WE GOT THE CALL!!

It's happened, Shawn got a double transplant!!!! We got the call Sunday evening @ 7:55 from Baylor in Dallas. We were down there by midnight and had a night full of tests. By morning his family arrived and we waited for last minute tests on Shawn and the donated organs. His surgery started at 1:44 pm on Monday December 13, 2010 and was expected to last around 6 hours but he was out of surgery at 6:30pm. He was in tremendous pain right after he woke up which was expected, and was in ICU til Wednesday evening. So far so good, his kidney produced 10 liters of urine the first 24 hours, and his pancreas his keeping his blood sugars under 160 so far. He has been talking since the first night and has been alert and is really looking good. This all seems like a dream and i don't know if I have even absorbed everything, it just happened so fast. He was on the donor list for month!!

I am so thankful to the donor's family for giving the gift of life to my husband Shawn, there are no words that can express the gratitude we feel for them and many thoughts and prayers to his family. We do know that the donor was a 20 year old male from the Beaumont, TX area that was in a car accident and suffered head trauma. I am pretty sure I found out who the young man was by doing some research online it has been very emotional finding out things about him. I have many posts from the past 3 days on my facebook page if you would like to read up on the details.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind thoughts and prayers as our family goes through this life changing experience. This is going to be the BEST Christmas EVER!!!!!

Felicia Hull

Finally!!!

Last Monday we received good news!! We were notified that Shawn was put on the Transplant list to receive a Pancreas and Kidney. We are so happy and can't wait til we get the "Call". It took all this time to complete the pre-transplant testing and the commitee met and approved his case. The only other set back is that the pre- transplant coordinator from Baylor called and said that Shawn's insurance will only approve him to get the procedure done in Dallas and not in Fort Worth. So that cuts his chance in half. Since there is 2 organ banks, one in Dallas and the other in Fort Worth, he won't even be considered in the Ft. Worth bank because it is out of network according to his insurance. We still need to write down our questions and call the Coordinator back and get clarification on this further.
But we are staying positive and flowing with our routine week by week. Everytime Shawn's phone rings my heart skips a beat, because I know we can get the call any time of day and night and we just can't wait. My heart aches for the day where my husband will no longer be sick and can live a normal life with just a memory of the days when he was so sick.

Felicia Hull

Shawn has been feeling pretty darn good the last couple of days!! He has had more energy before, after, and in between his dialysis treatments. We are waiting on a letter from the Transplant facility in Dallas to set up his testing to find a donor. Everything is finally coming together for us in regards of financial, insurance,and treatment. I am so thankful!!

Sorry I haven't wrote in a while...so much has happened in the last month!! Shawn was admitted in the hospital on May 24, 2010 because he had shortness of breath, and we found out he was in fluid overload. They started dialysis treatments in the hospital for 3 days before they let him go home. He was a changed man, from his looks to his energy level. I had almost forgot how his face and skinny legs looked before all the swelling. Then that following Monday he started his treatments at the dialysis center in Denton. The first week was good, he had early appointments and they started off slow and he felt really good. His appetite came back, and his energy was awesome, he was just ready to go go go.

Now this week is completely different and I am sure it will continue to be up and down. They changed his schedule to 4:30 in the afternoon and we are don't home til 10:00pm. I think on Monday they took too much off. He was very swollen from the weekend and they took off 4.5 kilos which is 9 lbs., and he experienced leg cramps and started vomiting his last hour of treatment and continued to after we got home. He had no energy tuesday and wednesday and vomited again Wednesday night after treatment. He has complained of terrible headaches every day too, probably a combination of his blood pressure being high and the treatment.

It is so hard to see him go through this and know that you can't make him feel better. I have tried to avoid waiting in the waiting area at the center b/c the patients are so depressed and just plain tired of going through this, and it just gets you down. I don't want him to end up feeling that way at all, he has to stay here on this earth for many reasons including his son Landon and I. We love him sooooooooo much and I pray for him every day to feel better!!

Well Shawn is still not doing very good. He has been in bed all week with no appetite and vomiting. We had an appointment with his surgeon yesterday and he cleared him for dialysis, and next friday we see his kidney doctor. Tomorrow I am gonna try very hard to get Shawn up and out of the house, we have to get Mother Day's cards and gifts for my cousins baby shower this weekend. Wish us luck!

Well yesterday Shawn got out of the house, he went to Winstar with his parents for a while, then watched the Kentucky Derby, and last night he went out to eat with his parents. Landon and I went to Lawton, OK to visit my mom and sister, so I made sure Shawn wasn't going to be by himself all day.

And today he isn't feeling very well. He is SOOO swollen all the way up to his face. His feet and legs are like 3 times bigger than normal and he says it's pretty painful. He has been vomiting today and his blood sugar is way high, in the 400's. I am hoping the Doctor will start dialysis or something very soon, I don't know how much longer he can be like this. It's very sad to watch him go through this knowing that I can't fix him even though I wish I could.

