This Catheter Must GO!
So the transplant was a success. It took a little longer than five hours to successfully transplant my dad’s kidney due to an extra artery he had attached to his. They had to reposition it twice to get the right blood flow.
I don’t even remember going into surgery. They gave me some crazy drug during pre op that knocked me out to the point where I don’t remember even saying goodbye to my Mom or boyfriend. I do remember waking up so me hours later and being told my potassium was high and that the kidney had not yet made urine. I freaked out. I thought the operation hadn’t worked, it took the entire surgical team to calm me down and reassure me this was normal. I spent the night in recovery while they pumped fluids through the kidney to wake it up and sure enough two hours later it was flowing beautifully.
Everything has been a real blur since then. I’ve seen my family, my father, my boyfriend, but more than anything I’ve experienced this renewed energy that I haven’t had in years. I’m sore from the incision but my joints no longer ache with dialysis pains and I finally feel rejuvenated and capable of getting up being active (or as active as someone who just had surgery can be).
I have a catheter, a JP drain, and a neck line in for obvious reasons and I just want them all out so I can get a good night’s sleep. It’s very difficult to write in these circumstances so more to come once I’m out of the hospital, but I’m very content in my progress so far.
