instead. Bridgette just finished having spinal films and we are currently in dialysis, it is 12:35. We should finish around 3pm and then we go to meet with the pediatric ortho doctor to review her films and determine if she will start getting her growth hormone shots. Please everyone who reads this, pray extra hard these next couple of days to make sure that Bridge and I and all my tests come back + and that I am still the match, I don't know what we will do if I'm not, it will throw the transplant off if it doesn't work, so keep your fingers crossed.
Thank you,
Love Megan

August 19, 2009

Hi everbody, we are in Boston. We got here Tuesday and had 1 appointment for Bridge at the infectious disease doctor. Before this I dropped off all my"samples" to the lab and then had my blood drawn. At the infectious disease doctor, they went over all the things that Bridge should not eat or be exposed to after transplant, a common cold, etc. They also went over her immunizations as well as what shots they want before transplant. She will get 3 shots today and then 3 on Friday. We were at the hospital from about 10am to 3 pm. We then proceded to check into our hotel which was located about 7/10 of a mile from the hospital. We walked into our room and then quickly walked back out, it was gross. We then called the Marriot which was very close. We programmed it in to our navatigation system which then proceded to take us all through Boston, we got to the new hotel in 1 hour and it was literally a stone through from the old hotel. Needless to say we all had a drink after this one. Today is Wed and we had our first appointment at 7:45. It was called a VCUG test. This test involves inserting a catheter into bridgette and then filling her bladder with a warm solution and then under radiology can view if her kidneys have any reflux which they do. We saw the urologist after this and he informed us tht he wouldn't have to do surgery to have her native kidneys removed, that he could do it at the time of transplant. (All kidney patients that have reflux have to have surgery to remove there kidneys prior to transplant.) We were so happy because we thought that she would need surgery. Then we proceded to see the transplant surgeon about 1 hour later and he stated that he spoke with the urologist and he wants Bridgette to have surgery prior to transplant. He states that he doesn't want to have to think about anything else but transplant. He states that Bridgette will be under for about 6 hours and doesn't want to have her under any longer than that. Tentative date is set for the 10th of September, they can't get her in any sooner will call us if they can. Bridgette will be in the hospital for this procedure for 4-5 days and transplant will be for 2 weeks if no complications. We are so bummed, we got our hopes up to quickly after the urologist. We haven't told Bridge yet, we will when we get in the comforts of our home. She will be upset about missing school, not the surgery so much but school. We have another 1.5 hours until we are done with dialysis in Boston and then onward home, we should be back aroun 7pm tonight.
That is all for now
Megan and Mark

August 14, 2009

Can you believe that it is half way through August already, how quickly this summer went. Bridgette's eye exam with the retina specialist showed some scarring which they believe is old, possibly from a infection of some sort. Bridge's blood cultures came back with no growth which is good. We went back today for another test where they put in a iv and then injected her with dye, this was less tramatic this time but still cried. Tests came back with no active inflammation going on but did show some loss of pigment perpherially. This is unusual and haven't seen this before but so will be watching closely have to go back in 3 weeks and then probably every 3 -6 months to track it, eye sight isn't effected at this time, thank god. This Tuesday we go to Boston for testing for myself, I have to give blood again as well as have a 24hour urine and a urine analysis and culture as well as chest xray and ekg. My favorite part is going to be the stool sample to check for blood, Yeah!! Bridge sees the infectious disease doctor to make sure that she is up to date on all her shots as well as probably get flu and pneumo shots since she won't be able to receive them after transplant. Then our day is done. On Wed Bridge has a VCUG test which checks the flow of urine. If Bridge has back flow(reflux) and doctors forsee a problem she will have to have surgery the following week to have her native kidneys removed. This has to be done 3 weeks prior to transplant. She will be in the hospital 2-3 days for this. If things are normal than we will procede with transplant on the 24th of September. After this exam she then sees the urologist to discuss this and then we see the transplant surgeon at 11am. After this we have lunch and then dialysis at 1pm in boston and then back home. On Thursday I have a mammogram, Friday back to dialysis. Monday we have to be back in Boston for me, I have to meet with the adult nephrologist to see if I can continue to be the match, the only reason I wouldn't is if my testing came back negative. If this goes well then I have to have a ct angiogram of my kidneys and bladder then at 3:45 pm Bridgette sees the pediatric orthopaedic doctor to check her scolosis that they discovered. They want to start growth hormone on Bridge before transplant and they need to measure the severity before they can decided if they can give it to her or not. This would be a daily shot subcutaneous. Then I think we are all done until the 24th of September. Bridge starts school on Tuesday the 8th of September. Bridgette will still get dialysis but we are moving it to 1:30pm instead of the morning so Bridgette will be able to go to school on M/W/F from 8:30-11:30 then drive to NY and have dilaysis. She will have a full day on Tues/Thursday. Once transplant happens she will be out of school probably 6-8 weeks. After transplant she will have to go to Boston 2x week, we'll figure out how we are going to go about school. I forgot, we met with the National Kidney Foundation the other day and they gave us information on how to go about raising funds for Bridgette. They told us it would go through their tax ID # so that if corporations , friends or family want to help donate it woud be tax deductible for them. The main point that needs to be addressed is that when making out checks it has to be payable to the National Kidney Foundation and specifically stating for Bridgette Eichhorn or it will go to the Kidney Foundation general fund and not to Bridge. Thank you Tracey for setting up this meeting, I know this was a labored process. Thank you to everyone for all there help with the fund raising, Megan,Michelle,Robin, Keelin, Casey, Brittany, Debbie. Thank you Murph for the latest fund raising efforts, I am amazed. Thank you everyone for all the donations for the silent auction, Megan McMahon has told us some of the generous things already donated. It really is a labor of love with all of this going on and with friends and family like we have we feel truly blessed!!!
Love, Megan and Mark