We have an appointment with his surgeon on Tuesday and kidney doctor on Friday, so maybe between both of them they will do something for Shawn soon.

Felicia Hull

Auction and Fish Fry for Shawn Hull

Well we have finally booked a band to play @ Shawn's benefit and we are sooo excited! So Robby White and his band have confirmed to play for us.

So come and out and bring your family and friends to the VFW in Gainesville, TX on May 29, 2010 to enjoy a night of fun, great food, an auction, and live music, all for a good cause! Hope to see you there!!

Felicia Hull

Update on Shawn: He was admitted to the hospital last week to start dialysis, but after many tests they found out he had pneumonia in both lungs. He underwent many tests and was given high powered antibiotics and was released Sunday night. The doctor advised him to try to stay active, but it is very hard for him because he feels so bad and has no energy. He can barely play our precious baby boy Landon. Every day is a battle for Shawn to keep on going, but if I have anything to do with it, HE WILL, because we love him so much!!

We are now trying to plan our Fish Fry/Auction for Shawn to raise money to help with his medical expenses. For instance, today we went to pick up a new prescription that is a Phosporus binding pill for end stage kidney failure and it was $50 with insurance, we were shocked to find out that it is $700 without insurance, but he needed it. And even though we do have insurance at this time, expenses really do build up with co-pays, medication, transportation and procedures the insurance does not cover.

Felicia Hull

Fish Fry and Auction for Shawn!!

Shawn had another surgery on his arm last week. It was on his fistula to get him ready for dialysis. The doctor said he will probably start dialysis in 2 weeks. I am kind of glad because he's been so sick lately I just don't know how much longer his body can wait. He has been so swollen with fluid that his face is unrecognizable every morning until he gets up and around. His blood sugar has dropped every day for the past 2 weeks and it's very scary trying to help him get it back up quickly enough. We discussed that with his doctor today and he dropped the amount of insulin he takes. Tomorrow we are planning to go to a flea market and get out of the house, I hope Shawn feels up to it. I think it will do him good if he has the energy to go. I will go for now. I will update later.

Felicia Hull

GARAGE SALE WAS A HUGE HIT!!!

The garage sale we had over the weekend was a huge hit. It is very good to see the huge hearts some people really do have. All of the preceeds were split 50/50 between Shawn and Baby Jack. I know these boys have a lot of medical expenses that has been adding up and now they have a little bit of money to take care of some of those. I really do appreciate the kindness in the people that stopped by and bought a few things and especially the family members and friends that worked SOOOO hard all weekend on very little sleep. We could not have done it without ya'll!!!

Love ya'll very much,
Felicia Hull

KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS HAVE COME SO FAR

Yesterday I was watching the show" Doctors" and they said that kidney transplantation have come so far and really aren't a big deal as far as risk. And that gallbladder surgery is 6% riskier than kidney transplants. Very interesting!!

Shawn doesn't feel very good today. He's very swollen and has no energy. We have been visiting with his brothers and we both got our hair cut. Tomorrow we have a busy day getting ready for the big garage sale!! Wish us luck!!!

Felicia Hull

Benefit Garage Sale !!!!

March 27-28, 2010 @

2401 Jolinda Ln. Whitesboro, TX 76273

Benefit for Shawn Hull who is in kidney failure and is on the transplant list and Baby Jack Morton who is 2 years old and was recently diagnosed with Neuroblastoma cancer.

Donations are being accepted!! Hot dogs and cold drinks will be available and a bounce house for the kids!!

Hi ya'll! Welcome to Shawn's page. I am Felicia, Shawn's wife, and let me tell you a little bit about him. He is thirty three years old and has had Diabetes since he was 16 years old, which has caused so many other health problems for him. Now he's in kidney failure and needs a kidney and pancreas transplant, but the kidney is the most important. He is a loving husband, and proud father to our precious little boy Landon who is 6 months old. We have to get Shawn better so he can be here to see our little man grow up. Shawn loves music, mainly Texas Red Dirt bands and we both enjoy going to concerts and festivals and listening to music. You can say Landon likes it too since we went to several concerts while I was pregnant and Landon danced in my belly.

Everything is starting to come together now that Shawn is undergoing the testing at the transplant center and hopefully we find a match. Cross your fingers! It's been hard let me tell you, even though we have health insurance, all the medication and copays really add up and even the gas to make the doctor appointments several times a week. Dialysis is in the near future for Shawn also. With the support from family and friends we are staying strong and we are gonna make it through. There is some family members that are willing to donate and they will be undergoing testing pretty soon. I am so glad that things are starting to happen now with the transplant facility and we actually have things rolling.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and may God Bless You.