Potential donor views removal of tumerous dog kidney

I thought I'd share this email that my sis-in-law sent me about a surgery my brother did recently. KD, my sister-in-law is the office manager at the vet clinic they own. Syd is my 10 year old niece and Alex is my 14 year old nephew.

My brother does quite a few very tricky last ditch surgeries and is very good at what he does. NO, he's not involved in our transplant surgery plans.

Jim was surrounded by small sharks today while fishing. It was a gorgeous day, and quite calm on the ocean. A fun day for him. I got my pee jug in and had no trouble with the blood draw. I found a private lab that takes self pay and I saved a ton over my health care center. It was kind of fun. They will send me the results as well as to Julie. We are busy beyond belief at work and can hardly get it all done…nice problem to have in a recession. I did not get to eat today. Jim will be in surgery all day. Last Monday he took a tumor laden kidney out of a dog! It was high drama and really scientifically fun for all. Touch and go for sure, as the kidney was so large and wrapped around the vena cava. The owners kept telling us by phone to press on….delicate but they had faith. Jim was expert…and got the timorous organ out….Kelly was reading in a book to all of us in the OR exactly how to disengage a kidney..fascinating to me in particular. I watched with awe. The boxer lived and when I left she was snoring..it was a remarkable and emotional day. The owners sent us the most beautiful card and dozen roses. They were stunned by the team work and Jim’s expertise. It was A great day to be in this business. Syd had her reading level done and was embarrassed that it was up to a 12.6 grade level. The kids made fun of her and I had to talk to her about how to deal with it. I was proud of her. She is nervous about the kidney transplant and we talk all the time about the actual risks and the scary idea of it. She wants you to get well so badly, but she is kind of tortured by the thought of me being at risk. She is way too smart and I cannot lie to her. I keep it relaxed and it is going to be fine, but she is very on the ball. Alex is in honors everything accept English. I got onto him and the teacher put him in the honors class. Now he is where he should be. He is playing soccer also. Everyone is fine. We will know about Gustav soon. Talk to you later. Enjoy Montreal!!! Love, KD