August 8th, 2009

Hi guys, Bridge had her two appointments on Friday after dialysis, her audiology(hearing) appointment, that was perfect, then her opthamology(eyes) apointment and that went horrible. They found scarring in Bridgette's eyes and they don't know what it is from. They think it might possibly be a blood infection. We were sent back to the hospital for blood cultures to be drawn, which was a treat with the needles, bridgette was beside herself. We have to wait 5-7 days for results. We spent the entire day from 8am to 7pm going to the hospital then doctors then back to hospital, it was not fun. We have to go see a retina specialist for her eyes on Monday after dialysis to hopefully tell us what it is and what the cause of it is. Her vision is good enough at this point that she doesn't need glasses, but what this scarring is they have no idea. If blood cultures come back positive, I believe that she will have to be admitted to the hospital for iv antibotic theray, usually this is a week, but hopefully I am wrong. I don't know what this means as far as the transplant goes either, will it be post poned?, I'm not sure. We are supposed to go to Boston next week for most of are testing, let's just hope we still can. We are currently at the lake as usual just hanging out with family and friends. I tell ya, I miss home and the normalacy of everyday life and work, if it wasn't for Bridge being so brave, I think I would just be about ready to freak out!! Thank god it isn't raining everyday anymore. Thanks again for all the prayers, love and support.
Megan

August 5, 2009

Hi everybody, it finally is offical, I am the match. Boston called today and told me that there were 4 canidates and that in the end, I, the mom was the match. yeah!!!!!!!! I am so nervous but yet so excited. Thank you to all that donated your blood the first time around, and thank you to all that were waiting in the wings, it has meant so much to Mark and I. On the 18th and 19th Bridge and I have to be in Boston for series testing, if everything goes ok then the date for the transplant is the 24th of September. If one of the test doesn't go according to plan than Bridge needs to have her kidneys removed a week after the 18th testing, then she can procede with the 24th transplant. It is so involved, usually they leave in the kidneys in, but if it is a stutural problem with the kidneys, they need to do surgery 3-4 weeks prior and then procede with the transplant. I am so happy but yet so nervous. It is a catch 22 having a little knowledge, I sometimes wish I wasn't a nurse but I am, so , my girls, I'm gonna need help!!!
I will keep everyone updated, thank you so much for all the support tonight, I mean really out of the woodwork people started calling, how did you know? I was at the lake and only spoke with a handful, but everyone seemed to know. Love and thanks to all, Megan
p.s. Bridge and I and Leigh, Miles, Jenny, Daddy and Matthew are going to High School producgtion tommorrow in Washington Park, OMG!!!
Love, Megan

August 5th 2009

I cant believe it has been over a month already since this all began. We are still waiting on Boston to find out the results if there is a match or not. The unoffical MRI report came back negative,no tumor, but the doctor hasn't told this to us yet, this has just been read by the nurse, which we all know are the real doctors, thank god for the good nurses's. Bridgette has been doing really well with dialysis, less tired feeling and more energetic. Bridgette's potassium restrictions are still removed because her levels are still low, so Bridge is thrilled, she gets to eat, potatoes, ketchup, avacados, bananas, etc. Want to send a hugh thank you to all the friends and family that have sent so many wonderful wishes and gifts to our family. We feel so lucky!!!! We also want to send hugh thank you to everyone working on the unbelievable fund raiser/trust that is going to be happening I am told on the 11th of October for Bridgette. I know it is not easy organizing and getting all this done, we know that everyone has there own lifes to live, we just want you to know that we are incredibly touched by all this support. I will wright a new blog the minute I find out about Boston and or any new results. Big day on Friday with dialysis and 2 doctor's appointments, keep your fingrs crossed that Boston lets us know sooner than later.
Love to all,
Megan and Mark

