One week out

Wow. I can't believe it's been a week since I met EK. I'm overwhelmed by the change, the outpouring of support, and quite frankly, the pain. I'm going to try to walk you through the last week...I intended to blog often in the hospital, but couldn't find the strength. Day One: Kidney Day! Thursday, June 14, was the day I had been looking forward to for four years. I was so overwhelmed that it was finally here. I had to be at the hospital at 9 am and meeting me there were: my parents, Maria and Mandi (EK's management) and of course, Brian and his parents. Also tagging along was my childhood friend Casey Nolen, who was doing a story on us for KSDK, the marketing department from Barnes with a photographer that was chronicling my journey as well. It was quite the entourage, let me tell you! It was quite a long wait as we didn't get called until about 1 pm. So we just sat around and chatted and Casey did interviews for his story. I was finally paged and got to bring two people with me to pre-op. Brian was actually sick and wearing a mask, so it just wasn't a good idea for him to come with me. It was so hard to walk away from him without getting to kiss him or even hug him. I know he felt awful about it too. So my dad and Brian's mom Carol came up with me, which was a good choice because they really helped calm my nerves. I got really anxious once I changed into my gown. We only had to wait about 30 minutes and they started administering the pre-anesthesia. Well that is the last thing I remember! My dad said as soon as they started that medicine, I was out. The surgery took longer than the 4 hours and my family was very nervous. It was a great kidney, but had some special things that the surgeons had to do to make it all work. I woke up in the observation unit in a lot of pain and a very sore throat. It took several minutes to take stock of everything...I had three IVs, a catheter, a drain, and inflatable leggings. The kidney was working and that was the best news ever. Day Two: Brian and my mom stayed the night with me. It was a restless night. Brian slept in the recliner and my mom slept on the couch...did I mention I had a private room? Awesome! Well we slept very little...I could really sleep and nurses and techs came in so frequently. My moms stayed up and we had a nice chat while Brian slept. They were urging me to drink, but I was so nauseated that I ended up throwing up. That was the worst ever. So very painful. The nurse came in around 6 am and told me to get up out of bed to be weighed. I said there was no way. She insisted and after about 15 minutes of inching my sore sore body out of bed, I managed to stand up enough for the to get my weight...which by the way was TWENTY pound heavier than normal! 20 pounds. Apparently they have to overload my body with fluid during the transplant and it takes a while for the new kidney to filter it all out. It was miserable. That second day wasn't that bad pain wise and I only used my pain button a couple of times that day. Brian stayed the night and we got a little more sleep, but alarms were going off all the time, so that was annoying. Day Three: Moved me down the hall to the regular transplant rooms. Again I got a private room, which is awesome. I went hardcore and walked all the way down the hall to my new room. I know how important it is to get up and moving and each time I did it got a little easier. Brian walked with me and I tOok it nice and slow. By this time, the kidney was going gang busters...producing over two liters...which is a lot! I feel so lucky to not only have this kidney, but to have it work so great right away. Not all are that lucky. That evening I started having problems with my catheter. I felt an uncontrollable urge to go to the bathroom, which shouldn't happen. And pain. Brian stayed until 3:30 am and then went me, got ready for his triathlon and got to the race for his 6:05 am start time. Day Four: Hell day Pain was unbearable today. I spent most of the day whimpering in pain, shaking, crying and begging anyone that came into the room to help me. I just wanted the catheter out, but they refused. They tried several different things and eventually by the end of the night, things settled down enough for me to stop freaking out.I know it was so hard for Brian and my parents to sit there and watch me suffer. I can't imagine. Brian stayed again and since we weren't on the observation floor we were left alone for longer periods of time, so Brian for sure got a better night sleep. I still tossed and turned and tried to deal with my pain the best I could. Day Five: Catheter OUT!!! So exciting. Helped with my pain, but that also meant that I had to get up and use the restroom all the time. And when I say all the time...I truly mean it. EK had me up every 30 minutes! And let me tell you, it's hard to get to the bathroom quickly. The problem is that my bladder has shrunk because of no use for the last two years (since my first transplant was removed). Docs said it is the size of a walnut. Luckily, your bladder is a muscle, so it will expand eventually to regular size. But it was literally every 30 minutes up to pee. Sat up most of the day and started eating regular food. Not much of an appetite, so I had to force myself to eat what little I did. The docs thought I could go home on Monday, but my white blood cell count dropped and they decided I should stay one more day. I was a little bummed, but was fine with staying one more night. Brian stayed again...for the record, he barely left my side. What an awesome husband. Day Six: barely got any sleep because of the up and down all darn night. It was exhausting. That morning I had lots of visitors telling me I was doing great and could go home. Mom and dad came to help and by about 3 or so I was out the door! I should mention that in the elevator heading down, there were three nurses with, all of whom started making googley eyes over Brian's veins. "I'd love to start an iv on you!" "oh your veins are beautiful!" I was like, hey, I just received a life-saving transplant! It was funny and somewhat typical...Brian is always stealing my thunder! HOME: we came home to a decorated front porch courtesy of Max and Phoebe and Carol. It was so sweet. I was exhausted and getting up and down from the couch was harder than the hospital bed. Yesterday was a pretty painful day...I'm very anti-pain meds, so I'm trying to go at it cold turkey. They also make me itchy. I slept for a while and spent most of the day in bed. EK was allowing me about 45 minutes to an hour between "breaks" so that was nice. During the night time, I was able to go about an hour and 45 minutes, which allowed me to get a good chunk of sleep. This morning home health came and were here about two hours. It is really nice that they provide that service because otherwise, id have to venture out to a lab twice a week to get blood drawn. Brian's sister Shelley stopped by for a visit and brought the most beautiful flowers and magazines. I am still in a good amount of pain, but have been sitting up all day and walking around the house every time I use the restroom. I think Brian and I will try to take a walk around the block this evening after it cools off a bit. Special shout out to my co-worker Caitlin for giving me the most comfortable lounge pants ever! I'm off to make myself some comfort food from my childhood...hotdogs and beans. It reminds me so much of home and is something I haven't been able to eat the last four years! Yum! Sorry for the long post, but wanted to catch you up! Love and kidneys, Emily