What's really going on?

Okay, it's about time I said something on here about everything that's happened since my last post, which was a few hours before going to the hospital for surgery.

I guess I'll start that Tuesday morning and work my way forward.

Tuesday, July 9th. We had to be at the hospital in Sacramento at 6:30 AM so we got up pretty early. Parker and I couldn't eat or drink anything of course.  We made it to UC Davis Medical Center on time and signed in at the desk.  The nurse took Parker back to pre-op before we even sat down.  My parents, Julian, and I waited about an hour before we were able to go back to see Parker. We were able to talk to him for a few minutes before they came to get him for surgery at 8:30 on the dot. I had actually looked up at the clock right as it hit 8:30 and when it did, they said it was time to go. We went back to the lobby for a bit before I was called back to start my pre-op.  Several different doctors and nurses asked me the same questions. The surgeon that was going to do the procedure, Dr. Krishnan, talked to me.  I had an IV put in my hand, and the anesthesiologist discussed his side of the surgery.  Then we waited, and waited, and waited... and waited. I was told 20 to 40 minutes over and over.  They finally were ready for me to go back to surgery at 1:30 PM. I remember the nurse telling me they were ready to go, and by the time they were moving the bed, I was asleep.  My parents said that Parker came out to recovery within 5 or 10 minutes of me going to surgery.  They weren't able to see him for an hour or so though. My surgery took about 7 hours. Parker was taken up to a room in the transplant ward on the 8th floor just after I woke up in recovery.  Since it was so late, they kept me in the recovery area overnight.  Both surgeries went very well. 

The next morning/afternoon I was moved up to the Transplant ward, 2 rooms away from Parker. We were put in separate rooms because if one brother is having a harder time recovering or is in pain, the other one usually worries or something to that effect and doesn't recover as well or as quickly either.  A friend of mine said it's to stop pillow fights also. By the time I'm alert enough to realize what's really going on, Parker's walking into the room, slowly and unsteadily of course, but he's up on his feet and moving around, which is very good.  I was still quite out of it because of all the meds from surgery.  I couldn't sleep either because all the nurses kept coming into my room and messing with me. One of the worst examples of this would be at 3:30 AM each morning when they would come in, make me get up (I could barely move as it is), and take my weight. At 3:30! Isn't it early enough when blood work is done at 6:30? Oh well. During the first day and a half or so, you couldn't touch anywhere on the bed without my side going into severe cramps/spasms around the incision.  It was rough. The nurses would say "But I haven't even touched you!" and I said that I know but it's just that sensitive.  The surgeon had to cut through nerves and lots of muscle to get to where they needed and that's what causes the cramping/spasming. I started feeling much better Thursday, the second day after surgery. Parker came into the room 3 or 4 times.  The nurses wanted me to get up and walk around on Wednesday but I just wasn't ready yet. I was able to on Thursday, just not as much as Parker yet. Parker actually got to go home on Thursday. Wow, that seemed very quick, but he was certainly ready! Our mom was running back and forth between our two rooms all the time.  I was really glad Parker was being able to go home. Hopefully he could get some much needed rest. The doctors came to talk to me at various times, all saying that everything looked like it was going very well. My numbers were improving already. I talked to the pharmacist and dietician several times also.