July 29th 2009

Wow!! What a whirlwind day yesterday. We drove to Auburn Mass on Monday afternoon to my girlfriend Michelle's house, where she was the greatest hostess, with an 11 month old I might add. My mother-in-law flew in from Virginia Beach, so it was the the 5 of us including my girlfriend who knows the city of Boston very well that went to Children's. The hospital is amazing. It looks like a hands on children's musuem. It really is beautiful and exceptionally clean. Everyone we encontered from the door man to the front desk people, to the cafertia staff and especially all the members involved with the transplant program were all so nice!! We were all very impressed, it was almost like it wasn't real, but it was. The day started off with the ususal check, height, weight, urine and a quick physical exam. We then had a 45 minute break before we sat down with the whole team and spoke about how this whole process works. It looks like Bridgette will not be put on a transplant list only because we have 9 possible donors including Mark and I. They state that a live transplant is beter than a deceased donor, so they will explore the possibilities of these donors first. If none of us are a match then they would put her on the list which they state is fast tracked. They told us a story of a child who left the hospital only to be called back in 12 hours due to a kidney match. This is an unusual case they said but usually once on the list it could go fairly quickly, like 2-5 months. Bridgette needs a series of evaluations before being able to receive a kidney. She needs to have a hearing and eye test which will be done in Albany. They both have been scheduled already for the 7th of August. Bridgette has had a xray already of her chest and spine so they are being faxed over from SVMC in Bennington to Boston for a pediatric ortho doctor to read. Bridgette will need the rest of her testing done in Boston, she will have a full urology work-up which will be checking her kidneys and bladder and all the parts that connect each other to make sure that there is no structural damage. They stated that usually with transplant they leave the old kidneys in the body but if they have some structural damage then she would need surgery 3 weeks prior to having her transplant to remove the old kidneys. They stated the length of stay in the hospital would probably be 2-3 days depending if there were any complications. Bridgette also needs an infectious disease consult to make sure she is up to date on all immunizations as well as any needed shots to be given before transplant. All dental records of the last 3 years were also sent to Boston, they are extremely thorough. Today the 29th she had a MRI of her brain before dialysis to check her pituary gland for a possible tumor, keep your fingers crossed!! One thing that I can't believe through all of this or maybe I should actually say I can believe it, what an amazing child Bridgette is. She breaks down everyone once in a while but it lasts about 1 minute and then composses herself and states "I"m sorry mom, how are you and daddy feeling?" Is Matthew going to be alright with all of this? What an amazing child. Bridge found out that she would miss some school and this sent her into a tizzy, not the fact that she will be going through all this testing and surgery, but that she will be missing school. I assured her that I would have Matthew send her all her school work home to her, and this made her feel better and that was that. Thank you everyone for all the love and support, I really can't say this enough. Mark and I really are so appreciative that words cannot express it. I will keep this updated as much as possible, love to everyone
Megan and Mark

July 24, 2009

Hi everybody, dialysis is going well today, but we got a surprise when we came in. The endocronologist wants a MRI of Bridgette's brain, so we will hopefully be able to get that today. The doctor wants to see if she has a tumor on her pituary gland, her reason is because of the kidney disease and short stature combination. Hopefully there is no tumor or if there is one, it will be the kind that doesn't need to be treated. Unable to get an appointment with a pediatric orthopaedic doctor until the 15th of October, so they are trying to set up one when we go to Boston on the 28th. She needs to see this doctor about the degree of her scolosis. They want to start a growth hormone immediately which is common with renal failure, and they need to monitor this because the scolosis could possibly worsen with this medication. I believe everyone who is being tested has there kits already from Boston. Labs need to be drawn first thing Monday morning the 27th and then overnighted to Children's in Boston. If anyone hasn't received there kits, please call me. Bridgette wants to let everyone know that she is "hanging in there" and that she thanks everyone for all the love and support.
Thanks again, Love Megan and Mark

July 22

Hi everybody! Bridgette is doing great. We are still having treatments every M/W/F. About 1/2 way through the treatments Bridge feels like she is going to be sick, but doesn't actually, so they are slowing up on the amount of fluid they are pulling off of her. She is still making urine so this is a very good thing since anything she puts out I can add to her daily intake. Bridge just went to a Pediatric endocronologist. These doctors deal with metabolism( thyroid, pancreas, growth, etc.) Bridgette is short in stature, so they want to start giving her daily growth hormone injections. They state that one of the side affects of end stage renal failure is short stature, but won't start this until after they talk with Boston. If we find a match they will wait until after the transplant takes place, if we don't find a match then they will begin. It will be a daily injection into her stomach. When Bridgette had an xray of her chest at her well visit they also discovered that she has developed scolosis. With the growth hormone shots this most likely, but not always, will worsen the scolosis, so she has to now go see a pediatric orthopaedic doctor to measure how severe the scolosis is. That is a whole other story, because with this they could possibly have to put rods in her back to correct it, but I'm not even going there at this point, hopefully a brace will be the answer. Bridgette and I our at the lake mostly, only back in VT 1 day a week. We want to thank everyone again for all the love and support that has been given to our family. We also want to thank everyone for organizing the benefit that is coming together for Bridge. It is very hard for Mark and I to ask for help, we are so used to making sure that everything is just right for everyone else and that our friends and family feel comfortable when they are with us. It is very out of the ordinary to need help and to except the help, but from the bottom of our hearts we are greatly moved and touched by all the love and support.
With much love,
Mark and Megan

