Kidneys -The Final Chapter

Home from the hospital... what an experience.

This week I went in on Monday the 25th for my pre-op visit with the Transplant Center. Got all my instructions, they took blood for a final crossmatch, met with the transplant surgeon again, then the pre-anesthesia clinic.

On Tuesday, I could only eat clear fluids all day in preparation for surgery on Wednesday morning - along with fluid to clean me out (give me diarrhea).

Surprisingly, I was not nervous in the least, no doubts in my head whatsoever. It's like I'm on a path, pre-ordained and nothing was going to stop me from getting to the end.

Wednesday morning we left at 5:30 in order to get to Seattle for my 6:15 check-in at the surgery center. They took us back immediately to prep me for the surgery. I must have stayed there for about an hour while they told us they were getting the operating room set-up.

They wheeled me into the operating room with an oxygen mask over my face. I don't remember anything until I woke up in recovery. When I woke up I was still out of it of course but I remember starting to move my legs, hands and taking deep breaths. I think they moved me up to my room after an hour or so. I remember asking what time it was, and the nurse told me 2:30, so I'd probably been in the operating room for 4 hours or so (my surgeon came out to the waiting room at 1:30 to tell my husband how it went).

All afternoon on Wednesday I was still out of it, drifting in and out of sleep. The nurse tried to get me up to walk around but I started to get nauseated. By Thursday morning I was feeling a lot better though the catheter, while convenient was a big pain. Turns out the pain medication they were giving me was what was making me nauseated so they stopped giving me that and started with oxycodone. By then I was able to eat small meals too.

By Thursday afternoon I was able to take more walks around the floor and once they took the catheter out on Friday morning I felt like I could have done a marathon, ok, not really.

Once the catheter came out, then they removed the IV I was feeling "almost" back to normal.

I came home from the hospital on Friday, about 48 hours after the surgery.

Some of my observations in the hospital:

1. The University of WA Medical Center is a very well run facility. They had room service you could order just about anything you want. The nurses and LPNs were all wonderful, caring people who were there when you needed them. And this was a crowded floor.

2. My kidney was a "Cadillac" according to my surgeon. It started making urine immediately and the recipient started feeling better as soon as it was put in his body.

3. The people I met from the Transplant Center were the best. From my surgeon, Dr. Bakhta to the nurse, to the social worker - they were all caring, wonderful individuals.

4. I do not know who the recipient was yet, it'll be about 3 months until I can find out - but one of the doctors let slip that "he" was doing well.

This is all for now, more later possibly...