Friday morning held an early surprise as I was told I was probably going home sometime that day.  Honestly, I wasn't very keen on the idea of going home whatsoever.  I was still in a good amount of pain, and it had really only been a short bit of time since a very major surgery. It was Friday and morning and the surgery was Tuesday afternoon/evening.  I had been told I would be staying in the hospital a minimum of 5 days, and here it hasn't even been 3 yet and they're talking about me going home. Wow. I would really like to be home, but I wanted to make sure that everything was perfectly well and as it was supposed to be. I didn't feel like I was ready to go..  They assured me that everything was excellent and that I was doing great.  I was finally allowed to eat solid food that day, that was nice.  Later in the afternoon, the nurse on duty told me that they were highly considering giving me a blood transfusion since my blood count was 7.7, which is low.  With everything I've been through the past almost 3 years, everyone had always been very steadfast against blood transfusion as it messes with the numbers for transplant, antibodies and everything dealing with that. Therefore, I was very set against having a transfusion.  I asked to speak to the surgeon and found out he was in the OR. The nurse said that they could send the blood back, wait for the doctor, and also recheck my blood cell count. The nurse drew blood from a small poke in my arm and sent it off for testing. While I was waiting for the results to come back, I had to get out of the room. I was just alsdf;laj;sdlfalsdjakld;lajsdl;alfd. I ended up walking around the transplant ward block 8 times. The most I had been around before had been 3 or 4.  Luckily, the social worker that I had been dealing with at the transplant center for the past 3 years was at the nurse's station.  I let her know what was going on, what I was nervous/worried about, etc.  She listened and helped explain things more clearly. Shortly after returning to the room, the blood work results were back.  There wasn't a need for a transfusion. My count was 8.6 instead of 7.7.  They had taken the previous sample from the central line in my neck, which probably threw the reading off a bit. Whew.  I spent the rest of the day talking to doctors, nurses, the pharmacist, the dietician, and any other person that would have anything to do with me.  I finally was discharged late Friday night and made it home 5 minutes before midnight. Talk about a long, stressful day.

After reading all that, it sounds like I had an awful time in the hospital. That's definitely not true. The hospital was actually very nice.  Everyone on staff, nurses, residents, doctors, nurses, pharmacists,etc. were all extremely professional and everyone double checked each other and made sure I knew what was going on, what I needed to do, and that I understood everything.  I had things explained to me a thousand times before I left. It felt like everyone knew what they were doing and did their very best.  I couldn't have asked for more. Okay, I admit, the food could certainly have been better lol.
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Home.

It was so nice to be home, even if it was only 3 days in the hospital. Eating real food that tastes good and being able to sleep without being interrupted all the time is great.  I was still in a lot of pain for a few days. I didn't really feel like doing anything but lying in the recliner and trying to sleep.  I worried quite a bit as I still felt like I might have been sent home too soon and didn't know how I should feel exactly with the different aches and pains.

I have blood work twice a week to follow everything and make sure my numbers are on track and where they're supposed to be. My first "clinic" meeting/checkup was on Tuesday, 1 week after the surgery.  I met with the pharmacist to double check everything was going well with all the meds I was supposed to take and to make sure I understood everything involved with that. I have a huge amount of medicine to take right now, it'll taper off around 3 months, and then probably further around 6 months until I probably get down to 2. Not bad. Next, I talked to a social worker who asked how I was feeling and got an idea of how I was handling everything, making sure I was dealing with it well. The doctor was next, he went over all the numbers from the blood work with me, checked me out, making sure everything was progressing as it should be and that I was in good condition. The dietician spoke with me last, going over the adjustments to my diet I could make and describing how things would get better with that week by week. Each of these people were very encouraging and gave extremely great reports on how I was doing. My numbers all looked amazing and will continue to improve for the next few months. After this set of meetings, I took a huge breath of relief, as I didn't really have anything to worry about and everything was going well. I definitely needed this. I could finally relax and be more at ease.

Over the next week, I noticed major improvements every day. I felt better, have been able to sit up more, felt like doing more, have been able to move around better, etc.  The transplant staff say things should continue to improve like this for months. That's pretty exciting.

I had my two week checkup today. This time I only saw a doctor. He went over all the numbers with me. Everything is still great and still improving. Awesome. The doctor also said I can expand my diet a little bit since the numbers are improving. When I got home today, I had my first piece of "allowed" chocolate I've had in almost 3 years. Mmmmmm, so good.

Parker is doing well. He actually went back to his apartment a couple of days ago.  He's been walking around a bunch. He's still a little slower than normal, but recovering very quickly. He's here at home tonight visiting and resting.

Well, it's done. I've had a kidney transplant. Wow, I can't even believe that as I'm typing it. It still hasn't sunk in for me yet. I guess it will sometime. Right now, it's still hard to believe. Especially since it was my brother that donated it. I can't even begin to figure out what to say to him besides thank you.  I'll find a way to express how I feel sometime. I need to figure that out first though.

Thank you to everyone over the past few years that has asked about how I was doing, wished me luck, encouraged me, talked with me, and prayed for me. Thanks so much. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.