July 15, 2009
Good Afternoon, we are so thrilled with all the love and support, from the phone calls to the flowers and gifts to the hugs and kisses to the emails and comments on the blog, we are so blessed to have so many friends and family!! Mark and I as well as Bridge and Matthew thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts.
Love,Megan
P.S. If it is easier to contact us, our email is aiko82893@yahoo.com

July 13th, 2009





Hi everybody, Bridge had a good day in dialysis, lab values are still really off, so she is getting added juice so to speak to her dialysis treatment. Her dietary restrictions were somewhat lifted today, meaning she can have more potassium and sodium in her diet, will do a recheck of labs on Wes. Boston called today and told me that if anyone is interested in having there blood drawn to see if the are a match for the first part of testing, I would need to get information like, names, demographics and ss# only because they have run into people from all over the country who occasionally have the same name and birthdate. I was told after I collected the information and they entered it, a package would be sent I think to the individuals home . They are asking for people interested in seeing if they are a doner to take this package and go have labs drawn on the 27th of this month, they then would be overnighted free of charge by Fed X to Boston. Our appointment is the 28th for Boston. At this time they will check Mark and I to see if we can be donors and review the results of the other lab tests. As most of you know Bridge unfortuantely will need probably 2-3 transplants in her life time. We do not know if either Mark or I wil be a match, so we are trying to broadend the field as wide as possible.
Thanks again for all the support!!!
Love Megan and Mark

July 10, 2009

Good morning, Bridgette had the iv dye check in her dual lumen cath due to pain, everything came back negative. The problem was the sutures attached to her cath and into her skin, they snipped these off and put a new lock so the cath won't slip out. Bridge is much happier with this. Dialysis is going fine this am but is very weepy due to the fact that Miss Tish couldn't sleep until noon, we were at the Medical center at 7:10am, she'll eventually get used to the early mornings. We will be at the lake for the whole weekend and back on Monday to Albany. Have a great weekend!!
Megan

July 9th 2009

Hi everyone,
As most of you know already, Brigette had a routine doctor's visit on the first of July. I had been noticing that Bridge was paler than usual and not eating or going the bathroom as much. When I got to the doctor's office, I asked if certain type of labs could be drawn on her, thinking that most likely she was just slighty anemic, and to Mark and my surprise it was so much more. Bridgette is in End Stage Renal Failure. So far from what I understand, there are 5 stages with 1 being the least, she is stage 5. Bridgette was immediately sent to Albany Medical Center where she had minor surgery to implant a central line to receive her dialysis. We were in the pediatric ICU for 3 days and then released to have outpatient dialysis every mon/wes/fri. We had a date on the 14th of July at Children's hospital in Boston, but then quickly got a call back from the coordinator stating that the doctor thought that her lab work still wasn't good enough so we are now scheduled for the 28th. In the meantime, like I said she is having treatments 3x a week. She has been having pain with the manipulation of the dual lumen central line, so they think that she might have a clot, they did an ultrasound on Wes but that was negative, they are doing another test this Friday morning before her dialysis at 7:30. Bridge is also now on a special diet, limiting potassium/sodium/phorporus. She is also on a fluid restriction to 1 liter a day only. Mark and I have to measure everything going in and everything going out of her body, so if she voids 200ml, we can add that to her intact that day, etc. Menus have to be created due to the dietary restrictions now and strictly adhered to. We are praying that Mark and I will be a match when it comes down to testing, but the dialysis nurse informed us that kidney transplants last only 10-20 years at the max, so she will most likely need 2, possibly 3 in her lifetime since she is so young. Bridge has been a trooper through all of this, she is scared but is actually braver than Mark and I, she is definetly our teacher. I want to thank everyone for all there love and support which has been absolutely amazing. Bridgette is a special girl that has touched many hearts and I am so proud to be her mom. I will give updates now that I am back online.
Thanks so much and love to all, Megan&Mark
P.S. Matthew has been such a good boy through all of this, I am so proud of him. Bridgette still states that the best thing since this has happened is the dog Matthew got for her while in the hospital, she brings it everywhere with her and lets everyone know that her "brother" gave it to her.