Update on Walker and family

Greetings 

Overall we can say that Walker continues to do well making small strides everyday towards a more balanced life. This transplant life is of course very interesting to say the least. It seems the roller coaster continues but with smaller vertical drops if you will. While it is true that he continues to get stronger, there have been some large pot holes on the road to recovery. For example, about 3 weeks ago, Walker was throwing up so badly due to a brand of rejection med that needed to be changed but couldn’t get it when needed, that he become so dangerously dehydrated to prompt Candy take him to Advent Health emergency room the Sunday before the hurricane. They admitted him and kept him till Wednesday am then Candy had to drive him to the Mayo Clinic emergency room in Jax where they determined he was fine from fluid replacement and sent them home after a few test. They raced home late afternoon Wednesday as the hurricane was blowing into town, thankfully few cars on the road as the car whipped back and forth from the high winds. 

Monday October 10th was Walker six month review, so he and Candy went to Mayo in Jax for a full day of testing. Everything looked good and was a thumbs up except an X-ray showed a small area of pneumothorax (collapsed lung) so they took a biopsy. His main doctor, Dr. Alvarez, said he looked at it and was not concerned. But they still wanted him to return to Mayo on Wednesday the 19th to take a closer look. So, Walker left early am and on they way they called him from Mayo and said it was ok and he did not have to come back, that he could get some test done at AdventHealth instead. Later that morning his doc got the results back from the lung biopsy and he immediately called Walker telling him that he is in A2 rejection. So, they caught it early as there are 4 stages of rejection with 4 being the worst. 

I learned about in a text from Candy that morning and, even though I know it will all work out, it still knocks the wind out of you. I was working to repair some laptops that day and found myself privately crying for Walker. And it dawned on me that now I understand the title of the 80’s band “ Tears for Fears”. Walker was told to immediately report to AdventHealth orlando on that day to start a very high dose steroid treatment program. He told me he was scarred but he doesn’t show it to others, in fact he got several compliments from staff at AdventHealth about what a great attitude he has having gone through so much. By this past weekend he was feeling much better. He has an appointment Nov 9th at Mayo to review his situation. Hopefully, prayerfully it will be better.

Candy and I have had the chance to getaway a little bit this month albeit separately to spend time with friends new and old. As Walker gets stronger, We in turn are growing more confident in stretching our wings again seeking to improve our lives both professionally and privately. Both of us are available and eager to speak about our experience if you know of a group like a school, civic club, or local community center that may like to hear in more detail about our story of Vaping gone very bad that become a miracle of modern science through a successful  triple organ transplant surgery. And we have seen very positive personal growth in recent months for Walker as well, he is one tough young man that is for sure. 

Even though this has been a very hard journey for us all, especially Walker, and the road is winding with many more ups and downs, we rest assured that our Lord will complete the good works that he has fashioned in us through this trial. We continue to March towards the victory that is ours to claim through our unwavering faith in him that loves us beyond our understanding. Please pray for Walker that his body will continue to successfully fight off this rejection as we know it has already and pray for strength and peace for his Mom, especially, and his Dad. We have survived and thrived through these years due to you our Christian community that prays for us and has given to us much.

God Bless you all

The McKnights

PS….I want to take a minute to champion Walkers Transplant Recovery Fund to all that feel led to contribute. Our goal is to raise a substantial amount of money for Walker to help him go after some of his dreams and experience life to the fullest. He still has many medical bills for his future of course but just as important is his ability to regain his independence to be able to venture out on his own someday and these funds will help him to do that. So, if your moved by a spirit of generosity to help Walker please visit www.givetaxfree.org/Walker Thank you very much. And please remember to share our story with your network. Dave